"Back to the Primitive" is a
heavy metal song by
Soulfly, released in 2000. The song, composed by
Max Cavalera, is played as the first track of the second Soulfly album, Primitive.
Music and lyrics
The song features simple downtuned riffs, plus tribal drumming and blabbering; it also plays
berimbau to begin the song. Lyrically, this political song is about demoting national government back to local tribal society.[1] Every choruses begin with 'Back to the Primitive', except for the first line of lyric Um, dois, treis, quatro ("one, two, three, four" in Portuguese) to begin the song, and verses containing just "primitive" per line.[2]
Music video
The song begins with a berimbau, but it is not the case for the accompanying music video. Instead, the intro plays tribal percussion with 'Soulfly' chants alternately by Cavalera and spectators; the berimbau is shown, but not heard. The drumming intro lasts 29 seconds, compared to just 23 seconds for the berimbau intro. Interspersed in the video are religious imagery and people of different cultures while the band performs the song in front of an audience. At the end of the video,
Ozzy Osbourne makes a cameo by saying "Primitive!" into the camera.[3]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by
Max Cavalera except where noted; all music is composed by
Max Cavalera
