411 Music Inteview: Max Cavalera of Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy
Posted by Marshall Slayton on 09.22.2009
411Mania writer Marshall Slayton has a chat with the Soulfly/Cavalera Conspiracy frontman, and discusses traveling the world for his music, his frequent collaborations, and the next Soulfly album. Check inside for the full details!
In between comparing Brazilian soccer jerseys, 411Mania writer Marshall Slayton sat down with one his personal heavy metal heroes, Max Cavalera from Soulfly. They discussed his collaborations, his extensive passport, the Cavalera Conspiracy, and the next Soulfly record.
One of the neat traits of Soulfly is your ability to travel all over the world and find unique sounds to fuse with metal. Your last album, Conquer, was mainly inspired by a trip to Egypt. How are you able to take in and combine all of these world influences and still be as prolific as you are?
That all started with Sepultura, with a trip to Brazil when I made the Roots album and I recorded with a tribe. I really liked that invention, to do more with that, to bring metal into new realms that had not been done before. So I decided to do that with Soulfly. Soulfly's been everywhere, from Turkey to Russia, Serbia, Egypt… it's my way of doing metal, I think… with traditional music mixed with metal. It's really exciting, and I think it brings a flavor to the albums that's different from everybody else. So… I like that. It's what makes Soulfly to me.
Do you go to places and become inspired by your visits, or do you have an idea to start with, and then actively go out and search for things?
It's a combination. Sometimes, I don't know what I'm going to find. A lot of the time, I'm just there with my tape recorder, recording sounds on the street, and other times, I'm in the studio. Like in Moscow, with Dark Ages, we had a studio booked. Then we went with the musicians and we added stuff. Or when we recorded the church bells in Dark Ages, that was with my recorder. Just being there is actually the main part. It's part of the adventure. It depends on what I'm going to capture, it's always a surprise. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to get when I go to these places, but I know I'll get something.
In your opinion, recording these sounds yourself, what kind of quality does it give your music that traditional online sound libraries cannot?
I think it's more unique doing it yourself. Nothing can compare to that, because it's a one of a kind experience. You could get sounds from an online library, as you said, but I think it's better if you do it yourself, at the place. It's more of the world music in me, that passion that I have.
Any places you looking to go for the next Soulfly album?
I've been looking at Tibet, I think that would be cool, because I love Tibetan monks. They do this really cool chant, and I'd really like to record that with some metal. But I don't have much of that project so far; I'm just starting the new album now. I'll have to see about that in the next couple months.
The Cavalera Conspiracy was really a surprise to everybody when Inflikted came out of nowhere. Does that creative outfit give you something that Soulfly cannot? Did recording with your brother make you step up your game on the next Soulfly record, Conquer?
I think one helped the other, for sure, and I gained experience from both. Playing with Igor is unique, because it's in my blood. He's my brother, and I always liked to play with him, and making songs with him again is really exciting. The Conquer album was definitely influenced by the Inflikted record, and the other way around. Inflikted was also influenced by Soulfly.
Are we going to see more from the Cavalera Conspiracy in the future?
Yeah, I'm going to do more. I'll do another album, I just don't know when yet. There's no date for that yet, it's too early. But I'll definitely do another record with Igor, for sure.
You used Marc Rizzo to record guitar for both Cavalera Conspiracy and Soulfly. What's your creative relationship like with him? You've once said that you wanted Soulfly to be an ever-changing lineup. What is it about him that clicks so well with you?
Yeah, I get along really well with Marc… I think he's a great guitar player. He's very original, and he's full of good ideas. I work really great with him, and we like the same kind of music, and we think the same a lot when we are writing music or playing together. There's a really good energy between us. He was the great guitar player I was looking for in Soulfly for a long time, and I finally found it. I think he fits perfectly with what I do.
Collaboration seems to be a gift with you. My MoreFrames friends recently animated a music video for Ill Bill – "War is My Destiny," which you were a part of. What does this experimentation do for you, why did you team with Ill Bill, and what was that like?
That was cool! I love collaborations. I think they're a great outlet of influence that you get, and you get experience when you share with another musician. You get something that you wouldn't normally, like when I worked with Tom Araya on Primitive… Corey from Slipknot… and Sean Lennon… all the way through the new Soulfly with "Blood Fire War Hate" with David Vincent. It's great, collaborations are great. I love working with musicians, and when I was invited by Ill Bill to be part of that, it was really cool. The challenge with a different kind of music, like the music he plays, it's very different from mine. But I put my mark on it, you know, my standard, my vocals – and he really liked it, so that was definitely a great experience.
It doesn't seem like a stretch, because a lot of your songs are very war-like. Does that come about from extra viewings of 300? What about war fascinates you?
I don't know… since I was a kid, I always liked to play with soldiers and had little war planes and war models. War really fits the music; I think that kind of apocalyptic lyrical content you get from songs about war is really strong. The metal world is full of that, and I really like that.
Your song for the Roadrunner United CD "Independent (Voice of the Voiceless)" was also amazing. What was it like to get together and write a song with a bunch of talented guys from great bands, like Fear Factory and Still Remains and Chimaira and Machine Head and just tear it up?
That was actually done quickly. I got a tape and just went into the studio and did it. I went into the studio here in Phoenix and the song was already done. I talked to Robert Flynn (Machine Head), who organized that, and he said the song was made especially for me, my kind of vocals. Because of that in mind, it was really easy to sing on that because it was made for me, there were my kind of riffs. So it was really easy for me to just get in the studio and put my vocals down. I called it "Independent (Voice of the Voiceless)," so it was really fast. I did that all in one afternoon.
Was the process similar for Apocalyptica and Matt Tuck?
No. With Apocalyptica, I was actually with them in the studio in Munich. When you're together with the musicians, it's always a little bit different than being by yourself in the studio. The Apocalyptica song, I sat with them and wrote a couple parts, saw what they thought. "Oh, you like this one? I'll do another one!" From that part on, we built on top of the other until we were happy with it.
Are there any guys you'd like to collaborate with in the future?
Well, I always wanted to do a song with Phil Anselmo from Pantera. I always thought that would make a cool metal song.
Oh yeah.
I recently saw him in Europe, but I didn't mention anything to him yet, so it's in the back of my mind. I think his voice and my voice together in a song would be really cool.
Any ideas for the next Soulfly record you can share with us?
Nah, it's kind of early for that. I'm just starting to go through the songs right now, I have the first eight riffs that will eventually become songs, I just got through them the other day. I'm going to dive in more after the first US tour, that's when I'm going to start thinking about the name of the album, the artwork. I don't even know who's going to do the artwork yet. It's all hanging in the moment, so I got to find the right people to do that. I'm just waiting, it's early still.
The rumor was you were hitting the recording studio at the end of the year.
Yeah, that's true. We'll try to have the album done by the end of the year, so it'll come out as soon as it can, first thing in 2010.
It's been said before that Soulfly is a spiritual band, but not necessarily a religious one. What's the difference to you between spiritual and religious, and is Soulfly trying to sell a certain kind of belief?
Yeah, I think spiritual is definitely different than religious. It's not forced and it's free choice. It's part of Soulfly. Soulfly has a corner that's spiritual, like "Soulfly I, II, III," they're all instrumental and they're all spiritual songs. They're really peaceful, they're really melodic. They're made to create a feeling of spirituality.
Did you make a rule for yourself, early on, that each album will have an extended, melodic instrumental as one of the final tracks?
No, that was an accident, actually. It started on "Soulfly I," and it was something I really liked, so It became a trademark. Then I did it again on "Soulfly II" and "Soulfly III," and decided to continue that on all of them. It's a Soulfly thing, it's a trademark thing, and the fans seem to really like that. I spoke to a lot of fans; they really dig that side of Soulfly that's unique and different. It always brings out some different elements, so I continued doing it, you know?
Was there a moment early on when you realized, during touring, that audiences were there for just Soulfly and not really Sepultura anymore?
I noticed that on the last couple tours, more than ever, with the Soulfly tattoos, with the Soulfly banners – they're strictly Soulfly fans. They're hardcore, they love Soulfly to the core. But they don't mind Sepultura, I think it's okay if I play Sepultura. They still like it, because they know it's part of my past.
What's your favorite thing about touring?
The show is definitely the best part. You know, I wake up, and the whole day is just preparation for the show. The show is the best moment, to me, because I love the stage and the whole atmosphere with the crowd. But apart from that, traveling is really cool. I like to sit on the back of the bus and look at the road. I take pictures and film that sometimes. That's how I get ideas for lyrics and stuff like that, I love traveling. It's really cool to travel inside the US, it's really beautiful.
What's next for you? What does the future hold for Max Cavalera?
After the tour, it's off to making the record. Go straight into the studio, make the new album and record it, mix it, and have it out for next year. I'm going to be pretty busy until the end of the year.
You get the last word. Anything else you want to say to the readers of 411mania.com?
We covered it, man. Thanks for listening, and thanks for having me.
