Dark Ages

Dark Ages
Studio album by Soulfly
Released	October 4, 2005
Recorded	2005
Genre	Groove metal, thrash metal
Length	66:22 78:40 (Special edition)
Label	Roadrunner
Producer	Max Cavalera
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Blabbermouth.net link Metal Hammer Kerrang!
Soulfly chronology
Prophecy (2004) Dark Ages (2005) Conquer (2008)
Alternate Cover
Re-issued Digipak cover

Dark Ages is the fifth LP by the metal band Soulfly. The album was released on October 4, 2005.

The album was strongly influenced by the death of Max Cavalera's 8-month-old grandson, Moses, who died on December 10, 2004. The song, "Corrosion Creeps," is dedicated to Chuck Schuldiner of Death. [1]

Sound

Many critics^[who?] have described Dark Ages as a return to Cavalera's thrash and death metal roots of the early Sepultura days, its sound also has been compared to his post-thrash album Chaos A.D.-era, while still maintaining the world music influence present on the first four Soulfly albums^{[citation needed]}.

This time, Cavalera traveled to five different countries - Serbia, Turkey, Russia, France, and the United States - in order to record all the sounds that he desired to have on the new album. The album also features a didgeridoo on 'Carved Inside' and a Jamaican thumb piano on 'Riotstarter'. This further showcase Cavalera's desire to experiment within metal.

The cultural spice is accentuated by Max's decision to travel the world to capture the sounds within their own natural environments. While in Russia, the frantic "Molotov" begins with Russian lyrics. "In Russian it means 'Fuck the war, let's think about what's important'... It comes from the liberation of Russia after communism." S.O.D.'s Billy Milano makes a guest appearance as well on the song. Cavalera called Milano and said, "Do you mind singing over the phone and I just record it? . . . Even the distortion coming from his voice is actually from the phone."

Reception

• CMJ (No. 930, p.50) - "An experimental savvy emerges in Dark Ages' quieter moments."

• Mojo (p.104) - 3 stars out of 5 - "Dark Ages fuses juggernaut punk-metal with found sounds....The evocative field recordings are matched by heartfelt songs."

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Cavalera except "Molotov" (Cavalera, Fillipenko, Milano), "Innerspirit" (Cavalera, Kojic, Stojanovic) and "Staystrong" (Cavalera, Cavalera).

1. "The Dark Ages" – 0:48
2. "Babylon" – 3:53
3. "I and I" – 3:15
4. "Carved Inside" – 3:35
5. "Arise Again" – 4:10
6. "Molotov" – 1:57
7. "Frontlines" – 4:34
8. "Innerspirit" – 5:15
9. "Corrosion Creeps" – 4:26
10. "Riotstarter" – 5:00
11. "Bleak" – 4:56
12. "(The) March" – 1:18
13. "Fuel the Hate" – 4:12
14. "Staystrong" (with Ritchie Cavalera) – 8:13
15. "Soulfly V" – 10:50

Bonus tracks

The Digipack and Japanese editions of Dark Ages contain additional tracks:

1. "Salmo-91" – 4:23
2. "Prophecy" (Live) – 3:27
3. "Seek 'n' Strike" (Live) – 4:14

Credits

• Max Cavalera - Guitar, Sitar, Vocals, Producer, Berimbau
• Marc Rizzo - Guitar, Vocals, Flamenco Guitar
• Bobby Burns - Bass
• Joe Nunez - Percussion, Drums
• Billy Milano - Vocals (on "Motolov")
• John Watkinson Gray - Engineer, Digital Editing, Mixing, Prophet V Programming
• June Murakawa - Assistant
• David Ellefson - Bass on "Riotstarter"
• Michael Whelan - Illustrations
• Leo Zulueta - Logo
• Stefan Goldman - Acoustic Guitar, Korg Synthesizer, Sitar, Mandolin
• Gloria Cavalera - Executive Producer, Management
• Milan "Bare" Barković - Engineer
• John Bilberry - Assistant Engineer
• Alexsander Hrenov - Balalaika, Spoons
• Darya Jubenko - Engineer
• Nemanja "Coyote" Kojić - Vocals (on "Innerspirit")
• Matt Marksbary - Assistant Engineer
• Justin Salter - Assistant Engineer
• Christina Stojanovic - Management
• Alexander Yushin - Bayan
• Monte Conner - A&R
• Terry Date - Mastering, Mixing
• Ted Jensen - Mastering

Chart positions

Album - Billboard (North America)

References