Ritual (Soulfly album)
2018 studio album by Soulfly
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Ritual is the eleventh studio album by American heavy metal band Soulfly, released on October 19, 2018, through Nuclear Blast.[2][1] It is the third Soulfly album with Max Cavalera's son Zyon on drums and the last to feature lead guitarist Marc Rizzo. It features musical guests Randy Blythe of Lamb of God, Ross Dolan of Immolation, and Mark Damon of The Pretty Reckless.[6] Four singles were released from the album—"Evil Empowered",[2] title track "Ritual",[3] "Dead Behind the Eyes",[4] and "Under Rapture".[5]
| Ritual | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 19, 2018 | |||
| Recorded | January–June 2018 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Thrash metal | |||
| Length | 43:13 | |||
| Label | Nuclear Blast[1] | |||
| Producer | Josh Wilbur[1] | |||
| Soulfly chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Ritual | ||||
The album was produced by Josh Wilbur. Max Cavalera stated "For this one, we really tried to retain the groove of early Soulfly as well as my love for the heavy, fast stuff I'm into: like death and black metal and some hardcore. Working with Josh Wilbur for Soulfly this time around has been amazing. He's a huge fan and added a lot to the record. I would fight for the fast songs and he would always push me to add more groove. I think in the end we created a really cool mix of songs that covers a lot of ground in my career".[6]
Ritual sold 3,600 copies in its first week of release in the US and is the first Soulfly album to not debut on the US Billboard 200. It is their first album since 2010's Omen to have its installment of their self-titled song series on the standard edition.
Reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 75/100[7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Blabbermouth.net | 8.5/10[9] |
| Distorted Sound | 8/10[10] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[11] |
| Metal Hammer | [12] |
| MetalSucks |  [13] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4/5[14] |
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Ritual received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 from 4 critic scores.[7] Prior to release, Wall of Sound writer Jim Birkin rated the album 9/10, stating: "There is undoubtedly some old school Cavalera creeping into his music these days and that can only be a good thing. May all future Soulfly albums contain Josh Wilbur in its production."[15] This album was awarded a 2018 Metal Storm Award for Best Thrash Metal Album.[16]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Max Cavalera.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ritual" | 4:55 |
| 2. | "Dead Behind the Eyes" | 5:17 |
| 3. | "The Summoning" | 4:15 |
| 4. | "Evil Empowered" | 3:33 |
| 5. | "Under Rapture" | 5:42 |
| 6. | "Demonized" | 4:42 |
| 7. | "Blood on the Street" | 4:32 |
| 8. | "Bite the Bullet" | 3:52 |
| 9. | "Feedback!" | 3:00 |
| 10. | "Soulfly XI" (instrumental) | 3:25 |
| Total length: | 43:13 | |
Personnel
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Charts
| Chart (2018) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] | 22 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] | 47 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] | 78 |
| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[20] | 58 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] | 147 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[22] | 125 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] | 27 |
| Scottish Albums (Official Charts)[24] | 51 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] | 19 |