I was so impressed with Soulfly’s latest effort ‘Dark Ages’ that I decided to check them out during my brief stay in Amsterdam and I was certainly not disappointed.

For those of you who haven’t been lucky enough to set foot inside Amsterdam’s Club Paradiso, I will set the scene for you. At the top of the room a large stage is nestled between two enormous stained glass windows and two levels of balconies overlook the reasonably large floor. The place was obviously once a church but it is not a deity that the throngs of people came here to worship, but one of metal’s former shining stars who has just recently taken it upon himself to return his band and himself to grace with his disenchanted fans.

Festivities kicked off with metalcore group Born from Pain in support. Having never heard anything by them I awaited the normal support band mediocrity I experience all too often at gigs these days. I was thus pleasantly surprised by an energetic and passionate display of chunky as hell riffs and breakneck rhythms that whipped the crowd into a frenzy. I find it a good sign that a support act managed to whip up one of the biggest and most brutal circle pits of the evening. I am yet to experience these guys on CD but they can certainly do the business live.

This pleasant build-up aside, everyone was awaiting the main event, and as the lights went down a deafening roar of approval greeted Cavelera and company who burst into a near perfect rendition of Babylon. This was followed by Prophecy and Seek n’ Strike creating an opening salvo of unbelievable intensity that left more than a few in a state of awe. After a few words of greeting from Max, guitarist Marc Rizzo calmly strummed the opening chords of Roots Bloody Roots and the floor was immediately turned into a maelstrom of flying bodies. I have heard Sepultura play this recently but it just doesn’t feel right without Max. For five splendid minutes the ghost of one of my favourite bands was resurrected and I relished every minute of it.

I won’t pretend to remember every minute of the gig as I was enjoying myself far too much to commit it all to memory but some highlights included a brilliant rendition of Back to the Primitive which definitely suits a live setting and a spectacular extended guitar solo cum jam on a 12 string courtesy of Rizzo. This was followed by an incredible drum interlude which involved each member of the band bringing onstage their own instruments of percussion and with help from an audience member they proceeded to re-energize the crowd with a rich tapestry of tribal drumming.

After going offstage for a brief period the band returned for an encore and closed as usual with Eye for an Eye and left the stage triumphant to a crowd roaring their approval.

Soulfly sound like a band that has been born again. The difference in quality from their performance here and the last time I saw them at Donnington in’04 was marked. They played with more skill and passion than I have seen them demonstrate in a long time and seem to have turned their floundering career into one that will hopefully return them to the status amongst discerning fans they once enjoyed. I for one have welcomed them back with open arms and eagerly anticipate their future efforts.