The fact that Cavalera Conspiracy were originally known as Inflikted before some legal issues arose should speak volumes about this album. A much-hyped reunion between the famously estranged Cavalera brothers, Max and Igor, this latest outfit also features bass from Gojira's Joe Duplantier and guitar work from Soulfly's Marc Rizzo. However, while few could dispute the Cavalera's impact on metal in the late 80's/early 90's with their then outfit Sepultura, it's exactly the opposite for Cavalera Conspiracy in today's metal climate.

Sure the synergy between the namesakes siblings remains lock tight, but the hunger, outrage and blunt social/political commentary that highlighted their best work is largely absent here. In fact, much of the album feels metal by numbers as meathead riffs continually erupt into choruses chockfull of Max's, err, somewhat limited vocabulary. Rizzo and Duplantier's technical chops and progressive inclinations go far out of their way to correct this, making for some interesting breakdowns and complimentary riffs, but it's not enough in the end.

Basically with the driving force of the band seemingly phoning in their performances it's hard to really stay excited. Of course, there's a definite nostalgia factor to having the Cavalera brothers sharing the same line-up, but the majority of the output here sounds more like Soulfly b-sides than a return to Sepultura's heyday. Standard-fare thrashy metal with a few touches of prog and death thrown in to cover up what generally feels like a bland, hastily assembled album. If there's still money being thrown around out there for a full-fledged Sepultura reunion, now is the time to take it, because continued output of albums like this will only depreciate the offers.