MAX CAVALERA: Reunion Of Classic SEPULTURA Lineup 'Almost Happened'

On May 16, Altsounds.com conducted an interview with former SEPULTURA and current SOULFLY/CAVALERA CONSPIRACY frontman Max Cavalera. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Altsounds.com: Was "Omen" a difficult album for you to write?

Max: It was difficult in a sense that I tried to make it better than the last one, because "Conquer" was really well received and some people didn't think we could go any further from that, but I think "Omen" does go further than "Conquer" and so in then sense it was difficult but also liberating when it was done, and when I listened to it I was very happy with the final result.

Altsounds.com: How would you compare "Omen" to the rest of the SOULFLY back catalogue, where do you think it fits in?

Max: I think it's way up there, it's one of the best and the strongest. It's just a really explosive kind of album that's strong all the way through it, doesn't let up, like I say it's got a lot of hardcore and metal elements with death metal and thrash metal. In terms of energy I'd put it as one of the best ones.

Altsounds.com: You have just finished recording the second CAVALERA CONSPIRACY album. What can you tell us about it?

Max: It's going to surprise a lot of people. Igor [Cavalera; Max's brother and former SEPULTURA bandmate] is playing really fast, a lot of the songs are going to be really fast: they have got that kind of "Arise" vibe to it, it's a very adrenaline driven album. The songs are shorter too, they are like a minute and a half to two minutes, which is something I wanted to do to for a long time because I was kind of bored of four to five minute songs; I wanted to take it back to being shorter, and then there's the song that I mentioned with Roger from AGNOSTIC FRONT. It's a pretty good album.

Altsounds.com: How does the writing process for a CAVALERA CONSPIRACY album differ to writing a SOULFLY album?

Max: I write different for CAVALERA because of the way Igor plays, he has a style that is his own, so I write my riffs to fit more of Igor's style of drumming which is a little bit different; when I write at home, I know what goes to what, I hear a song and know that it's SOULFLY material or CAVALERA material so I divide them. The way I write is the same, me with my guitar, a four-track and a drum machine.

Altsounds.com: How do you feel about being considered a musical legend?

Max: Old. (Laughs) It's cool, something I didn't really think much about, I didn't think I was gonna last this long. I thought I would be dead by 30, that's the way I was thinking when I was 20, so I didn't give a shit 'cause I thought I'd be dead, but I did not die I tell you. (Laughs) Now I'm 40 and still playing, I've done a lot with SEPULTURA, with NAILBOMB and now SOULFLY, seven albums with SOULFLY...I guess people tend to call you a legend, it's cool, it doesn't affect me.

Altsounds.com: After being the face of four influential bands, what have been your career high points?

Max: Survival, being able to survive the trend, like when I was in SEPULTURA and we survived grunge, everyone was talking about NIRVANA and PEARL JAM and we were making "Chaos A.D.", that was our statement and our state of mind at the time. Survival is the best thing.

Altsounds.com: You were one of the faces that helped build Roadrunner Records into the label it became as part of SEPULTURA, and you have had a career long relationship with them ever since. Are you proud of all you have accomplished alongside them?

Max: It's been a long but really good relationship; they let me do what I want to do which is great because I've got freedom. I'm not on a label that wants me to change or expects a pop album, they don't want that. They let me do what I want to, so I do SOULFLY and CAVALERA CONSPIRACY albums exactly like I want them to be; with that freedom I have we work well together, and they know the value I have for being on the label for so long and they respect that, so it is a good relationship I have with them.

Altsounds.com: How do you feel about the constant question of whether the classic SEPULTURA lineup is going to reunite?

Max: It almost happened last year; I actually called Andreas [Kisser, SEPULTURA guitarist] myself and talked to him about it because I wanna do it, and I said, "We should do it, man. It's the time," and he said, "Let's do it." The next thing I know he has all these crazy demands, involving all these people that work for them and having him be the boss of everything, and I said, "That's not how it's gonna be if it's gonna happen," and he started talking a lot about money and shit like that so I backed off. It's not about the money, it's about the name of the band and showing people what we were about when we were together, so now I'm not so sure. I don't know if it's gonna happen, I'm not worried about it, I think once people hear the new CAVALERA CONSPIRACY album they are going to forget about the reunion, because it's really powerful stuff.

Altsounds.com: How do you feel about the band doing a 20th-anniversary tour without you being attached to it?

Max: It's weak. At least when Igor was there, there was still a founding member; when Igor left, it was kind of a joke. No one original is in that band that started it, so it's like a cover band and it's kind of a joke.

Read the entire interview from Altsounds.com.

Classic SEPULTURA lineup performing "Roots Bloody Roots" at Spain's Dr. Music festival in 1996: