A Soulfly gig always comes with the guarantee that you’ll come out smiling, but tonight the support bands take things to another level.
LODY KONG [7], featuring Max Cavalera’s sons Zyon and Igor Jr, sound a lot like the headliners, capturing all that Cavalera heat in a short but unadulterated set. INCITE [8], with another Cavalera – Max’s stepson Richie – are exceptional, tearing up the stage like it’s their last gig on Earth. Any support band who get a circlepit deserve props and it might have a lot to do with their frontman’s uncanny ability to act like Randy Blythe.
Aussies KING PARROT [7] are a different offering: this is all about thrashy, spit-in-your-face grindcore. “There are a few people from Wales here,” says their bassist. “I wouldn’t know if that’s 10 minutes down the road or three days away… but it sounds cool.” SOULFLY [9] punch in with We Sold Our Souls To Metal, sounding darker than their nu metal leanings would have you expect.
The classics (Back To The Primitive, Prophecy) turn the Academy into a mass of metalheads bouncing to their tribal groove, which turns into a riot when Max’s bro Igor makes a surprise appearance on drums for Roots Bloody Roots and Ace Of Spades. The new stuff goes down a treat, but Soulfly could make a fart sound electric.