SEPULTURA Founders MAX And IGOR CAVALERA Mourn Death Of Their Mother

Vania Cavalera, the mother of SEPULTURA's founding members Max and Igor "Iggor" Cavalera, has died. She was 80 years old.

Max and Igor announced their mother's passing in a social media post earlier today. They wrote: "It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of our matriarch Vania Cavalera. Vania's greatest joy in life was raising and loving her three children Max, Iggor, and Kira, and being Vovó to her fourteen grandchildren.

"Our family asks for privacy during this difficult time of grief and as we honor our mother’s wishes and her legacy by continuing to celebrate her 80-year-long journey of love, strength, spirituality and metal."

Max touched upon his relationship with his mother in a 2016 interview with Rockwell Unscene. Speaking about his live performance, he said: "When you do your show, it's a transformation. I was like possessed. My nickname in early SEPULTURA was Max Possessed, which was something that I chose. I was always into stuff like that, because my mom is a high priestess of a Brazilian religion called Candomblé, which is very spiritual. Candomblé is a bit like… It's like voodoo, but the good side, not the dark side — kind of like that. So I was always around her when they did the rituals, and I saw a lot of people getting possessed, and I always liked that."

He continued: "When my mom came to see my first shows, she mentioned that. She goes, 'It looks like one of my rituals, what you guys are doing. 'Cause you're not the same son on a stage that you are at home.' Cause at home I am all mellow and stuff, and on a stage, it's a whole another layer of madness."

In 1996, Max exited SEPULTURA after the rest of the band split with Max's wife Gloria as their manager.

Igor left SEPULTURA in June 2006 due to "artistic differences." His departure from the band came five months after he announced that he was taking a break from SEPULTURA's touring activities to spend time with his second wife and their son (who was born in January 2006).

This past April, Nuclear Blast announced the signing of CAVALERA, the project featuring Max and Igor. The first release under the deal with be a re-recording of SEPULTURA's first EP "Bestial Devastation" (originally released in 1985) and debut full-length album "Morbid Visions" (1986),due on July 14.