SOULFLY Guitarist: ILL NINO 'Fake' Live Performances By Playing To A Tape

Metalrage.com recently conducted an interview with SOULFLY/ex-ILL NINO guitarist Marc Rizzo. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Metalrage.com: There's been this quote going around that Max Cavalera has labeled the new album "a calm and peacefull album." Explain to me what a calm SOULFLY album sounds like.

Marc Rizzo: "You know what?! There's no way that could be true. Because this record, is the heaviest SOULFLY record so far. It's a mix of SOULFLY, and old-style SEPULTURA that Max was doing back on 'Arise' and 'Beneath the Remains'. It's almost like a thrash record, you know. The real SOULFLY elements are still there, but there's a lot of new songs that are fast-paced, a lot of guitar solos, it's got fast thrash-type rhythms. So I'm pretty sure he didn't say that. Maybe lyrically, but musically it's fucking heavy. It's the best SOULFLY record yet. It's got everything I like in heavy music. A lot of awesome drumming, a lot of double-bass. Lots of fast tempos, Max's vocals are really heavy.. I think it's awesome, it's right where 'Prophecy' left off, with a step further to the heavier side. Totally. It's a brutal record, people are going to be shocked when they hear it."

Metalrage.com: SOULFLY is not unfamiliar to the word "expirimenting," even soul and traditional Brazilian influences have been put into the records. With all the heavy stuff going on on this new record, is there still room for that sort of stuff?

Marc Rizzo: "Yeah, there's a lot of cool jams on it too, but overall it is the most relentless SOULFLY record. It's all 'Boom,' in your face! One after another of just slamming heavy fucking songs that kick your ass, man. There is a couple of jams on it, but it is not as 'jammy' as the earlier records. This record is more song-orientated."

Metalrage.com: I want to ask you a question that you can honestly say if you do not want to talk about it. A while ago there've been lots of stories about the conflict between you and your former band ILL NINO. What can you tell us about that?

Marc Rizzo: "Basically, what happened, I left the band.. Well, you know.. I'm into playing music, I'm not into faking music. When ILL NINO goes on stage every night, they play to a tape. So when you go to their show they play to a tape. What you hear is actually me playing, the tracks I've recorded for the albums. So that been said, we (SOULFLY) brought them out on tour with us in America, and the singer went on stage talking shit about us (suggesting that SOULFLY was 'not real' — Ed.). So after the show I jacked him. I just gave him fucking beatdown, you know.

"It's all about respect. Especially if you're a band that gets up on stage, and you fake what you do, and you don't even play it for real. That means putting your instrument through an ampliflier and have music coming out. If you don't do that, you should say nothing about someone else. Then you should be happy you've got a record deal and be quiet. Don't go talk shit about other bands that don't fake. When SOULFLY gets up on stage it's real. When you see me and Max playing, that's what you hear.

"This is metal, you know, rock. You're not supposed to fake it. If you want to fake music, you should go join a boy-pop group, and lip-synch on stage and shit. Not in rock and metal, that's not real."

Read Marc Rizzo's entire interview with Metalrage.com at this location.