INCITE - THE SLAUGHTER
A few words with Richie Cavalera about the new record.
by Jason Walsh
photos by Helena BXL
Founded almost six years ago by a young member of the Cavalera family,
INCITE’s early days was a fun project between friends. As the band progressed, so did the passion and drive for vocalist Richie Cavalera, who wanted to get serious and bring the band to the next level. Adding new members to the current lineup, INCITE is now a tight wrecking machine of speed and intensity. With some accomplished tours under their belt now, the band from Phoenix has released their debut full-length, “The Slaughter,” which is an amazing collection of great metal that will be blowing out speakers around the world.
Though only 24, Richie Cavalera is no stranger to the metal scene. His stepfather is the legendary Max Cavalera of SOULFLY and SEPULTURA. Richie grew up with music and Max and family have provided the perfect education for someone getting their own band together. Backed by Zak Sofaly on drums, Dis on guitar, and Marrufo on bass, these young, up-and-coming headbangers are getting ready to take over.
There is a lot of history in the SEPUL-SOULFLY-TRIBE, both good and bad. Richie’s brother, Dana Wells, was murdered in a “suspicious” and unsolved crime in 1996, the same year Max left SEPULTURA, the band he had begun with brother Iggor, in one of the biggest breakups in the annals of metal. From these ashes rose SOULFLY and a resurgence within the Cavalera camp as they healed. Then just a few years ago, brothers Max and Iggor Cavalera came together for the CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, the first time the two had collaborated musically since Max left SEPULTURA. The Cavalera family has continued to grow and now from this lineage comes Richie Cavalera and INCITE.
I had a chance to talk with Richie about the new album, how the family and Dana’s memory inspires him, and how far the band has come from their early beginnings in Arizona.
JW: So you got a new record out. Tell me about that.
RICHIE: Yeah man. Five years in the making, finally got to record “The Slaughter.” Just really happy, man. It’s exactly what I could have wished for in an album, man. The sound, the songs, the music, it’s all kick ass dude. I’m really fired up.
JW: I got a copy of it and I put it to the road test. For me, the best way of listening to a new record is to drive around in my truck and have it up real loud.
RICHIE: Hell yeah.
JW: And I got to tell you man, it’s the best metal record I’ve heard this year.
RICHIE: Fucking A, man, thank you. I like how you said the road test because I do the same thing. I have to drive around and listen to a new CD before anything. That’s killer, and I’m appreciative of what you said, man. That’s kick ass.
JW: Yeah, it’s good stuff. So, tell me about putting this band together. It started with friends and from what I’ve read that didn’t work out so you got some other guys to come together what the band is now. Tell me about these guys and where they came from and how this current lineup of INCITE came to be.
RICHIE: Yeah man, well the friend thing, you know, it was cool while it lasted. You just argued a hell of a lot more. People just aren’t as serious about what you’re trying to accomplish and it taught me a lot, which was cool. So when I started looking for my new members, I had a good idea of what kind of people I was looking for. Really just put my ear to the street, man, and hit up every friend that I had in music and asked them about bass players and guitar players, because that was really my struggle to find. I had a drummer in mind (Zak Sofaly) that I knew growing up and you know it wasn’t a close friend, but was an acquaintance so I knew he was definitely the right one. The guitar player, I actually found him on Myspace which you know, I don’t really like the whole networking shit but it saved my life in finding him. He flew out from New Jersey one day and never went home. It’s been killer, man. He’s one of the coolest people I’ve ever met and really surprised me to come out from New Jersey and just give up your life and really shows your dedication to what you’re trying to do. What more can you dream of than having somebody with that kind of dedication.
JW: And I tell you what, listening to the record, the one thing that I probably pulled out the most from it was the guitar lines. His name’s Kevin right, but he goes by “Dis?”
RICHIE: Yes sir.
JW: Man, he shreds.
RICHIE: Yeah. Yeah, he’s a trip man because he sent me this CD with thirty songs on it and it sucked, but there were thirty riffs that were real catchy and had real good substance to it. We brought him out and him and Zak really kicked it off, man. Dis wrote every riff on the album. He’s an amazing writer and player as well. I got really lucky with him, man. I’m really happy.
JW: We got to talk about growing up in the family you grew up in and just being surrounded by music since probably you can remember. What kind of experience was it like being surrounded by Max and the whole Cavalera family, making you become who you are today?
RICHIE: Yeah man, it really started from the day I was born. My mom owned a club in Arizona, you know, an original metal club. Really came around that, you know POISON used to play there, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM, Rob Hallford used to come by, and that was really what started our history in metal, you know. Gloria (Richie’s mom) started managing bands like SACRED REICH and ATROPHY. You know, there was always bands at the house, you know, always friendly and really getting me into bands like S.O.D. and the old school D.R.I. You know that was like my first love of music and then 1988, Max and Sepultura, my mom found them and it’s been killer having Max, you know. Seeing the things I’ve gotten to see and the bands and the music. I’m one of the biggest fans of it and to have every day be on tour or seeing a show or meeting a band that I was a big fan of when I was a kid has been very special for me. It gave me a great upper hand in the music scene to see what kind of crazy shit goes on and be prepared for it. I definitely look at it as a blessing for sure. I love every moment of it.
JW: What kind of influence did Max have on you when you decided you wanted to start a band?
RICHIE: Well, he was big because I would always be at the SEPULTURA practices, you know, like five-to-ten-years old, always playing his guitars, and he kind of noticed that and as time went along he started pulling me up on stage to play “Policia” with SEPULTURA. I was probably eight-years old, not knowing anything about anything, you know, just going out there headbanging and trying to look cool. You know, he’s really been there for me about music. I was really like his first son and always into music, always there for him to just talk about music. It was really interesting having him. He really helped me learn how to be on stage and carry myself well out there and I feel very lucky definitely to have that kind of teaching and inspiration in my life for sure.
JW: That’s awesome, man. So, I’ve got to ask you, man. When you were thirteen-years old, it was a really bad year. That was the year your brother died and it was also the year SEPULTURA split. I mean for a thirteen-year-old kid, who this has been his life up until this point, how did you cope with this? How did you get through and remain strong through that tough time?
RICHIE: It was crazy…because it was real puzzling, you know, because you’re so young. You don’t understand exactly what’s happening and they try to explain it to you, but you just…you really don’t get it, man, because like you said, something that’s been there your entire life. You know, having Dana really…we didn’t think about SEPULTURA as much because Dana, that was our main focus, really put everybody past, ok this is just a band, you know but this is life. It showed what was more important to us all. Music, you know, carries on. Max went and did SOULFLY and I think that first album was really an explanation of how our whole family was and what we went through during that time for sure. Because, even about two months after SEPULTURA broke up, my youngest brother Igor Jr. got diabetes as well. I mean it was just one disaster after another, man. You know it all happens for a reason so hopefully we’ll see the good out of it, you know.
JW: Did persevering through these experiences, I mean has that translated into your music and your writing? All the things that you’ve endured, especially during that period, can you find that in the music that you’re doing now?
RICHIE: Oh, without question, man. Dana was huge in my life. I definitely include experiences in my life in all my lyrics. I don’t let anybody in the band write lyrics because I want it to be from my heart and be something that means something to me that I’m talking about every night. Not just out there saying words that sounded cool together. It’s definitely part of everything I say in my songs. I have a song that’s actually a b-side on this record and it’s called “Absentee” and that’s actually for Dana. It’s definitely always in my life.
JW: Very cool. So, you guys have been hitting the road quite a bit with SOULFLY, but you just got back from a tour a couple months ago?
RICHIE: Yeah, we were in Europe, man. It was unbelievable. We got to do 57 shows with SOULFLY in 59 days. It was like the best training we could have ever had to really gear up. We did a bunch of tours with SOULFLY previous to that and it was more just getting our feet wet, kind of experiencing what it was like. That Europe tour was really like where we came together as a tight band and were really coming out there focused on what we had to do to take over. That tour was incredible to me, playing in front of three-to-five-thousand kids a night, it was just unbelievable to us. Great to get our name out there as well as learning the stage performance.
JW: And that’s the thing. On a tour like that, you’re hitting some pretty big audiences, especially being in Europe. They come out like crazy to see metal tours like this.
RICHIE: Hell yeah.
JW: Did you feel like you were getting in front of a lot more people than you would have expected if you were to hit the road in the States by yourself?
RICHIE: Oh, without question, man. We’d done, like I said, a couple tours in the States. We were always the first band and there would only be 50 people there but you know that never bothered us. We always felt that playing local shows, that if there was two people there, we were going to go out like there was ten-thousand people there. That’s one thing that’s cool with this band is that we don’t really focus on the crowd or how big the venue is. We know what we have to do and we go out there and do it, and I think that’s what is really cool about us, you know. If you see us in a small place or in an arena, you’re going to see the same INCITE show from us.
JW: Very cool. And back to the whole family thing, you’re going on tour and you have family all around you everywhere you go. That’s got to be a special experience for you all.
RICHIE: Yeah, for sure, man. That’s a big part of what we are, you know. It’s great to have those strong people around you that are there for you and there for the cause, not just there to make money or there to get attention or get a job out of you. Having the family is definitely something I’d like to continue with INCITE for sure. I mean I’ve really, really enjoyed my entire life, being able to be with my parents and being able to be with my friends. I definitely see INCITE doing a lot of that in our future too.
JW: Now that the album is out, what’s the plans with the band? You guys going to hit the road?
RICHIE: Dude, we’re going crazy, we want to hit the road so bad. We just got a booking agent and right now we’re submitting for every single tour there is. We’re just hanging back waiting for somebody to get some balls and take us out with them (laughs). We can’t wait, man. Worst case, we’re just going to hop in our van and do a whole west coast run by ourselves. Do some local shows with local bands just to get out there. Like I said, we’re going crazy just sitting.
JW: You have this thing you’ve put out, like you said five years in the making, and something you’re really proud of, but now you’re just waiting for it to hit people and I know the whole band is just itching just to go.
RICHIE: (laughs) It’s fucked up because…like I’m out here right now with SOULFLY and selling my merch as well as promoting INCITE, handing out flyers every night, and then we got my guitar player, who is doing Mark Rizzo’s guitar tech and we’re just going crazy every night having to watch bands and not being allowed to come out there and rip it up. It’s definitely been tough. It’s going to make us just that much more hungrier when we get to hit the stage again. I think it’s good and it’s bad, you know. We’ll learn to live with it.
JW: What would you say to the folks out there reading this? Why should they buy this record?
RICHIE: Man, go buy this record because it’s 24-year-old kids doing something that they love, playing music that they love, and not trying to recreate the wheel or copy every band. We’re just having fun and playing good ass music and I think people will really relate when they see us live or hear the CD. I think they’ll hear the vibe we’re putting out and know we’re not some bullshit. We’re here to stay and we’re here to fucking bring metal to every person on this Earth, no matter how.
INCITE will be doing two tours, some 50 dates, across the U.S. and Canada this year, first with SOULFLY and ROTTING CORPSE starting in March. Following this, the metalheads from Arizona are looking to head to Europe. Check them out when they roll into a city near you and grab a copy of “The Slaughter.”
