Cavalera Conspiracy - Schizophrenia (2024)^{Release ID: 52843}

I have to admit that the trend to re-record previously released material with modern-day technology is not one that I'm particularly fond of. Rarely does it see the desired results being achieved by bringing something fresh & different to an album that's generally already got its own loyal following so the idea of the Cavalera brothers having another crack at Sepultura's highly regarded 1987 sophomore album "Schizophrenia" wasn't one that immediately filled me with anticipation. Their recent re-recordings of Sepultura's more primitive earlier releases "Bestial Devastation" & "Morbid Visions" had certainly been reasonably successful but "Schizophrenia" was a much more sophisticated record & I struggled to see a reason to want to give it a new coat of paint when the old one was still in pretty good nick. You see, I've always been a big fan of the original version of "Schizophrenia". I picked it up on cassette when I was still a youngster, shortly after becoming completely infatuated with Sepultura's classic 1989 "Beneath the Remains" album. It was an immediate hit in my household & has received many revisits over the years so I can't say that I wasn't pleased that Ben gave me a reason to investigate the revitalized version by nominating it as this month's "The Pit" clan feature release. I just wasn't expecting to be wowed in the process.

The band that the Cavalera brothers assembled for the task is a little different to the one they went with for their previous re-recorded efforts. Max's son Igor Cavalera Jr. (Go Ahead & Die) is still there on bass guitar but the lead guitar slot that was previously being filled by Gruesome/Possessed/Proscriptor McGovern's Apsû axeman Daniel Gonzalez is now being owned by Igor Jr.'s former Healing Magic & Lody Kong bandmate Travis Stone (Noisem/Pig Destroyer) on this occasion. I have to say that I haven't been majorly impressed with Stone's work here though as he lacks the polish of the very capable Andreas Kisser which leaves the guitar solos seeming like less of an emphatic statement than they were on the original.

So... how is the production job that is largely the reason for conducting this exercise in the first place then? Weeeellll... it certainly sounds a lot cleaner, brighter & more in your face than the original did but it's not without its issues either. The drenching of Max's vocals & Igor's toms in reverb was a strange decision & does tend to annoy me a little if I'm being honest. I'd suggest that Max's vocals simply aren't as strong any more so the decision was made to hide his deficiencies a little through studio trickery but it hasn't really worked because it's still as plain as day if you ask me & I much prefer his gruntier contribution on the original version. That's not to say that I get nothing out of this glossier model though because that's not the reality at all. As most people will probably do as some point, I decided to whack on the 1987 version immediately after my third spin of the revamped one in order to see the differences & they were far more stark than I realised previously. In fact, the original version sounds a lot like a demo recording in that context & I was surprised by just how deficient it appeared to be in retrospect because I've never had too much of a problem with it in the past. Perhaps there was a good reason that Cavalera's decided to give another crack after all then.

The tracklisting is unsurprisingly impeccable with no weak numbers being included. Opener "From the Past Comes the Storms" is still my pick of the bunch but I feel that the lengthy instrumental "Inquisition Symphony" also really shines here & gives it a run for its money. "To The Wall", "Escape to the Void" & "Septic Schizo" are perhaps not quite as classic in this environment as I remember them being back in the day which is interesting. The two intros/interludes have been recreated in slightly different forms but I wouldn't say that either are as effective as they once were so perhaps they would have been off simply remastering the originals. The inclusion of an Igor Jr. penned new original in "Nightmares of Delirium" is probably the most significant point of interest here but I'd suggest that it's also the weaker of the proper metal songs on offer, even if it's still worth a few listens. So overall we have more losses than wins but it's nothing drastic as the album is still highly entertaining, mainly because "Schizophrenia" is a total riff-fest & nothing has changed there.

Was it really worth the effort to re-record this old classic? Perhaps. I mean it certainly contains more energy & vitality than the original mix did but I'd have to argue that I still enjoy the 1987 version a little more. I can't deny that I had a good ol' headbang to this one on the way to & from work on Friday though as this is some pretty premium thrash metal after all. It's probably not terribly essential if you already own a copy of Sepultura's version from back in the day though. Let sleeping dogs lie I say. So, why have I awarded the release such a good score you may ask? Well, I choose to treat every release on its own merit when creating reviews & this is still a fine example of South American thrash in my opinion so it'd be inaccurate for me to suggest otherwise with a reduced rating simply because I like it a touch less than Sepultura's version.

For fans of Sepultura, Slayer & Sodom.

My initial reservations around the rerecording of an already perfectly serviceable thrash metal record were unfounded I am happy to declare having listened through Schizophrenia 2024 a couple of times.  Whilst I am still dubious as to the overall benefit (I mean the original needs no obvious enhancement, unlike say a Breeding the Spawn by Suffocation would do), the Cavalera family have not butchered this album thankfully.  Whilst they can do nothing about the inconsistent tracklisting they had to play with they have made obvious improvements on the production and performance aspects of the record.

That hi-octane energy level sounds just as fresh as it did with a bunch of youngsters thrashing their brains out some near four decades earlier.  The twin guitar attack make for chunky yet still slightly muffled at times sounding riffs that do seem to get a little murky (To the Wall) and I think Igor is sold a little short this time around in the mix also (albeit inconsistently - other times he sounds firmly front and centre).  Ultimately though I find I want to listen to Schizophrenia 2024 the whole way through each time as it is still a feel good thrash metal record and I have to admit that my attention span for this record has proven far more expansive than I originally expected.

Some of this is down to the interesting lead work of Travis "Eviscerator" Stone, with the Pig Destroyer bassist showing he knows his way around more than just four strings (he also plays guitars for Noisem of course) with a level of skill and aptitude.  Is he comparable with Andeas Kisser who was 19 when the original album was released?  Well, no.  However, that's the point really.  Travis as a much more experienced guitarist coming into rerecord the album obviously adds a different perespective.  The addition of a third member of the Cavalera family this time around with Max's son Igor Cavalera Jr plodding along (somewhere in the mix) in here shows the Cavalera brand is in good hands in the future.

Is it entertaining?  Yes.

Is it needed?  No.

It will probably not come as a surprise, but Sepultura were never among the "elite" thrash bands when I was making my way through the classic discography of the genre. I never thought that they were a bad group, but the heavier, almost death metal take on thrash metal was still a very niche point in my young years. But when the band moved away from the more traditional thrash sound to something more groovy on Chaos A.D. I could not help but be intrigued and I have found a new found appreciation for this band and their early output in recent years.

A lot of that has to do with Cavalera. The re-recordings of Sepultura's first two releases, Bestial Devastation and Morbid Visions, was such a good idea since it took the two most underutilized Sepultura albums, gave them a modern facelift, while some crazy people even replaced their Sepultura recordings with the Cavelera ones! And so, I was perplexed as to why Schizophrenia was getting the modern touch up, since Schizophrenia is generally considered as the first great record that carried on through Chaos A.D. But whatever, here it is: Schizophrenia is a solid piece of nostalgia farming. It's hard to critique the music itself since all of these songs are over thirty years old at this point.

So what's new here? Well the production first and foremost. It has some real grit and feels intense, coalesced by the percussion of Igor Cavalera. They can be overwhelming at times, most notably in the flat footedness of the bass drum, but their intensity is impeccable and carries over to the crunchy guitars, which are open and have much more room than their original recording counterparts. I would have liked to hear a little bit more emphasis on the bass, but for this type of double guitar thrash, I can't say that I'm surprised. I still don't like it since the instrumentals feel one note in their execution. 

That just leaves the vocals and for what they are worth, they give a sense of "modern nostalgia." Early reviews like to criticize Schizophrenia for its liberal use of reverb, but I don't think it's as bad as those reviewers make it out to be. Early thrash metal vocals are notorious for having excessive reverb (Slayer's Show No Mercy, Metallica's Ride The Lightning, Testament's The Legacy), and in the modern day where death metal is so prim and proper with pin point execution of cut offs and unison technical proficiency, the laid back nature of the vocals is refreshing.

It leaves this review feeling a little light on content, but that is what happens when a band re-records their old material. Nothing here is new beyond bringing a classic album into the modern age of thrash metal. I still like it, but as mentioned earlier, I don't think that this album needed a modern facelift. To be honest, I'm a little bit worried if Cavalera continue in this vein in the future with albums like Beneath the Remains and Chaos A.D. coming into view. I can't see fans, or myself, taking those seriously.

Best Songs: From the Past Comes the Storms, Escape to the Void, Septic Schizo, R.I.P (Rest in Pain)