Live Review: Soulfly w/Nailbomb and Dosed at the Engine Rooms in Southampton!

The highly anticipated Tribal Technology tour brings not one but two Max Cavalera projects to Europe which is why the south coast is alive with the screams of the innocent subjected to their torturous sounds. The bands flew in from France just yesterday to start the United Kingdom leg of the run at a sold out Engine Rooms in Southampton, the warehouse conversion not only the perfect aesthetic for the industrial elements of the Nailbomb sound but also a sweatbox at the start of September.

It’s amazing what you can achieve when you take a chance ain’t it? In a moment of pure hit and hope, the story goes that Newport South Wales Metallic Hardcore crew Dosed [7/10] saw that Nailbomb and Soulfly were going to be on tour and cheekily asked them if they could open for them. After a conversation their wish came true, just like that. A tattoed five piece wearing Megadeth and Entombed t-shirts, they blaze through a set with moments of Thrash and Punk buried in them, their vocalist setting the world to rights with plenty of bark and bite. From blistering riffs to funky bass and pounding percussion they get the heads banging, commanding circle pits and two steppers all along the way. June saw them drop EP “No Signal” and on tonight’s evidence alone it’s not one to sleep on.

There was a time when the opportunity to witness the Industrial Metal madness of Nailbomb [10/10] seemed like an impossible dream… but having witnessed the second incarnation of Max Cavalera’s project resurrected thirty one years after 1994’s “Point Blank” at Bloodstock Open Air Festival in 2025, a second opportunity wasn’t ever going to be one to be passed up because who knows when the chance will come around again, if ever? The truth is that the world is just as fucked up now as it was in 1994 with wars, corruption, racism and all the rest, which is why these songs resonate as much now as they did back then. Against the backdrop of a digital screen showing propaganda filled news headlines, nuclear explosions from space and bombs galore the six piece annihilate the crowd with their non stop onslaught. Adam Jarvis (Pig Destroyer, Misery Index, Scour) is a beast gracing the drum stool while bassist Jackie Cruz (Go Ahead and Die, Jade Helm) provides the low end rumble and sampler Alex Cha (Pig Destroyer) is a head banging sweaty mess throughout. There are also three guitarists with Travis Stone (Pig Destroyer, Desolus) playing the leads and vocalist duo Igor Amadeus Cavalera and of course Max Cavalera inflicting maximum cranial damage. The contrast between Igor’s shriller harsh uncleans and Max’s deeper death growls is key and it has to be said that the elder statesman has not lost any of his prowess. From “Wasting Away” to “Sick Life” via “Cockroaches” and “24 Hour Bullshit” band don’t miss a beat, inciting crowd surfers and mosh pits without even asking. They sound as potent as ever, the tracks resurrected with a lethal dose of adrenaline to the point that you might find yourself asking: Who wouldn’t love this line up to make a new album together? Anything is possible in their all powerful minds. Nailbomb are legendary and time has not forgotten them.

Joining Max Cavalera on stage in Soulfly [10/10] are lead guitarist Mike DeLeon (Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals), bassist and backing vocalist Chase Bryant and drummer Zyon Cavalera, the quartet threatening to tear the roof off the venue with a performance that finds them fired up in every sense of the phrase. A potent rendition of “Back to the Primitive” gets the crowd jumping from the very start and feet barely touch the floor as old school cuts like “No Hope = No Fear“, “Fire” and “Downstroy” get hammered out, the band barely pausing for breath between them. Soulfly have always relied upon a collection of tunes from their first couple of albums and that hasn’t changed, their set list when we witnessed them on the “Totem” tour more like a 30th Anniversary of their self titled debut. Not that any of that is the fans those songs have stood the test of time, the Tribal Metal sounds bolstered by Zyon who is arguably not only the best drummer the band have had but also in for form of his life. The title track of the new album “Chama” as well as “No Pain = No Power” make the set list tonight as does “I and I” from the “Dark Ages” album as the quartet get everyone singing, screaming, bouncing, crowd surfing and clapping throughout… because their ain’t no party like a Soulfly party. The best part is that these renditions aren’t perfect, they’re live, warts and all, fast, energetic and see the band moshing just as hard as the crowd. A first verse and chorus of “Storm the Gates“, “Head Up” and “Jumpdafuckup” serves as the first half of an almighty encore, the set finished in style with a rousing rendition of “Eye for an Eye“. It doesn’t get much better than this.