MAX CAVALERA Is Still 'Collecting Stories' For His Second Book

In a new interview with Andrew McKaysmith of the Scars And Guitars podcast, Max Cavalera (SEPULTURA, SOULFLY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, KILLER BE KILLED) was asked about the possibility of a follow-up to his 2014 autobiography "My Bloody Roots: From Sepultura To Soulfly And Beyond". He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I need to collect a couple of more stories first. But yeah, I think it'd be great to do a second part of that eventually, a little bit further down the road. I think also there's a lot of really cool tour stories and I've been always thinking about this idea of a book of only tour stories. It'd be really cool too, because there's so many great tour stories. The other day I was reading an article that I think Revolver did about the SEPULTURA-MINISTRY tour. And they interviewed everybody on it. And to me, that was cool to read all Al Jourgensen's [MINISTRY] point of view and HELMET's point of view of that tour that I didn't know about it. And Al being a huge SEPULTURA fan, I didn't even know that he was that massive of a SEPULTURA fan, that he kind of fought for us to be on that tour. Yeah, so maybe like a book of tour stories and then eventually sometime later another chapter, another book of the other stuff that I did. But you need to collect stories more first. [Laughs] And that's what we're doing right now."

The "fully revised and updated" edition of "My Bloody Roots: From Sepultura To Soulfly And Beyond" was made available in July 2022 via Jawbone Press. The book includes a foreword by Dave Grohl (FOO FIGHTERS, NIRVANA) and a brand new afterword by Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD).

Max has an extraordinary story to tell, and "My Bloody Roots" is an autobiography like no other. Much more than just another tale of rock 'n' roll debauchery, it's a story of heartbreak and loss — and, ultimately, triumph. In it, Cavalera offers an unflinching account of life growing up in hardship in Brazil — a country not previously known for heavy metal — and the multimillion-selling success, against all odds, of the band he founded with his brother, Igor: SEPULTURA.

Then, for the first time, he reveals the full story behind his split with the band — after which he did not speak to his brother for years — and the formation of his SOULFLY, one of the most critically and commercially successful metal bands of recent decades. He also goes into unflinching detail on the devastating impact of the deaths of his father, stepson, and grandson; his struggles with drugs and alcohol; his eventual reunion with Igor in CAVALERA CONSPIRACY; and more.

This revised and updated edition continues to trace Max's career to the present day, covering the formation of his new band GO AHEAD AND DIE as well as the supergroup KILLER BE KILLED.

Max has been a professional musician since 1984 and has toured the world many times. He was a founder member of the metal band SEPULTURA, before forming SOULFLY, who released its latest studio album, "Totem", in 2022, and whose drummer is his son Zyon. He also plays in CAVALERA CONSPIRACY with his brother Igor, GO AHEAD AND DIE with his son Igor, and in the supergroup KILLER BE KILLED.

In an interview with Phoenix New Times, Max stated about his decision to write his memoir: "It felt like it was a good time. I'm reaching about 30 years of my career. 30 years of music. It's a story that I think is really cool. Coming from Brazil . . . and you know, achieving what you wanted, your dream.

"There is a lot really funny shit in it. Pissing off Lemmy [Kilmister of MOTÖRHEAD]. Throwing wine on Lemmy's head. Lemmy chewing Gloria's [Cavalera, Max's wife and manager] ass, saying he wants to kick my ass. Puking on Eddie Vedder [PEARL JAM] on a MINISTRY tour. Those are fucking amazing stories and you can't fabricate this shit. The time made it. So it was a long process.

"I worked with a guy, Joel McIver, who is an English writer. He wrote a Randy Rhoads book, a MOTÖRHEAD book, a DEEP PURPLE book, and a METALLICA unofficial biography, which they really loved. We did about 1,000 interviews trying to remember everything. It wasn't chronological. One day, we'd talk about my childhood or the split from SEPULTURA or the death of [Max Cavalera's stepson] Dana. That was a really hard time to talk to about. It tough to talk about that stuff. That was hard . . . Dark, really dark."

Asked if it was therapeutic for him to go through all of this, Max said: "We treated it more like conversation, like we're doing right now. It was more like us just having a talk.

"I wanted to be easy for people to read. I didn't want it to be complicated. I wanted it to be as easy as possible.

"The book starts in Brixton [London], which was the last show with SEPULTURA. Then we go back to my childhood in Brazil.

"I didn't know it was the final show at the time, but it was a really explosive way to begin. I thought it was a really cool to open it like that. It was his idea, instead of going chronologically. I was on top, conquering the world, and then right after that, getting kicked in the head and everything was gone. My band was gone, my brother was gone, Dana had just died.

"Dave Grohl did an awesome intro. He tells a story about how he bought a $50,000 speaker for his studio sound system, and he pops in [SEPULTURA album] 'Roots' and it blew up the whole fucking thing. [mimicking Grohl] ''Roots' blew up my whole system.' I love that story. If your album can blow up a $50,000 system, you're doing something right. Mike Patton [FAITH NO MORE, MR. BUNGLE, TOMAHAWK] says really cool shit about us in Brazil. He was hanging out with us in Brazil, going to voodoo places. I took him to voodoo rituals in Brazil. He was staying at Igor's house. It was really cool. Sharon Osbourne talks about the Dana thing [in the book]. We were playing Donington [Monsters Of Rock festival] with [Ozzy Osbourne] and they flew us home in their private jet when Dana died. It was a horrible thing. We were flying home because Gloria's son died, in Ozzy's plane. It was horrible. The whole time. It was so dark. I wanted to say something to Gloria and words couldn't even come out of my mouth. Sharon talks about feeling like we needed a friend at that time and she was able to help us. They didn't have to do anything. They were just playing a show with us, and yet they showed their true colors. Somebody else could have said, 'I'm sorry for your loss,' but they didn't do that. They put us on their plane, gave us money and gave Gloria a crucifix. It was amazing. Then when I got kicked out of SEPULTURA, it was around January, we were invited to their [Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne] house for a dinner because Ozzy wanted to encourage me to go on. That's how felt, like he should do something. I went to their house and sat down. Ozzy sat me down and said, 'Fuck them. Fuck those guys. You need to get up off your ass and do something.' It was awesome to hear that from him and I needed to hear that. He played me some BLACK SABBATH demos and it blew my mind. It was fucking awesome to hear that from him. I was tripping the whole time. I never even imagined I would do that. You know, like when I was a kid in Brazil, if you would have told me I would sit down with Ozzy, fucking BLACK SABBATH, I wouldn't have believed it."