Soulfly / United States Totem Tour 2023 / Rockhouse Dive Bar Kitchen Venue / El Paso, Texas / 29 January 23

I couldn’t think of a better way to start off the new year by covering Soulfly last Sunday night, truth be told, Max Cavalera is no stranger to West Texas, I have had the honor of photographing him multiple times over the years with Soulfly as well as Cavalera and Cavalera Conspiracy and with the release of Totem last August, El Paso makes the fifth stop on this 57 date tour which started in Tucson on 25 January and ends on 1 April in Tempe Az, so check those tour dates, I promise, you don’t want to miss this epic event.

To their credit, 12 releases in 22 years and certainly no stranger to touring, they have supported major acts to the likes of Static X, Slayer and Pantera and have headlined festivals worldwide since 2004 with their unmistakable style of Nu/Thrash/Groove/Death Metal music with a Brazilian spin to it.

I will add that a Soulfly tour is a family outing if you will, all the Cavaleras are in attendance, Igor, Zion, Richie, the three sons and of course Gloria, Max’s wife, this is the case every time I have seen them, needless to say, a close-knit family and in my opinion, that’s pretty cool.

Half Heard Voices and Body Box were the supporting acts that were touring with Soulfly, Half Heard Voices really stood out for me, not to say Body Box was anything less, both bands were equally entertaining, but I think that because this was the very first time out on tour for Half Heard Voices is what caught my attention, they asked for the photos of their performance and their request was full of glee and excitement to a level I hadn’t seen in a while, super nice guys and of course, they got their photos two days after the show.

Also, on this evening’s card were two locals, that had been battling for the past four weeks in a Battle of the Bands as to who would be the honored local support on the fine evening, as fate would have it, we have two winners, Hellslain and Among the Living. I personally favor one or two locals here in El Paso and Among the Living is absolutely one of them, the band consist of David Hernandez- Vocals / Johnny Torres – Percussion / Humberto Delgado Jr. – Bass / Justin Lorusso – Guitar / Angel Rodriguez – Guitar / Caleb Calderon – Guitar. These guys are fun to watch, all over the stage, jumping in the crowd as well as the pit and what really stands out for me is the Corey Taylor spin to the way Dave sings, truly gifted is an understatement, I couldn’t think of two better locals in support of this metal madness show we were about to experience.

Soulfly hit the stage at 10:05, right on time, the TM makes sure of that, I’ve worked with him in the past, he’s all business. Max took his place on stage and started a barrage of insane riffs and cords that still has my hair blown back, songs like Filth upon Filth, Ritual and of course the crowd favorite, Refuse/Resist had this packed house in a crazed madding circle pit of desire, it’s always a pleasure to see so many people having a great time as they do of shows of this caliber, for me, I’m good on this side of the barricade, knock yourself out, no pun intended.

All in all, fantastic night of great music, all five bands were hitting on all eight cylinders, which sometimes is rare, not the case that night, good times were had by all, and you too can do the same, Soulfly is coming to a town or city near you, check those dates, buy the ticket and take the ride, you won’t be sorry.