Now that the celebration of the Cavalera brothers reuniting and putting out a strong, hard hitting debut album is over, we can all see what album number two from CAVALERA CONSPIRACY is all about from purely a musical perspective. Blunt Force Trauma is good but the songs as a whole are simply not as good as its predecessor.

With any Max Cavalera release, you can expect plenty of hooks and catchy riffs and the new album is no different. His charismatic vocals and easy to follow vocal lines are all there. In a lot of subtle ways, Max has expanded his riffing vocabulary to include new thrash sounds as well as more of a simple, punk-like songwriting approach.

Igor Cavalera took a “less is more” approach to his drumming, which resulted in his least intricate drumming performance since the first two SEPULTURA releases. Sure, he keeps the tempo with his expected power but many of the characteristics that make Igor such a distinct and excellent drummer have been omitted on Blunt Force Trauma. Those powerhouse fills are largely gone and any trademark tribal rhythms are relegated to one song intro ("Burn Waco").

Having said all that, Blunt Force Trauma still delivers urgent punk-influenced, thrash/death metal that is perfect for a live environment. There are some really cool songs such as “I Speak Hate,” “Target,” and “Burn Waco.” The band is not out to revolutionize metal nor create a super technical album. It’s all about creating catchy, fast, aggressive songs that get the blood moving. Thus, the album does exactly what it sets out to do. (Roadrunner Records)