Soulfly 'Ritual' LP

Two decades into their storied career, Soulfly continue to engender near cultish zeal with each subsequent album and tour. In that sense, the group’s eleventh full-length, Ritual, lives up to the promise of its name with a metallic ceremony of the highest order. Returning from the road, they hit the studio with Grammy Award-winning producer Josh Wilbur [Lamb of God, Trivium, All That Remains] for the very first time. Drawing on longtime fandom, he immediately clicked with the musicians from behind the board. A tribal chant builds behind an eerie wail before transforming into a neck-snapping groove on the album opener and title track Ritual. Elsewhere, double bass drives Evil Empowered as deft shredding steamrolls towards a soaring scream of “Rise above.” Continuing a long tradition of friends and family joining the ceremony, Dead Behind The Eyes welcomes Lamb of God singer Randy Blythe into the fray. He and Max lock into a deadly call-and-response in homage to Hellraiser that’s as vicious as it is vital.