Retirement is not an option for this man: with a new SOULFLY album in the pipeline, NAILBOMB shows on the calendar and CAVALERA (CONSPIRACY), GO AHEAD AND DIE and KILLER BE KILLED in the back of his mind, Max Cavalera is busier than ever before. In this interview, he reveals why he is relaxed about the future anyway and under what circumstances new music can be expected from these projects.
In December 2024 you announced that there will be new SOULFLY music in 2025 so … what’s the status here?
It’s coming man. It’s coming! (laughs) I’m really excited. I’m excited about this tour, because I feel like this tour is the beginning of the new record, promotion and everything. In fact, we are going to try to play one or two songs of the new record. As I speak to you, we’re still working on some of the songs, but I feel very good, man. I think this record captures the very essence of SOULFLY which is Metal with positive, you know? The positive metal of SOULFLY. It’s very heavy grooves and a lot of tribal beats, mixed with some really cool hooks and lyrics. It’s angry, but not just angry. It’s angry, but also trying to understand: Why are you angry? And it tries to find a solution and to make something positive out of the situation. That is what SOULFLY has always been about, from the beginning. We are bringing metal and positive together in this thing. It’s a new thing. From the beginning, SOULFLY was different from what I did before, and this record is going to capture the real spirit of SOULFLY.
That sounds interesting, especially since the grooves and tribal elements were not very prominent anymore on the last couple of records, when SOULFLY turned more into being a thrash metal band. So, will it musicwise, go back to the roots? More nu or groove metal, more world music influences?
Yeah, I went back in the state of mind of the first and second record. Those records are very intriguing to me because they are heavy as balls, but the groove is incredible in it. It’s like deep-rooted heavy grooves and I love that. Even though I don’t feel that the new SOULFLY record is a nu metal record. It’s just a SOULFLY record! Yes, it has elements from that era, but also together with modern metal right now, a lot of the heavier stuff that inspires me. So I’m bringing both worlds together, the beginning of SOULFLY and where we are right now in metal music. It feels very exciting to me because there are a lot of cool things happening in heavy music.
“Fuck that! Let’s go back to the original metal spirit!”
SOULFLY is doing a lot of festivals in Europe this summer, and you get to share the stage with many bands. It’s cool to play with Metallica, but you also play with 200 Stab Wounds and you also play with Slipknot and you play with Kublai Khan. All these worlds are coming together, and what makes SOULFLY cool to me is actually the imperfection. For many years I tried to make SOULFLY perfect and professional and one day I just say: fuck it! No! I’m going to embrace that we are not perfect and maybe even kind of punk in a way and I feel that because of that SOULFLY is more human, actually. Because we are embracing human elements like fuck-ups and not playing totally perfect but very inspired by the magic of the moment. So to me, it’s more powerful to be in touch with the moment than to be totally professional in every detail. Fuck that! Let’s go back to the original metal spirit!
I love that approach, and I also really appreciate that you seem to be very much into the next generation of metal bands. A lot of musicians who are active in the scene for a long time are not listening to any new releases or don’t go to see any young bands anymore because they completely lost the connection to everything that came after them. It seems to be quite different for you. So which bands are the most interesting ones for you at the moment?
Right now, listen to many different bands. On the heavier side of things I like stuff like Mongrel and Orthodox or in a little bit more melodic side Unto Others – a band that really grabbed my curiosity, Zeal & Ardor as well … and I still love all the heavy stuff: We tour with Necrot and Dead Heat, we do shows all the time with 200 Stab Wounds and Body Box … this new death metal generation. I like a lot of them – I’m kind of like the weird uncle or grandfather of these guys. (laughs) And it’s funny and cool, because they love the works of the past, they worship all that stuff, including early SOULFLY! Many of them really love the first record and „Primitive“. And to me, it’s fun to be involved with new music being made right now. I still love the classics, of course, but I don’t want to get just stuck in the past, I like to share my enthusiasm of the new stuff as well.
That’s really cool! What also was very characteristic for SOULFLY in the past were all the collaborations you did with other musicians, contributing some guest vocals or guitar tracks. Will there be some on the new record as well?
I hope so, I’m crossing my fingers now! We are trying right now to get that done and see who can be part of this new record. But yeah, I think it’s like a trademark of SOULFLY: Every record had some kind of guest, from Cory Taylor all the way to Sean Lennon all the way to Todd Jones from Nails … it’s all together! I don’t judge like who is cooler or who’s better? It’s all shit that I love! And I love to share my music with other musicians. So yeah, we don’t know who yet, but we will have some guests on the new SOULFLY.0
“With this record, it’s a bit of a chaos situation …”
How does your schedule for this release look like in general?
We don’t have a name yet, but I think we’re trying to release it in October. So we use the European tour to try out some of the songs live. Some of the material is already recorded. With this record, it’s a bit of a chaos situation because I keep going on tour: I record a little bit – I go on tour – I come back and record a little more – I go on tour … so it’s a long process. It’s been going since last year. But I think that’s what’s going to make the record special to me, that it was not all done at one place at one time. It’s actually many different sessions. And because of that, I think it’s going to have a lot of different character in the record.
Will Igor-Amadeus play the bass on the album, as Mike left the band recently?
Yeah, he will play a lot of the bass, which is really cool to me as a father, having both of my kids there. That is an incredible experience. We’re also still going back and forth with Artur Rizk, the producer. Artur has been doing great stuff, winning the “album of the year” with Blood Incantation was incredible. I love all the work that he does. He knows so much of the underground, it’s incredible to work with somebody so knowledgeable. And he gets the best of me, you know, he really puts me in the fire. He wants the best version of Max. He doesn’t settle for “Mediocre Max”, you know. (laughs)
So he’s doing the producer job for the album again?
Yes. Zyon is also organizing a lot of the production ideas, together with Arthur. That’s a cool combination. So there’s a couple real cool new things going on in this record. I’m excited man! I think it’s cool! And I love that we got this tour that we can actually play some of the shit before the album comes out. I remember when I did the first SOULFLY tour, and I got to play the song “Primitive” – because that song was originally going to be recorded on the first SOULFLY album … I just ran out of time, there were too many songs, and I was like, I don’t need another song, there’s too many already! But the song was already finished, so what I did is that when I went on tour I played “Primitive” for like a year before the record was made and that was cool. So hopefully it’s going to be a similar situation, when we get to play some new stuff now in June, July and August, and then the record comes out in October.
“When I made that record, we were angry.
But now we are 10 times more angry. “
A tight schedule – especially considering that you have many other irons in the fire besides SOULFLY: NAILBOMB are now playing some shows completely unexpectedly. What prompted you to reactivate this band?
It’s too good to let it sleep away! (laughs) It’s such a cool record, it’s a cult record for many fans. Even guys in other bands tell me about how much they love this album. We use the idea of the “live line-up” from when we did the live record, “Proud To Commit Commercial Suicide”, which is using a bunch of different musicians. And so we are doing this again in Europe in August, we are playing at Wacken and many very cool festivals. I think it’s cool because it’s the right amount of music for like an hour. It’s perfect for a festival set. And it’s very, very good for right now, for the world that we are in. The songs fit perfect. When I made that record, we were angry. But now we are 10 times more angry. And the songs speak to the world now better than they did in 1995 …
Which is sad, but definitely true …
It sucks! But it’s the reality of it. But the songs itself are going to be massive, it’s going to be heavy. And I’m really looking forward to getting to do this, bring this album back from the dead, to a whole new generation, actually. There’s a whole new generation of fans that never saw NAILBOMB, and they get to see it now live. So that’s pretty cool!
Back in the days, you started the project out with Alex Newport. Was it an option for you, or did you even ask him if he wants to join the new lineup as well?
We did ask, but he was too happy to fall back into the chaos of NAILBOMB. (laughs)
“You got to be pissed to sing that stuff.”
So he didn’t want to join for the new version?
You know, “Point Blank” is an angry fucking record, man. That record is angry, and you got to be pissed to sing that stuff. The cool thing is that he gave the blessing, you know, he’s like, I don’t want to do it, but dude, go ahead and do it. Have fun with it. I’m happy that you’re playing the record, because it’s such a cool record. So have fun with this album! And we are also doing some cover songs that should surprise some people. I will not tell you what it is. Surprise! You have to wait for the festivals.
But it’s only a tribute-live-thing, so you’re not planning to do any new music as NAILBOMB in the future?
If I could convince Alex to make a new record: Yes. With him, I would make a new album. Without him, it doesn’t feel totally right. I think to play live is a different situation: The songs are all made, and we just get to play them. To create new music … actually I have too much on my plate right now as well, with SOULFLY, GO AHEAD AND DIE, KILLER BE KILLED … if I add NAILBOMB, my head’s going to explode. It’s OK, we don’t need to make new music. It’s OK.
I bet some fans would disagree with that … many people would love to hear another record of NAILBOMB as well, I guess.
I would like to hear one as well, but I can’t force Alex to do it. Both of us have to be like, OK, cool, let’s do it – or don’t. So we’re just going to see. Just let life happen.
So at least chances are not zero …
No, no, never, never! (laughs)
“Next year, it’s a cool year to make
some KILLER BE KILLED noise.”
You just mentioned KILLER BE KILLED, so let’s just jump on that train. Is there new music in the making, or will you maybe also play in Europe at some point?
The guys are very active at the moment, with Greg [Puciato] doing Better Lovers, and Troy [Sanders] of course is always busy with Mastodon. I mean, eventually we’re going to. Next year, it’s a cool year to make some KILLER BE KILLED noise. We are already going to have the new SOULFLY album out, I will be done with the NAILBOMB live shows, and we can probably work on our third record, which is many years since the second one, “Reluctant Hero”. I believe we can make a special third record, a very, very cool third album, and create some new stuff with all the different influences that you can bring to the table. I’m always in contact, especially with Greg, he is a good friend. We started the project together! At first, it was just me and him making demos and stuff. So it’s cool that me and him are staying in super contact, always talking to each other. So yeah, I think next year should be a good time for KILLER BE KILLED, hopefully to do some stuff.
You never played in Europe with KILLER BE KILLED so far … maybe that would be a good starting point …
We didn’t even play here … we only played Australia! Australia is the only place that got to see KILLER BE KILLED live. We didn’t go anywhere. (laughs)
“All the pissed off teenage Max that never grew up
is in GO AHAD AND DIE.”
What about GO AHEAD AND DIE? You haven’t been in Europe with this band as well so far … another point for your to-do list!
We had this thing in Arizona, called “Max Cavalera Dynasty Show”. It was NAILBOMB, SOULFLY and GO AHEAD AND DIE. So I played three shows in one night! But it was cool. It was packed! I’d love to bring something like that to Europe in some form. Maybe a couple of German shows, a couple of England shows, a couple of French shows. With this kind of format, with some other bands that we like or are a part of the Cavalera family tree. Something like that would be cool. I love GO AHEAD AND DIE. I think it’s one of the most abrasive things. It’s definitely the one thing that I give zero fucks about who likes it or doesn’t like it. All the pissed off teenage Max that never grew up is in GO AHAD AND DIE. He refused to grow up! Hopefully we’ll bring that to Europe sometime in the future.
There is still another project of yours we did not talk about yet, CAVALERA … or CAVALERA CONSPIRACY? I’m not even sure if it is the same band or two different projects? Maybe you can resolve this mistery now?
It’s a mystery to me as well. (laughs) Well, I think CAVALERA is nowadays playing more of the old stuff. We just did the Sonic Temple Festival with Metallica, we did a whole American tour, “Third World Trilogy”. Now we are entering the “Chaos A.D.” phase, which is very exciting: I think “Chaos A.D.” is a special record because of many reasons. It’s a hugely influential record for many, many musicians. Including the Slipknot guys, Gojira, Deftones, Korn. They all love „Chaos A.D.“. It is really a magical record. To play the entire record is going to be fantastic. We are doing one show with Slayer, one show with Lamb of God in September. And then hopefully Europe. It’s too bad we can’t just bring all of that to Europe together.
When you are saying that you are in the “Chaos A.D.” phase: Are you also planning to do a remake of that album, as you did with its predecessors?
Not at the moment, no. Right now, we are just playing it live, which is great. A lot of those songs we never played live before. Stuff like “Manifest”, “Clenched Fist”, “Amen” are very obscure. “We Who Are Not As Others” … it’s such a strange record! “Chaos A.D.” is very strange. You have all these instrumental songs, like “Kaiowas” … also “We Who Are Not As Others” is pretty much instrumental. It’s a strange fucking record. But it’s really cool! And you have all the hits: “Territoriy”, “Slave New World”, “Refuse/Resist”. I think it’s going to be cool! Hopefully we get to record something live, I think that would be even better than re-recording the album. If we do one special show, let’s say Red Rocks or something. You can record it and make a DVD special live record of the occasion.
“It was like grabbing an old car and
putting a brand-new motor in it.”
Good idea! And after that, you will go to “Roots” as well. Will there be a “Roots” tribute tour in 2027?
We can always do that. We already did some of that. I’m just going to let it happen naturally. It was really fun to record the first three records. I love that. And I think most people like the re-recordings a lot. It was like grabbing an old car and putting a brand-new motor in it. And you have this old shit car with an amazing engine. A lot of people don’t like the idea of re-recordings, but they loved what we did with those three records. That was a lot of fun to record and tour with. We’re just going to let it play naturally. There’s a lot of stuff going on. Right now, I’m very much into SOULFLY mode. My head right now is all about finishing the SOULFLY record and to do the SOULFLY tour … let’s see what happens after that!
Absolutely understandable, but yes, I can confirm that: I’m not normally a big fan of re-recordings either, but in this case it turned out perfectly: I didn’t think that would be necessary, but when I heard it, I was completely thrilled.
I really wish a couple of bands would re-record their first record! Slayer, “Show No Mercy”, Kreator, “Endless Pain”. Maybe even Destruction, “Sentence Of Death”. Maybe Metallica, “Kill ’Em All”. To me, it would be cool to see that. If they could have done it the right way, it would have been amazing.
“One thing I never did was an EP – in my whole career.”
That would be interesting, yes! Besides re-recording, you also released one new song on each of the re-releases. But if I understand you right, we can’t expect more new music from CAVALERA or CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, so basically any new album of you with your brother Iggor on the drums anytime soon?
That’s not totally true. We do like the idea of creating new music. We just have to wait for the right time. One thing I never did was an EP – in my whole career. I don’t think we ever really did an EP, like Slayer’s “Haunting The Chapel”, or “Garage Days” by Metallica. I think we could do a CAVALERA-EP with new songs. You could have like four songs and all of them have different era vibes. You can have a black metal song, you can have a thrash song, a groove metal song and a tribal song. We’re gonna work on it.
But CAVALERA CONSPIRACY as a band, with this approach of groovy thrash metal, is not on your agenda at the moment?
No … I mean, I love the records. Especially the first one, “Inflikted”, and “Psychosis”. I think “Inflikted” was cool because we had Joe [Duplantier] from Gojira involved. And I think “Psychosis” was really underrated. It was a brutal record, from beginning to the end. It was one of my favorite records to create. We never got to tour for „Psychosis“ either. We’re just going to see what happens, but I like the EP idea a lot. If I do something new with CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, the EP probably would be the first thing that I would do. And then maybe later down the line you can make a full record.
We are more or less done. I have a short brainstorming for you. I would give you five terms, and you say whatever comes to your mind first:
Beer: I prefer vodka. (laughs)
Donald Trump: Uh … comic relief.
Europe: Oh man, Europe is… it’s old and majestic.
The Slayer comeback: They should have never stopped!
Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell show: Same … I don’t think that guy can stop, actually. This is bullshit. It’s not his last show! I don’t believe that. Who’s believing that?
What about SOULFLY in ten years? Will you ever stop or go forever? Man, I’m so addicted to music. The main thing that you need in life is purpose. When people lose purpose, then there’s no more life. And to me, music is my purpose of living. Everything I do is creation and creating. SOULFLY is one of the vehicles that I use for creation. And so … yeah, I look at older guys doing their thing, Rolling Stones, even Metallica. Still going, still good. It’s cool, it’s inspiring. So yeah, I don’t see why you have to stop. You don’t have to. As long as it’s in your heart, and you feel good about it, and if you physically are fit to do it, keep doing it. For sure.
7. Juni 2025 Moritz Grütz
Dieses Interview wurde per Telefon/Videocall geführt.
