SEPULTURA Frontman Isn't Bothered By Criticism From MAX CAVALERA Fans

In a brand new interview with The Metal Gods Meltdown, SEPULTURA frontman Derrick Green was asked if he gets bothered by the fact that some people still seem to favor the Max Cavalera era of the band over the albums that he has made with the group. "I definitely have learned to let it go over my head," he responded (hear audio below). "I mean, people have a right to have their choice of what they feel is the best or what they enjoy or what they relate to. This is something I completely understand. The people that grew up with listening to that time period when he was in the band [feel a strong connection to that music], so I can understand that."

He continued: "I was a fan before I got in the band. I have total respect for the past of what was done in the past with SEPULTURA, and I'm grateful for that. At the same time, I feel there's a lot of new fans that we've been able to capture, and even some old fans. And I think it's a wonderful thing that we've been building and working on, and it's gotten to the point where there's a really good mix of people that just wanna hear the songs played well and with passion and with heart. And so I believe we've been able to do that and maintain that, with respecting ourselves and loving what we do, and I think people see that live."

Green added: "It doesn't really bother me, because I respect everyone's opinion. I truly love what I do, so I can't be that down about it. I feel there's a huge level of accomplishment that we've been working on with SEPULTURA."

Max recently slammed the current lineup of SEPULTURA, implying in an interview that the band hasn't written any high-quality material since his exit from the group more than two decades ago. "Tell me one great song they have written since I left," he told Metal Rules. "Name one great album they have put out after that. I haven't seen anything. I don't know one name of one song as popular as 'Roots Bloody Roots'. So, it just tells me like whatever they are doing, I don't know how they keep on going. I don't think it's working at all. But somehow they keep on going, somehow. It's crazy to me."

In 1996, Max left SEPULTURA after the rest of the band fired his wife Gloria as their manager.

The current SEPULTURA lineup — featuring Green, guitarist Andreas Kisser and bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. alongside Eloy Casagrande on drums — released its new studio album, "Machine Messiah", on January 13 via Nuclear Blast.