Conquer (Soulfly album)

Conquer is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Soulfly. It saw official release on July 23, 2008, in Australia, although the album had leaked early onto file-sharing networks. It was released on July 29, 2008, in Canada and the United States and debuted at #66 on the U.S. Billboard 200 — Soulfly's highest Billboard peak since their 2002 release, 3.

Conquer
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 29, 2008 (2008-07-29)[1]
RecordedSeptember 2007
StudioPorch Studio, Orlando, Florida
Genre
Length
LabelRoadrunner
ProducerMax Cavalera
Soulfly chronology
Dark Ages
(2005)
Conquer
(2008)
Omen
(2010)
Singles from Conquer
  1. "Unleash"
    Released: June 24, 2008
  2. "Blood Fire War Hate"
    Released: February 9, 2009
Alternative cover
Special edition digipak

Production and release edit

The album was tracked by Tim C. Lau in late 2007 at The Porch Recording Studio in Orlando, Florida and mixed by Andy Sneap in early 2008. In promotion for the album, Max Cavalera stated that he had been heavily influenced by Bolt Thrower, Napalm Death and Slayer in writing for this album, which he declared would make Dark Ages sound like a pop album.

A bonus edition of the album was released containing three bonus tracks and a DVD. The DVD features a full live concert from Warsaw, Poland and the music video for "Innerspirit" from the previous album, Dark Ages.

The album sold over 8,400 copies in the U.S. during the first week of its release.[2]

Songs edit

"Unleash" was the album's first single with the accompanying music video directed by Robert Sexton. This song and its video features Dave Peters of Throwdown.[3] The second single released was Blood Fire War Hate, the first track of the album, featuring Morbid Angel vocalist David Vincent. "Touching the Void" is heavily influenced by Black Sabbath as it contains doom and sludgy riffs, with outro recorded by French dub artist Fedaya Pacha.[4] "Warmageddon" explores war and Armageddon, hence its portmanteau.

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com     [4]
AllMusic     [5]
Alt Press     [6]
Blabbermouth.net          [7]
ChartAttack     [8]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[9]
Kerrang!     [10]
Metal Hammer          [11]
PopMatters          [12]

Conquer has thus far garnered positive reviews from most media outlets and review websites. Chad Bower of About.com calls it "outstanding", with "great musicianship and songwriting" and "new styles, sounds and experiments, which also hit the mark." Nikos Patelis of Metal Invader notes the "hardcore beatings, extreme thrash speeds and many implements of weird sounds that have nothing to do with metal" and deems the album "dark as hell". In comparison to Cavalera Conspiracy's debut earlier this year, Dominic Hemy of Planet Loud considers Conquer "tighter, heavier, more diverse, more original, and far more engaging than Inflikted".

Track listing edit

All lyrics are written by Max Cavalera except where stated; all music is composed by Max Cavalera except where stated

Conquer
No.TitleLyricsLength
1."Blood Fire War Hate" (feat. David Vincent)Max Cavalera, David Vincent4:59
2."Unleash" (feat. Dave Peters)Max Cavalera, Dave Peters5:10
3."Paranoia" 5:31
4."Warmageddon" 5:22
5."Enemy Ghost" 3:02
6."Rough" 3:27
7."Fall of the Sycophants" 5:09
8."Doom" 4:58
9."For Those About to Rot" 6:47
10."Touching the Void" 7:25
11."Soulfly VI" (Instrumental) 5:20
Total length:57:10
Special edition[13]
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
12."Mypath"  4:43
13."Sailin' On" (Bad Brains cover)Gary Miller, Darryl Jenifer, Paul HudsonGary Miller, Darryl Jenifer, Paul Hudson4:41
14."The Beautiful People" (Marilyn Manson cover)Brian WarnerJeordie White4:23
Total length:71:17
iTunes Bonus Tracks Version [14]
No.TitleLength
12."Mypath"4:43
13."Sailin' On" (Bad Brains cover)4:41
14."The Beautiful People" (Marilyn Manson cover)4:23
15."Roots Bloody Roots" (Sepultura cover; Live in Poland)3:24
16."Jumpdafuckup/Bring It" (Live in Poland)4:43
Total length:79:24

Bonus DVD listing edit

Live in Warsaw, Poland[15]

  1. "Prophecy"
  2. "Downstroy"
  3. "Seek 'n' Strike"
  4. "No Hope = No Fear"
  5. "Jumpdafuckup/Bring It"
  6. "Living Sacrifice"
  7. "Mars"
  8. "Brasil"
  9. "No"
  10. "L.O.T.M."
  11. "Porrada"
  12. "Drums"
  13. "Moses"
  14. "Frontlines"
  15. "Back to the Primitive"
  16. "Eye for an Eye"

Music Video

  1. "Innerspirit"

Personnel edit

Chart positions edit

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 19
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] 40
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] 33
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[21] 20
French Albums (SNEP)[22] 39
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 15
Italian Albums (FIMI)[24] 80
Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] 69
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 19
UK Albums (OCC)[27] 64
UK Rock Albums (OCC)[28] 7
US Billboard 200[29] 66

References edit

  1. ^ Roadrunner Records
  2. ^ SOULFLY: More 'Conquer' First-Week Chart Positions Revealed - Aug. 8, 2008" Archived August 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved on August 8, 2008.
  3. ^ "SOULFLY: Full New Song 'Unleash' Available For Download - June 24, 2008". blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Soulfly - Conquer Review". About.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
  5. ^ "Conquer - Soulfly". AllMusic.
  6. ^ Number 241, p.166
  7. ^ "CD Reviews". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  8. ^ "Soulfly — Conquer". ChartAttack. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ Popoff, Martin; Perri, David (2011). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 4: The '00s. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 460–461. ISBN 9781-926592-20-6.
  10. ^ "Kerrang! Review". Kerrang!.
  11. ^ "Metal Hammer Review". Metal Hammer.
  12. ^ Begrand, Adrien (August 26, 2008). "Conquer review". PopMatters. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  13. ^ Conquer special edition details; Max featured in "Global Metal" documentary Archived June 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on May 31, 2008
  14. ^ Soulfly - Conquer on iTunes
  15. ^ SOULFLY: 'Conquer' Special Edition To Also Include Bonus DVD - May 21, 2008 Archived December 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on May 31, 2008
  16. ^ "Soulfly - Conquer". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  17. ^ "Soulfly - Conquer" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  18. ^ "Soulfly - Conquer" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  19. ^ "Soulfly - Conquer" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  20. ^ "Soulfly - Conquer" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  21. ^ "Soulfly - Conquer". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  22. ^ "Soulfly - Conquer" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  23. ^ "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  24. ^ "Soulfly - Conquer". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  26. ^ "Soulfly - Conquer". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  27. ^ "Soulfly | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  28. ^ "Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  29. ^ "Soulfly Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 7, 2021.