Soulfly are set to release their eleventh studio album, titled Ritual on 19th October via Nuclear Blast. Today, the band unleashes, “Evil Empowered“, the first track taken from that opus.
Ritual was produced, recorded and mixed by Josh Wilbur and features sleeve artwork by artist Eliran Kantor with additional booklet art and package design by Marcelo Vasco. The album also features guest appearances from Randy Blythe (Lamb of God) and Ross Dolan (Immolation).
Frontman/guitarist Max Cavalera comments: “I am really stoked to be working again with two of my favourite artists, Eliran Kantor and Marcelo Vasco! The Ritual artwork is very mystic and captures the vibe of the album perfectly. For this one, we really tried to retain the groove of early SOULFLY as well as my love for the heavy, fast stuff I’m into: like death and black metal and some hardcore. Working with Josh Wilbur for SOULFLY this time around has been amazing. He’s a huge fan and added a lot to the record. I would fight for the fast songs and he would always push me to add more groove. I think in the end we created a really cool mix of songs that covers a lot of ground in my career. Let the Ritual begin!”
Producer Josh Wilbur adds: “Before I had ever recorded a record, Max released the holy trinity that was (at least to me) Chaos A.D., Roots, and Soulfly. I wanted to make a record that captured what I loved about those when I was growing up! Those records inspired me and introduced me to heavy metal. Fast forward to now and I was given the opportunity to make the record I wanted as an fan! So I set up some mics, recorded some riffs, we banged on some galvanized metal, roto toms, djembes, and anything else we could get, then I told Max to ‘BRING DA SHIT’!”
Ritual Tracklist:
1. Ritual
2. Dead Behind The Eyes (feat. Randy Blythe)
3. The Summoning
4. Evil Empowered
5. Under Rapture (feat. Ross Dolan)
6. Demonized
7. Blood On The Street
8. Bite The Bullet
9. Feedback!
10. Soulfly XI