SOULFLY's 'Omen' Projected To Sell 10K-15K First Week

According to Hits Daily Double, the companion web site of music industry tip sheet HITS, SOULFLY's new album, "Omen", is on track (based on one-day sales reports) to sell between 10,000 and 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release.

SOULFLY's last album, "Conquer", opened with 8,400 units back in August 2008 to land at position No. 66 on The Billboard 200 chart. This number was in line with the opening tally of the CD's predecessor, "Dark Ages", which shifted a little more than 8,000 copies during its first week of release in October 2005 to enter the chart at No. 155.

Frontman Max Cavalera fuels "Omen" with the same blood, fire and spirit that made him a genre icon with SEPULTURA, SOULFLY and CAVALERA CONSPIRACY. Following the warpath left by 2008's critically acclaimed "Conquer", "Omen" is a sign of SOULFLY becoming an even fiercer, fierier and more furious metallic monster, seven albums into their storied career. Various SOULFLY traditions remain upheld over the course of the album's 11 tracks. Bobby Burns' bass rumbles and roars on teeth-gnashing opener "Bloodbath and Beyond", as Joe Nunez commences pure percussive pummeling. Marc Rizzo tears through throat-slitting leads, while still making room to groove on the likes of "Lethal Injection". Max's unmistakable vocals and riffs work in tandem for the ultimate aural assault.

Most bands slow down with age — not SOULFLY. Seven records in and they still create chaos better than anyone in this century. "Violence runs on all the tracks," offers Max. "Murder is this record's state of mind — from 'Bloodbath and Beyond' to 'Jeffrey Dahmer'. It's a really violent album. I always wanted to write a song about a serial killer. This was my chance. 'Jeffrey Dahmer' has such a catchy chorus mentioning his name, and I can hear people singing that. 'Omen' mostly came out of every day experience though. 'Omen' is a mysterious name, and it can relate to a lot of different things. From the whole time we were in the studio, I knew the album was going to be called 'Omen'."

Max recorded with producer Logan Mader (CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, GOJIRA, DEVILDRIVER) at Edge of the Earth Studios in Hollywood. He entered Edge of the Earth with ten riffs and emerged with an explosive metal masterpiece. They didn't waste any time commencing destruction either, and the first track proves that. "'Bloodbath and Beyond' is almost like a hardcore song. It could've been an AGNOSTIC FRONT song. From the first note, you know it's on. The beating starts at the beginning. There's no intro. The vocals, guitars and everything hit you at once," Max explains.

A really special collaboration also happened with Max's sons. As B-sides, SOULFLY re-recorded SEPULTURA classic "Refuse/Resist" with Zyon Cavalera and EXCEL's "Your Life, My Life" with Igor Cavalera (his son, not his brother!) "It was cool to record the B-sides with my kids. Zyon's heartbeat actually opens the original SEPULTURA record, 'Chaos A.D.' Now he got to record the song with me! Igor plays on an EXCEL cover that he picked. We always have my family involved on the albums, and this just takes it to the next level," he said.

Continuing another legacy, Max takes listeners into different territory again on "Soulfly 7". He continues, "This 'Soulfly' song came out really easily. I love what Marc did. It's almost like JIMI HENDRIX-meets-U2-meets-THE-POLICE. It stands out from the rest of the record because it's so clean. Everything else is really heavy and distorted. This has really clean guitars so it jumps out at you." It's another heavy psychedelic journey that's both spiritual and strangely soothing.

Marc's six-string experimentation also led to a unique solo on "Rise of the Fallen" and a pensive acoustic outro on "Mega-Doom". Max lauds him saying, "Marc is such an exciting guitar player. He blew me away again. Marc came up with crazy, electronic sounds. He makes the guitar sound like a computer or a cell phone. It's a bit influenced by RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. The album is split between those noises and some incredible melodic solos. Marc really outdid himself on 'Omen'."

All around, "Omen" functions as portent for SOULFLY's future by drawing upon their past. "This is SOULFLY's seventh album. With SEPULTURA, I only did six albums. SOULFLY survived the times. It survived the crisis. After it took off with the first record, I never stopped or looked back. I just kept going. We're going to the future with 'Omen'. Metal is still alive and kicking. Because you get older, it doesn't mean you need to get boring. The older I get, the more psycho I get. The albums get heavier and more aggressive. That's the message of 'Omen'. Music is all I know how to do. It's all I like to do. This album just reaffirms that I can keep rocking."