Omen (Soulfly album)

Omen
Studio album by
Soulfly
ReleasedMay 18, 2010
RecordedNovember 2009
StudioEdge of the Earth Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Genre
Length40:35 (regular edition)
51:39 (special edition)
LabelRoadrunner
ProducerMax Cavalera, Logan Mader
Soulfly chronology
Conquer
(2008) 		Omen
(2010) 		Enslaved
(2012)
Singles from Omen
  1. "Rise of the Fallen"
    Released: April 20, 2010
Alternative cover
Special edition cover
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com[1]
Allmusic[2]
Rock Sound[3]
Blabbermouth[4]
Sputnik Music[5]
Ultimate-Guitar.com[6]
PopMatters[7]

Omen is the seventh studio album by American heavy metal band Soulfly. It was recorded in November 2009 and was released first in Japan on May 18, 2010, and on May 25, 2010, in other parts of the world.[8] It was released on May 24, 2010, in parts of Europe.[8] It is the last album to feature bassist Bobby Burns and drummer Joe Nuñez, who were replaced by Asesino frontman Tony Campos and former Borknagar drummer David Kinkade in mid-2011.[9] At just over forty and a half minutes, it is the band's second shortest album; the shortest is Archangel at thirty-six and a half minutes.

Background

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Soulfly entered the Edge of the Earth Studios in Los Angeles, California on November 6, 2009, to begin recording their seventh album with Max Cavalera and Logan Mader both producing.[10] Through a series of streaming web video updates, frontman Max Cavalera revealed on November 13, 2009, that the album would be called Omen[11] and would feature guest appearances by Tommy Victor of Prong and Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan.[12] Additionally, the album features performances on drums from Max's first son Zyon Cavalera on a b-side cover of Sepultura's "Refuse-Resist" and his youngest son Igor Cavalera Jr. on a cover of Excel's "Your Life, My Life".

The seven figures in album art of Omen (on the standard edition three figures are on the cover, and four are on the back), created by David Ho, are meant to represent that this is Soulfly's seventh studio album. Each of the seven figures, inspired by the fictional Star Wars creatures the Tusken Raiders, were also meant to represent each of the seven deadly sins from what they hold in their hands. In fact, Cavalera saw Ho's stylized depiction of Tusken Raiders created for LucasArts and requested an album cover similar in style.[13]

Reception

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Jay H. Gorania of about.com praised the album, "it is brutal and fast, though not necessarily as intense or interesting as the releases marking Cavalera's early and mid-period work. Yet this is a transition from what has become a mediocre band to one that sounds vital and refreshing."[1] Gregory Heaney of AllMusic said "Omen is like thrash metal comfort food."[2] PopMatters rated this album 5 out of 10 stars, saying "Cavalera sounds more focused than usual, his lyrics are more angry than spiritual, the band leans more towards thrash than nu-metal, and the production keeps things rather simple, clean and loud as all mainstream metal, but always emphasizing the physicality of the rhythm riffing."[7] Sputnik thought this album is great, because it "exhibits the same rough formula but unlike other Soulfly albums these tracks display a higher level of writing style, musical ability and a better use of creative ideas in a more mature and cohesive manner."[5]

Songs

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"Rise of the Fallen" features Static-X-like riff with cyber tones,[1] then a sitar signals the beginning of death metal riff.[14] The song features Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan. "Great Depression" plays such thrashy riff that it sounded like train derailing, before abruptly settling down into Hellhammer-like riff for chorus.[1] "Kingdom" is a unique song for Soulfly due to melodic vocals by Max Cavalera. "Vulture Culture" is a rhyming song title that has hints of Nailbomb sounds and punky riffs.[15]

Track listing

[edit]

All songs composed by Max Cavalera, except "Rise of the Fallen" by Max Cavalera and Greg Puciato, "Lethal Injection" by Max Cavalera and Tommy Victor.

No.TitleLength
1."Bloodbath & Beyond"2:31
2."Rise of the Fallen" (featuring Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan)4:35
3."Great Depression"3:57
4."Lethal Injection" (featuring Tommy Victor of Prong)3:05
5."Kingdom"3:55
6."Jeffrey Dahmer"2:52
7."Off with Their Heads"4:22
8."Vulture Culture"4:01
9."Mega-Doom"3:04
10."Counter Sabotage"3:50
11."Soulfly VII" (Instrumental)4:23
Total length:40:35
Deluxe edition bonus tracks[16]
No.TitleLength
12."Four Sticks" (Led Zeppelin cover)4:40
13."Refuse/Resist" (Sepultura cover)3:10
14."Your Life, My Life" (Excel cover)3:14
Total length:51:39
Deluxe edition DVD: Live at the With Full Force Festival, Germany – July 3, 2009[16]
No.TitleLength
1."Blood Fire War Hate" 
2."Sanctuary (Cavalera Conspiracy cover)" 
3."Prophecy" 
4."Back to the Primitive" 
5."Seek 'N' Strike" 
6."Living Sacrifice" 
7."Enemy Ghost" 
8."Refuse/Resist (Sepultura cover)" 
9."Doom" 
10."L.O.T.M." 
11."Molotov" 
12."Drums" 
13."Warmageddon" 
14."Polícia (Titãs/Sepultura cover)" 
15."Unleash" 
16."Roots Bloody Roots (Sepultura cover)" 
17."Jumpdafuckup" 
18."Eye for an Eye" 
19."Unleash (music video)" 

Personnel

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Soulfly

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Additional personnel

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Production

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Chart performance

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Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 38
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18] 19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 50
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 73
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 42
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[22] 44
French Albums (SNEP)[23] 58
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 13
Greek Albums (IFPI)[17] 1
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25] 30
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 15
UK Albums (OCC)[27] 100
US Billboard 200[28] 73

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Jay H. Gorania (2010). "Soulfly Omen Review". About.com Heavy Metal. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Allmusic review
  3. ^ Rock Sound review
  4. ^ Blabbermouth review Archived July 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b Sputnik Music review
  6. ^ Review at Ultimate-Guitar.com
  7. ^ a b Adrien Begrand (June 3, 2010). "Soulfly: Omen". Review. PopMatters. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Soulfly Tour With Prong, Incite & Rotting Corpse, Album Out in May". Roadrunner Records. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  9. ^ Soulfly Reveals New Bass Player Tony Campos
  10. ^ Jon Wiederhorn. "Soulfly Returning to Studio in November". Noisecreep. Retrieved October 22, 2009. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Robert Pasabini (November 13, 2009). "Exclusive SOULFLY In-Studio Update (including tentative album title)". MetalInjection.net. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
  12. ^ Bobby Burns. "7th album in 2009???". soulflyweb.com. Retrieved February 27, 2009. [dead link]
  13. ^ DiNitto, Jay (May 26, 2010). "Soulfly, 'Omen' -- Album Art of the Week". Noisecreep. AOL Music. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  14. ^ "Omen Soulfly". CD Reviews. Blabbermouth.net. June 20, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  15. ^ "SOULFLY - Omen". Reviews. APESHIT. July 29, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  16. ^ a b "Soulfly: 'Omen' Limited-Edition CD/DVD Details Revealed". Blabbermouth.net. Roadrunner. March 26, 2010. Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  17. ^ a b "Soulfly - Omen". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  18. ^ "Soulfly - Omen" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  19. ^ "Soulfly - Omen" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  20. ^ "Soulfly - Omen" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  21. ^ "Soulfly - Omen" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  22. ^ "Soulfly - Omen". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  23. ^ "Soulfly - Omen" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  24. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  25. ^ "Soulfly - Omen". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  26. ^ "Soulfly - Omen". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  27. ^ "Soulfly | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  28. ^ "Soulfly Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
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