Once upon a time there was a band called Sepultura. Well, I am not going to continue the story, because everyone knows the story behind Soulfly and Sepultura. But for those who might not know the story, Max was the singer of Sepultura, and he left the band in 1996 or 1997 (I'm not sure anymore). Anyway, now it's like Sirenia and Tristania, you have two bands playing more or less the same kind of music. However, Soulfly, as well as the new Sepultura formula, have nothing in common with the band that released three masterpieces, Beneath the Remains, Arise and Chaos A.D. respectively in 1989, 1991 and 1993.

This new album, 3, is Soulfly's third album. After a mediocre self-titled debut album, Max released an interesting second album and he continues to astonish me with this new output. I think now the water is under the bridge and he focuses on his music, not on his resentment against his previous band mates. The album is more diverse than anything he has done before with either Sepultura or Soulfly, especially on songs such as One, Four Elements, Soulfly III, and Tree Of Pain (a song that alternates the voice of Asha Rabouin with Max's famous brutal vocals). What is really cool with Max is that he has no boundaries in his search for new musical territories and he keeps improving the music of Soulfly with every release. He keeps the same formula from one album to another, blending Sepultura's early best elements along with a tribal atmosphere and influences from around the world, while still exploring the heavy side of the metal music.

As usual, Max has recorded some cover tunes for this release. Sangue De Bairro is from an unknown Brazilian artist or band to me (I presume since it's Portuguese). He also teamed up with Greg Hall on drums and Wiley Arnet on guitars to do a cover of Sacred Reich's One Nation. There's also a minute of silence (that you will skip after the first listen) called 9-11-01 dedicated to all the people who died after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in New York.

The digipack edition, as always, contains 4 bonus tracks. A couple live tracks, Eye For An Eye and Pain, as well as a cover of Ministry's I Will Refuse which sounds like early Sepultura's death-metal roots. Another cover is of Black Sabbath's Under The Sun.