With nu-metal on the fast decline, it should probably come as no surprise that the mainstream metal media -- once the main protagonists in the deluge of scorn heaped upon a post-Max Sepultura -- have suddenly transformed into a bootlicking collective all touting the return of Brazil's finest. The irony in this is that _Roorback_ does not differ all that much from either of its two predecessors, albeit for a marginal increase in heaviness. Truth be told, just about any track on the band's latest effort would rest quite comfortably among anything found on _Nation_. This observation aside, _Roorback_ is undoubtedly a fine record, and one which easily takes a lengthy piss on anything Soulfly has ever had their logo slapped on. "Come Back Alive" opens the album with a decidedly hardcore slant, while the thick, chugging grooves of "Godless" prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Igor Cavalera remains one of the finest and most inventive drummers in modern-day metal. "Apes of God" is Derrick Green's finest moment vocally, while "Urge" sounds like the precursor to a full-scale riot. "Bottomed Out" on the other hand, clearly hurts the disc's intense momentum and at times almost sounds like a bluesed-out joke, before leading into the vicious "Activist" -- a track you know will lead to no small amount of venue destruction when the Seps hit the road this year. After three albums with the new line-up, it's clear that Sepultura will never again be the band who recorded _Arise_ or _Beneath the Remains_, but even so, _Roorback_ is a largely entertaining effort, and definitely one of the best straight metal releases of 2003 so far.