Soulfly live: Blood, fire, war & hate in Towson

	Max Cavalera of Soulfly

SOULFLY
PRONG
CATTLE DECAPITATION
MUTINY WITHIN

October 20, 2009
Recher Theatre
Towson, Maryland

By JEFF MAKI

I was huge fan of Sepultura during their metal reign in the 1990s. Although the main draw of the classic Sepultura lineup, Max Cavalera, basically is Soulfly, I've never thought that the band has reached the same level or status as the Brazilian greats.

Mutiny Within opened the show to a crowd of about 25 people. Twenty-five people? Yes, and that's counting the bartenders and other staff on hand at the Recher Theatre. The band played a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde type of metal—part power, part death. The closest comparisons I can think of are either a death metal Cellador or Ripper Owens-fronted Iced Earth. The handful of people were uninspired, and well, kind of sleepy and bored, it seemed (the show was on a Tuesday night). See ya next time.

Cattle Decapitation was up next. I was introduced to this band in the past year and interviewed frontman Travis Ryan in January. Supporting their latest release, The Harvest Floor, the grindcore outfit splattered their way through a short set of controlled chaos, full of pig squealing and growling vocals, technical mastery and humor that may or may not be intentional—that's up for debate. The ironic thing about these animal activists is that they actually sound like dying animals—especially Ryan. It was funny watching him contort his face like he was regurgitating to make these indistinguishable sounds, sometimes with his tongue hanging to the side of his mouth. Song separation was irrelevant, as the only song I'm certain they played was “Regret and the Grave,” one of their only selections that actually resembles a song. If nothing else, someday I can tell my kids that their daddy saw a band called Cattle Decapitation live.

Prong! This was one of my main reasons for coming out for this show. I grew up on their albums Beg to Differ, Prove You Wrong and Cleansing. Hearing a few of those early classics live for the first time ever brought things full circle.

	Tommy Victor of Prong

Vocalist/guitarist Tommy Victor has spent the last several years playing guitar for Danzig and, more recently, Ministry. But now Prong is back supporting a new album, Power of the Damager. Victor is an underground metal icon and therefore seemed somewhat pissed about the poor attendance and the total lack of energy and movement on the floor. In fact, he seems like a really serious, pissed-off dude. It must be that hardcore NYC attitude.

Prong opened with a pair of oldies—“For Dear Life” and “Beg to Differ”—that received the best reactions of the night. It seemed like this was the first time anyone here had heard the new songs they played, which doesn't bode well for the new album. Overall, Prong was great. It's just a shame they aren't nearly as popular or well-known as they should be. Of course, being on hiatus for nearly a decade hasn't helped.

Prong set list: For Dear Life, Beg to Differ, Rude Awakening, 3rd Option, The Banishment, Looking for Them, Whose Fist Is This Anyway, Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck, Power of the Damager

Once the lights went down and the tribal opening chant began to “Blood Fire War Hate,” the small and mostly dormant crowd—now at least 150 strong—came to life, chanting with raised fists. I had never  seen a crowd almost completely shun the opening bands before, but that seemed to be the case here. Whether it's because of his metal legacy or spirituality, Max Cavalera has an aura that surrounds him when performing on stage. Maybe he really is “the Bob Marley of metal”—a metal messiah. Dressed in his trademark camouflage with his dreadlocked head, the heavy metal prophet led his band through a best-of-Soulfly set with some classic Sepultura tracks thrown in.

	Edit this setlist | More Soulfly setlists

The standouts, which also received the best responses, were “Blood Fire War Hate,” “Prophecy,” “Back to the Primitive,” “Jumpdafuckup” and Sepultura's “Refuse/Resist.” At one point in the set, after a short break, the band broke out into a “drum war,” with every member playing a skin. Having seen variations of this before on video, I was expecting something a lot more involved. I was somewhat disappointed when it seemed to be cut short. Max also didn't say much during the show, preferring to let the music do the talking. And is he getting old or what? There wasn't much movement from him—nothing as I had seen him before or how he's seen in videos. Oh well. As a band—Cavalera, guitarist Mark Rizzo, bassist Bobby Burns and drummer Joe Nunez—Soulfly has an excellent, complete sound live. As per the norm, material always seems faster and heavier live.

During the '90s, I managed to see the classic Sepultura lineup twice. I can't tell you Soulfly is better, but it's close. With one legendary band's chapter closed and another one unfolding as I write this, Max Cavalera has built a legacy few in metal have achieved. Though this was a good concert, it wasn't exactly one of the most memorable of all time. But I am proud to have seen Max again and hopefully not for the last time.

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