This was amongst the first ten or so records I bought - my record collection was a strange mix back then. It eventually made a solid turn into "more good music than early-2000's nu-metal", but it did take a little while to get there. It was a strange time really, not very much was getting pressed onto vinyl, so it was hard to find anything, let alone things that were genuinely good. I remember the Tower Records in Southampton stocking Deftones' White Pony (which I bought), Rival Schools' United By Fate and A Perfect Circle's Mer De Noms on vinyl over the time that shop was open - I didn't get the latter two because they'd both taken some nasty damage somehow, although I regret not buying both nonetheless. They also had this Soulfly picture disc, which I bought knowing it wasn't going to be great, but it was 2001 and I was excited to hear it.
Soulfly were known for being the band that Max Cavalera formed after he left Sepultura. Their debut album quickly became one that everyone wanted to hear, because it featured so many singers from other bands we were all into - Deftones, Fear Factory and, most strangely, Benji from Dub War and Skindred. On top of that, Deftones had the song MX on Around the Fur where Max screams "Soulfly" over and over again - it felt like a solid endorsement. I bought a copy of their debut with a bunch of bonus tracks (which introduced me to crust punks Discharge) and a few months later bought this picture disc of their second album.
My main memories of this album are both within the first four songs - Pain with Grady from Will Haven and Chino, and Jumpdafuckup with Corey Taylor from Slipknot. I was never a huge fan of Will Haven, mainly because of Grady's singing style (although I wonder if I should give them another try now I'm older), but his vocals are a welcome addition to Pain. Jumpdafuckup was, of course, huge news back in 2001 - Slipknot and Soulfly together on one song? That was a nu-metal dream. We saw Soulfly at Ozzfest in 2001 and I bought a t-shirt with the chorus of Jumpdafuckup on the back. Yes, that meant I walked around with the words "Motherfucker you don't understand all my hate / Motherfucker you don't understand all my rage / Motherfucker you don't understand all my pain / Motherfucker you don't understand" in large font on the back; I can't emphasise this enough - it was 2001 and I was 16, it was acceptable at the time (even if it makes me cringe a little to think about now). Seeing them play that song at Ozzfest was quite exciting, I recall.
I also remember Son Song and thinking it was shit back then - it features John Lennon's son on vocals and really has little going for it. Terrorist with Tom Araya from Slayer was one I'd forgotten about. I remember another t-shirt they had back then said "Terror rise" on it, which I’m glad I didn't buy - just a few months later was 9/11 and the notion of terror was not something to take lightly. I was never a huge Slayer fan, but Tom's vocals are excellent here. Between Grady and Tom, I wonder if I was just keen to hear any voice that wasn't Max's (unless it was Sean Lennon's, it seems - in that case Max was a fucking relief).
I guess it shouldn't be a surprise, given the first album, but it's interesting that almost all the most notable songs are the ones featuring guest singers. The opening track Back to the Primitive is the only song without guests that remotely stands out. I don't know whether that's because they relied on the other musicians heavily, or because they wanted them on the best songs they could write. I don't care enough either way to think about it much more than that. It wasn't an observation I made back in 2001, but I was just excited to hear the output.
Format: 12", picture disc
Tracks: 12
Cost: £13 new
Bought: Tower Records, Southampton
When: 07/09/01
Colour: Picture disc
Etching: none
mp3s: no
