I'm a big fan of Sepultura's early work. The stuff this group put out between 1985 and 1993 is some of the finest Thrash/ Death metal you can find, especially on records like Arise or Chaos A.D.. As far as their stuff post Roots is concerned, I'll be honest, I haven't listened to much of it. Not because I found the change from lead vocalist Igor Cavalera to Derrick Green detestable or that I find the heavier emphasis on Nu- Metal to be super troubling, it's just that I either haven't had the time, or would rather listen to the older, more death and thrash oriented releases.
That being said, I found a lot to like on this new record, Machine Messiah. For instance, this album kicks off remarkably well with the title track, a mini-epic that introduces the loose concept of the record with a nice soft intro before barreling into some pretty nice death metal riffs. Also the track "I Am The Enemy" brings to the table a short, punk influenced track that is simply wonderful for how pummeling it is. And while it took a little time to grow, the track "Phantom Self" is a fantastic track that brings in the tribal influence that were so prevalent on a record like Roots.
However, this track also introduces one of the albums biggest flaws, its use of synthesizers or synthesized strings. Which, if used sparingly can be okay, but they really bog some of the tracks here down. Also, there are a couple duds here in the form of "Alethea" which just plods on, and the penultimate track "Vandals Nest" which is an unfortunate lyrical wasteland. However, despite these flaws and a couple corny spoken-word spots, Machine Messiah delivers where it counts with plenty of great riffs and really nice guitar solos. And I can't go the entire review without mentioning Derrick Green, who holds down the vocals especially well. He gives a really captivating performance on nearly every track, and he diversifies enough to stop from sounding samey-samey on every track.
It may not be the strongest in the band's catalog, but having listened to this, I'm definitely going to do some looking back to see what else I've been missing out on.
7.2/10
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