In the butterfly effect, it is said that even the flutter of the wings of a butterfly can cause a hurricane on the other side of the world. That hurricane may very well be Max Cavalera. Few artists enjoy the sort of popularity Cavalera does. This force of nature, Massimiliano Antonio Cavalera is his birth right, first saw the light of day in the year of 1969 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. From a tender age, he and his brother, Igor, discovered the classics and got hungry for more. Luckily for us, they did. In the now faraway year of 1984 they dug a grave which so many people have dug deep within their minds: Sepultura. From these highly acclaimed legends, much revered as one of the household names for metal in the 1980’s – 1990’s, came classics such as “Inner Self”, “Arise”, “Refuse/Resist” and, perhaps the most popular of all, “Roots Bloody Roots”. Why Max’s kingdom in Sepultura came to an abrupt end, we shall not dwell into. Let’s just say it happened and get on with it – 1997 arrived and, with it, Soulfly. Forged within the mines inside Max’s mind, this project was his second born, but not with a lesser degree of greatness.
Currently touring in support of 20th Anniversary of “Roots” album, Metal Wani’s Matt Mills had a chat with Legendary MAX CAVALERA of Soulfly, Ex-Sepultura and Cavalera Conspiracy at O2 Forum, London. He discusses the recently concluded North American and currently ongoing European Tour, why “Roots” is an important record in the history of heavy metal, the upcoming Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy album and more. Below are couple of excerpts from the Interview:
What is it about Roots in particular that makes fans drawn to it?
“What I like about Roots was that it was a pioneer record. It was an album that took risks. Every time you do a record like that, you’re putting yourself on the line. You’re not repeating something that already worked: that’s very easy to do. Make a record, then make something similar, and you can reap the benefits of that. But do something different that you’ve not done before and succeed, that’s very hard. Roots was an innovative album. It shows new ways to make metal. But it’s still very heavy at its core. I think the core of Roots – ‘Spit’, ‘Cut-Throat’, ‘Straighthate’, ‘Roots Bloody Roots’, ‘Attitude’, ‘Ratamahatta’, the classics – is that it is a journey album. you need to hear the whole thing, all the way through. It’s a bit of a lost art form these days: people don’t have the patience to listen to whole records.”
How far are you with the new Soulfly album?
“I’m building the riffs right now. I think it’s gonna be good; a very interesting record. I’m listening to a variety of stuff right now, all the way from Nails to some more brutal stuff like Abbath and Watain. I think it’s gonna be cool. It’s gonna be a ‘I don’t give a fuck’ record: I don’t give a fuck what’s popular, I just want to do what I love. Those are the ones that work, where you don’t give a shit what people are liking and do what you like [and] what you think you should do. That’s the attitude I’ll have going into Soulfly.”
Stream The Entire Interview Below: