MAX CAVALERA Wants To 'Let SOULFLY Be SOULFLY Again' On Upcoming Album

In a new interview with Matt Zaniboni of Metal Express Radio, SOULFLY frontman Max Cavalera spoke about his plans for the band's follow-up to 2022's "Totem" album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm working on it right now. A lot of people have been asking me [about it]. It is a little bit of return to the early SOULFLY. I feel there was a magic around those early records that kind of got lost in the shuffle of the years. And because I do have stuff like [side projects] GO AHEAD AND DIE and CAVALERA to satisfy my extreme underground flavor, I can actually let SOULFLY be SOULFLY again, let it be what it was in the beginning, which is this really powerful, free band with a lot of heavy tribal parts. We kind of went away from that, and I think it's cool to return to that all those years later and really make a record that is… To me, when I'm creating this new record, for me, this is the album that should have been made after [2000's] 'Primitive'. So, I feel like like I have a chance to make the third record all over again, and I'm making it more towards the vibe I had on [1998's] 'Soulfly' and 'Primitive'. So, it's gonna be cool, man. I'm excited for that."

SOULFLY will embark on the "Superstition" U.S. tour in October. Support on the trek will come from EYEHATEGOD (from October 22 until November 6 only),MUTILATION BARBECUE and SKINFLINT.

SOULFLY is continuing to tour in support of "Totem", which came out in August 2022 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2018's "Ritual" was recorded at Platinum Underground in Mesa, Arizona by John Aquilino and Arthur Rizk with assistance from John Powers. Produced by Max Cavalera alongside Arthur Rizk (KREATOR, MUNICIPAL WASTE, CODE ORANGE),the LP boasts guest appearances from John Powers (ETERNAL CHAMPION),Chris Ulsh (POWER TRIP),and John Tardy (OBITUARY). Rizk was also responsible for playing lead guitar on the record. The artwork for the album was created by James Bousema.

In a recent interview with Germany's Moshpit Passion, Max spoke in more detail about the musical direction of the band's upcoming follow-up to "Totem". He said: "I really liked the early SOULFLY stuff because it was more tribal and more groove. And now because I have [the] CAVALERA and GO AHEAD AND DIE [projects], I can be as heavy as I want with CAVALERA that it leaves me SOULFLY to be something quite different. I can mold SOULFLY a bit different now where SOULFLY is really kind of like more of a groove-oriented tribal band. And I think that's really, in a lot of people's perception, that was the best of SOULFLY was like that. So, it's not that I'm jumping on the bandwagon of nu metal; it's not really that. It's just that I think that the early SOULFLY had some kind of magic that, through the years we kind of lost that magic. And I think we're trying to bring it back with this new record that is gonna come out next year."

Elaborating on what fans can expect to hear on SOULFLY's upcoming thirteenth album, Max said: "I think it's gonna be cool because it's also influenced by other stuff I'm listening to at the moment, like KUBLAI KHAN and JESUS PIECE and KNOCKED LOOSE, JUDICIARY. So there's really heavy breakdown grooves together with tribal drums. It's gonna be cool, man. It's gonna be a real cool album that I am very excited to create. And, of course, also the fact that my mother passed away last year, I'm gonna make this album for her. It's a homage to her. So it's gonna be also a spiritual record for me because of that. So it's gonna be a special record, for sure. It's been [two] years since 'Totem'. 'Totem' was our last record. I think we are inspired to create something special next year."

This past March, Max was asked by Radioactive MikeZ, host of the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire", if guitarist Mike DeLeon, who has been touring with SOULFLY for more than a year, will be featured on the band's next LP. Max responded: "I'm leaving it open for now. Mike is gonna jam with us. We have some festivals in the U.S. I think we're doing, and we're also doing the LAMB OF GOD boat [Headbangers Boat], the cruise. That should be fun as hell. And Mike will play with us for that. He's a great guy. I love Mike."

He continued: "I don't know. It's too early to know where I'm gonna go with this record — if I'm gonna try to find somebody else to record or if we're just gonna roll with Mike. We don't know yet. I haven't even — I [only] have a few riffs written [so far]."

Asked if he writes music for I whatever record or project he is working on or if he puts riffs aside for certain records, Max said: "When I lock in on a project, I get very obsessed with the project. I become so obsessed that everything I'm writing is for this and I know exactly what it needs, what kind of sound I'm looking for. And SOULFLY, I'm kind of planning a little bit of a return to the early sound. The big-groove tribal sound will return to SOULFLY. I think a lot of fans want that. I love that. I think it's kind of like a trademark of SOULFLY that kind of got lost in the shuffle through the years. We went more into the trashier side of stuff. But now I have [my side project] GO AHEAD AND DIE that I can trash all I want in it. I can have SOULFLY be a little bit more what it was in the beginning — more about that, the whole tribal thing, which is really cool and unique. It's a unique thing that SOULFLY has. So we're gonna probably go back more to that, which should be really cool."

Prior to hooking up with SOULFLY, DeLeon had been a member of PANTERA singer Philip Anselmo's solo band PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS, which he joined in 2015 as the replacement for Marzi Montazeri. More recently, Mike filled in for Zakk Wylde at the first rehearsal for the fall 2022 PANTERA shows.

In August 2021, SOULFLY parted ways with longtime guitarist Marc Rizzo due to personal differences. FEAR FACTORY's Dino Cazares played guitar for SOULFLY on the band's 2021 and 2022 run of shows.

In February, Max told Ghost Cult's Keefy that SOULFLY's follow-up to "Totem" likely wouldn't arrive before 2025.

Photo credit: Jim Louvau