MAX CAVALERA: 'SOULFLY Shows Tend To Be Almost Like Rituals'

In a recent interview with Project BACKSTAGE Interviews, former SEPULTURA and current SOULFLY frontman Max Cavalera spoke about what keeps him motivated to continue making music and touring almost four decades after SEPULTURA's inception. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, to me it's a journey. It's a long journey. It started in Brazil, of course — I think now it's 40 years I'm making music and touring for close to 30, I think; 27 years touring. And the best thing about it is that I don't lose the passion. I still, I'm nervous before the show; I'm going to be nervous tonight — very nervous, like butterflies and everything. But I think that's good. It's a good anxiety. It's a good nervous. It's a different kind of nervous than other type of nervous that you get. This is good. It's excitement, nervous-type thing. It's difficult to explain. But it lasts all the way till you hit the stage and then you hear the roar and you have your guitar and you hear the first note and it goes away the minute you hit the stage. It's incredible. It's just magic. I think there's a lot of magic in me. I know it's cheesy to say magic, but I don't know another word to describe this, because it's a crazy feeling that we get on the stage, and I think the fans get it."

He continued: "I think a lot of times also SOULFLY shows tend to be almost like rituals; they are more than a rock show. I think that because of the whole tribal feeling that we bring to it, it becomes almost like a religious experience-type thing. Everybody is very connected through all the songs. And I love that about SOULFLY. It's also a very positive band as well… I also like the fact that we are kind of like an old-school type of band where everything is live. We use minimal playback — maybe intros; for two or three songs, we have an intro, but everything else is us. It's all organic, so it's all coming from us playing the instruments, which goes back to THE BEATLES, if you go back in rock history. It goes back to BEATLES, LED ZEPPELIN, BLACK SABBATH — real live, organic. Every night's a little bit different, and I like that, because it makes… so it's not robotic. Every show is not the same. So tonight I'm sure it's gonna be different from last night."

SOULFLY's twelfth album, "Totem", 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.

SOULFLY's current lead guitarist is Mike DeLeon, who joined the band in early 2023. 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.