It’s a given that Max Cavalera’s SOULFLY will forever embody the style of the shit-slinging heaviness that he helped forge on SEPULTURA’s Chaos A.D. and Roots. Max is without a doubt the King of Nu Metal, having pioneered a sound adopted by KORN and a whole slew of millionaire mall metallers – albeit in a much bastardized format. But that style was all Max’s as post-Roots SEPULTURA never did quite taste the same. With that said, SOULFLY’s fourth album, Prophecy, once again kicks out the jams in that familiar down-tuned sound that Max has been banging out for the past decade. Prophecy is laden with thick-as-mud guitars and seriously infectious grooves that sound as fresh as ever, perhaps due to yet another new line-up (including contributions from ex-MEGADETH bassist Dave Ellefson). “Execution Style” and “Defeat Me” bludgeon forward with driving, fist-in-face fury and “Porrada” ressurects the punk/thrash vibe of the SEPULTURA classic, “Biotech is Godzilla.” But Prophecy doesn’t stop there. Known for having infused tribal flavors with his music, Max this time gets soulful, flirting with latin vibes on the intro to “Porrada”, mixing up ska/reggae on the track “Moses,” and stripping it all down on the all-out r&b/soul inflected closer, “Wings.” Clearly, the SOULFLY banner has allowed Max quite a bit of flexibility in terms of musical styles. And thankfully so because it’s refreshing to hear him go out and mix things up as much as he can while still “fucking shit up” four post-SEPULTURA albums later. (Roadrunner Records)