Ex-SEPULTURA Drummer IGOR CAVALERA: How BLACK SABBATH's BILL WARD Inspired Me To Play Drums

In a new "Fan First" interview with Revolver magazine, former SEPULTURA drummer Igor "Iggor" Cavalera was asked what the first musician was that he put on a pedestal. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think the first one, and still one of my favorites to this day, is Bill Ward from BLACK SABBATH."

Regarding how he first discovered SABBATH, he said: "It's a funny story, because my father had a bunch of records, and later, me and Max [Igor's brother and former SEPULTURA frontman], we were going through his collection and we found the first SABBATH record in the middle of it. But that was after we were already into rock music — not so much metal, but more rock. And then, of course, SABBATH became one of those bands that are still my favorite. I still listen to those first records.

"Bill Ward is one of those guys that inspired me, in the beginning, to play the drums, and also the way that he was always pushing the limits with different percussion," he continued. "And he was out of the ordinary, so he was the one."

Asked what the "most unique thing" was about Ward's drumming, Cavalera said: "I think the most unique thing is that in a time when a lot of drummers would just follow the guitars and try to be as — I don't know — very 'normal,' he was trying different things and he was going off. And at times, it seems like the whole band was actually trying to catch up with him. And for me, that was a huge lesson because he put the drums in the front instead of just being the typical drummer who only followed the riff, only followed the bassline. He was actually throwing a few curveballs back then, and that's for me one thing that really made me look into him as a different drummer."

As previously reported, Igor and Max will perform select tracks from SEPULTURA's seminal "Beneath The Remains" and "Arise" albums on a U.S. tour this spring/summer. The trek will include an appearance at this year's Maryland Deathfest, set to take place May 26-29 at several venues, including Rams Head Live, Soundstage and the Edison Lot.

Max and Igor kicked off a tour celebrating "Beneath The Remains" and "Arise" back in 2018. In early 2020, Max revealed plans to bring the trek to the U.S., but no dates had been announced prior to the pandemic.

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).

The current SEPULTURA lineup — featuring guitarist Andreas Kisser and bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. alongside Derrick Green on vocals and Eloy Casagrande on drums — released its latest studio album, "Quadra", in February 2020 via Nuclear Blast.