Kingcrimsonprog Soulfly’s third album, entitled 3, finds the band in a transitional period and treading a line between their earlier Nu Metal era material and their later more thrash influenced music.

3 came out in 2002 and featured Roy Mayorga back on the drums after a one album absence. The album is also full of guest appearances; from non-famous Brazilian musicians to Ill Nino’s singer Cristian Machado and half of Sacred Reich on a bizarre reworking of their classic thrash metal song, ‘One Nation.’

In addition to the metal sections, 3 is full of the world music influences that Soulfly are famous for and most songs feature at least some jam on light music with additional percussion instruments, perhaps more so than any other Soulfly album. This will be a boon to some listeners and annoying to others.

Overall, The album starts strongly enough with ‘Downstroy,’ ‘Seek N Strike,’ and ‘Enter Faith,’ as well as the concert favourite ‘L.O.T.M,’ but as a whole the album is a bit patchy and doesn’t hold the same quality it began with all the way through. The album is far from terrible, but at the same time you may want to try before you buy, just to make sure this album is for you.

In conclusion, 3 by Soulfly is a decent album that Soulfly fans may wish to try out if they are interested in the band, but it isn’t the greatest thing the band have ever done.