SOULFLY: CONQUER

SOULFLY CONQUERS THE NATION
by Jason Walsh

The past year has been a busy one for Max Cavalera. The Brazilian founding member of Sepultura came together for the first time in over ten years to make music with his brother Igor, who continued to play drums for the band after Max's departure in 1996. The project, dubbed the Cavalera Conspiracy, released their debut album, "Inflikted," this past March on Roadrunner Records, followed by a world tour in support. Hardcore fans were ecstatic about the long anticipated reunion as word spread throughout metal communities around the globe.

Prior to the release of "Inflikted," Max and the guys from his main band of the last decade, Soulfly, had begun work on their sixth studio release, "Conquer." I caught Max en route to the opening show of the "Conquer" U.S. tour. We talked about the new record, the tour, and the future of one of metal's most recognized ambassadors.

JW: Max, this is your first show on the tour?

MAX: Yeah, it is man. We actually just got picked up at the airport. We're in Victoria, Texas, which is like the middle of nowhere in Texas, but it's the first show, it should be pretty cool, and everybody's really excited.

JW: Tell me about that. This is the first show on the "Conquer" tour. How are you guys feeling about hitting the road and getting out there playing the record?

MAX: Oh, it's very, very exciting. We're just coming from a Russian tour actually that was really killer. We did a bunch of shows in Russia, more than normal, like in Moscow, Siberia, and all the way to the border of Mongolia, man. We went all over, twenty hours by train, and the crowds went crazy. They're really loving the record. So, we're getting fired up to show "Conquer" to the U.S. and I'm sure they're very excited. We have some really good feedback from all our fans, you know, I've been talking to a lot of fans, so it should be a great tour, man.

JW: Without a doubt, it seems like everybody in the States right now is really excited about this tour. The new record is awesome and you got a really good lineup going with you: Bleed the Sky, Devastation, and Incite. Tell me about these guys and how you got them on the tour.

MAX: Some of them we knew from before, like Devastation. I remember them from back in the Sepultura days. I'd never met Bleed the Sky, but I know they have a really good name and would be a good band for the bill. Incite is Rich's band, which is my stepson. They have toured with us before and they're really good. So, it's killer, but we also have local bands playing on all the shows too, so that's also cool, because you have local bands opening the show and playing in front of more people than they normally play and that's always good, you know. It's how we started. That's how it started like twenty years ago in Brazil.

JW: That's got to be awesome for some of these local bands to be like, "O.K., we're opening for Soulfly?!?" I mean that's got to be great for them?

MAX: Yeah, you know, like I said, that's what I did twenty years ago. It's the way to do it, if you have a chance to open for somebody. We had the chance to open for Venom in Brazil when they had a Brazilian tour and then we went on to open for Sodom in Europe. That paved the way to start making music, "Beneath the Remains," "Arise," and the rest is history. But, you've got to start somewhere.

JW: Exactly. So tell me about this record. You guys started this back in 2007. How did this record come about?

MAX: I think it's really a continuation of "Dark Ages." This got deeper into everything we started with "Dark Ages." To me, it's really awesome to go even heavier and even faster, more experimental even with "Conquer." Everything about it I think was really exciting, from the album cover to the themes to the songs to the way everybody plays on it to the way the songs came out. It's really exciting kind of watching the album grow from the beginning to the time it was finished. Now, to play it live, which is the best part of it. That's why we do records, to go and play them live. I think it's going to be killer, you know. The opener, "Blood Fire War Hate," is one of my favorite songs ever, you know, and definitely to open the show is one of my favorites. It's so heavy and fast. Actually I'm doing Dave Vincent's (Morbid Angel) part on the vocals until we meet him somewhere on the tour, haha.

JW: And I understand, kind of halfway through working on recording that record, you took a break and went over to Egypt for a little while. Why was that? What did you get from going over there?

MAX: I didn't want to draw too much attention to it, so it was like, I went to Egypt more like to continue the Soulfly experimental exotic theme that we have that I think is very unique. Not many bands out there have this and we have from the beginning and I think not to do that, you'd be losing your identity. So, I thought the last couple albums have been done in Serbia, Russia, and the early stuff was done in Brazil, so Egypt was a chance to go somewhere, a very different culture, and put a little bit of that mix with the heaviness. I chose just a little part, that's why I say, it's very small, you know. I didn't want to draw the attention of the "Conquer" album. It's not an album about Egypt and it's really nothing to do with that, but there is a little piece of it that comes in and it makes it special when you put it all together. It's really to continue the Soulfly tradition.

JW: Now, it's been a busy year for you. The beginning of the year, the Cavalera Conspiracy record came out. A lot of fans were really happy to see you working again with your brother, Igor. Is there going to be another record with the Cavalera Conspiracy? Is that something you guys hope to continue doing in the future?

MAX: Yeah probably, man. It was really fun, you know, and I just love playing music. The more, the better. That's when I'm always able to play, either record or write or play live, but I do like to play live more. I'm not too crazy about studios. I mean I like to make the album but not into going in the studio and staying in a closed environment. It's kind of weird to me, but it has to be done to make the record. But, yeah, just continue doing it. I'm excited for the tour and excited for everything that's coming up. It's going to be a busy year and I'm ready to do more and more music. That's what I'm here for.

JW: So, it's better for you to be out on the stage sharing the music with hundreds, thousands of people, rather than sitting in a studio doing the recording aspect and all the takes. You'd rather be out there on the stage.

MAX: Yeah, but I know one goes with the other. To go on tour and have a killer tour you have to have a good album, a strong album with strong songs. So, yeah, the studio is important, but if you're asking which one I like more, definitely going to play live for the fans every night, talk to people, see them getting crazy with the mosh pits and the circle pits and everything that goes on in a Soulfly show. Defintely, man, it's awesome.

JW: The last show wraps up in Tempe and I see that Sacred Reich is going to be playing that show with you guys.

MAX: Yeah.

JW: So, that should be an exciting show and you guys are based out of Arizona?

MAX: Yeah, man, it should be cool. It's actually a show that was postponed because lightning hit the building and I think it took the power off the whole neighborhood, so it was kind of a crazy thing to happen. The show is going happen now in November, the last show of this tour, and yeah, we have Sacred Reich on it too, which is an old band from the past from the thrash times, back in the thrash days, so it should be a lot of fun. It's the Dana show (Dana Wells was Max's stepson and best friend who died in 1996) so all the songs are about Dana. It's not really a Soulfly show even. It's more of a memorial show, a little bit of a different kind of show, but I really dig it. I really like doing it every year, it's a tradition, and it should be a lot of fun. It's already sold out, so it's going to be a killer show.

JW: So, everyone that's going to be at that Arizona show should be in for a good time.

MAX: Yeah. Everywhere, man, on the whole tour. I'm excited for the tour. I look at the dates and I know there's a lot of places where I normally don't play or haven't played in a long time. That's really exciting to me because we'll be hitting some crowds that normally have to drive to see us, so we're actually going to where they are. It's a very cool thing to do this kind of tour. Some bands don't do this anymore, they just play the big cities. But I think it's pretty cool because coming from Brazil, I know how it is to go to a show especially when the band doesn't come there very often. I know the feeling of it, so it should be killer. I'm very excited for it.

JW: And that'll be great for all those people, like you said, that have to drive hours and hours to see you guys. You're coming to their hometowns.

MAX: Yeah, yeah. That should be awesome man. I'm looking forward to that big time.

JW: What do you guys have going on in the next year? After the holidays and all that, what's Max going to be doing in the new year?

MAX: More touring, man. More touring and then working on new stuff, you know, start working on a new album. Get some more material for the next Soulfly, but first we got to tour. We got a European tour and then hopefully Brazil. We haven't been down to Brazil in a long time. Then, start working on a new record.

JW: You think you'll be working with your brother again doing some more Cavalera Conspiracy as well?

MAX: Yup. Just keep doing it. That's what I'm here for.