Cavalera Conspiracy released Psychosis on November 17, 2017, through Napalm Records. Produced by Arthur Rizk, their fourth studio album found brothers Max and Iggor Cavalera revisiting the death metal and thrash of their early work together. Its nine tracks, including “Spectral War,” also made room for electronic noise and a guest appearance by Godflesh’s Justin Broadrick.
Max had a specific starting point: the blend of death metal and thrash on Sepultura’s Beneath the Remains and Arise. He told Loudwire in 2017 that he spent about a month developing riffs, then paid close attention to tempo changes and the details within each song. Rizk had already made an impression while working as Iggor’s drum technician on the brothers’ Roots tour. Hearing the producer’s other recordings convinced Max that he could help them pursue that direction. Rizk also played bass on Psychosis.
Those riffs pushed Iggor to rethink his parts. Speaking to Metal Kaoz, he described collecting ideas with Max and turning them into songs in the studio, where they could decide which pieces belonged together. He had taken a more minimal approach on earlier Cavalera Conspiracy records; this material called for more drum rolls and changes of time. Max told Distorted Sound that Rizk encouraged Iggor to use rototoms again, recalling the drums he had played on Schizophrenia. He also described “Impalement Execution” as a succession of six thrash riffs, a concrete example of the more elaborate arrangements they wanted. The vocals could pull in another direction. In a 2018 Outburn interview, Max recalled Rizk’s enthusiasm for the unruly phrasing on the brothers’ early records. “It went against the riffs and drums,” Max said of that approach. They deliberately returned to it on “Insane” and “Judas Pariah,” allowing the voice to move independently of the instruments. Reconnecting with the older records involved recovering that looseness as well as writing the right kind of riff.
Iggor’s interests outside metal helped shape what happened between the songs. His work in electronic music had given him experience he wanted to apply to the album, he explained to Metal Kaoz. Noise artist Dominick Fernow, known as Prurient, contributed electronics, while the band used feedback, samples and atmospheric passages to connect the tracks. Max described the goal as an album without silent gaps. The spaces between the riffs became part of the arrangement.
“Hellfire” made the industrial influence especially direct. Max recalled that he and Iggor had been struck by Godflesh’s Streetcleaner and wanted Broadrick involved as fellow fans. They began working on the song before he had agreed to appear, leaving a real possibility that their intended collaborator might decline. Iggor contacted him by email, and Broadrick accepted. Making room for that voice meant reshaping the instruments around it. Max explained to Outburn that he asked Rizk to process his guitar until it sounded almost synthesized. Iggor played acoustic drums, but delays and overdubs changed their character. Rizk’s processing turned Max’s guitar and Iggor’s drum performance into the track’s industrial foundation.
