SOULFLY's MAX CAVALERA Says MARC RIZZO Was Fired 'Due To Personal Reasons'

SOULFLY mainman Max Cavalera says that the band's longtime guitarist Marc Rizzo was fired "due to personal reasons."

Max addressed Rizzo's departure during the latest episode of "Max Trax", a twice-weekly Internet video series in which he discusses the inspiration for many of the songs spanning his nearly 40-year music career.

He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Right now, for the tribe, I wanna address something that is going on with SOULFLY. Of course, it's about Marc Rizzo. He did not leave the band. We decided to part ways with him due to personal reasons. I wish Marc the best on his career. I wanna thank Marc for the 18 years with SOULFLY."

Max also discussed last Thursday's (August 5) announcement that Dino Cazares (FEAR FACTORY) will play guitar for SOULFLY on the band's upcoming U.S. tour, which kicks off on August 20 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

"I'm very excited that we're bringing our friend Dino to play guitar with us for the next U.S. tour," he said. "The show must go on. Dino is an O.G riffmaster. One of my favorite riff [writers]... He's on 'Eye For An Eye' [a song from the first SOULFLY album]; that's how long me and Dino go back. I got them signed; FEAR FACTORY, I got them signed [to Roadrunner Records], because I loved their demo so much and I showed it to Monte [Conner, former Roadrunner A&R executive].

"Dino's gonna come here [to Phoenix, Arizona to rehearse with the band]," he continued. "We're gonna start practicing. We might even throw a couple of Dino classics in there for the set for you guys. And we're playing a brand new SOULFLY song for the future for the next record; we're gonna play it on this next tour. So be there to watch two legends, Max Cavalera and Dino Cazares, on a stage together. It's gonna be a sick tour starting August 20th."

On Friday (August 6),Rizzo has confirmed that he is focusing on his solo projects following his departure from SOULFLY. He said: "I'm just going full forward with my solo project. It's just better for me. It's more of a healthier environment for me and my family. And being home more, and do my solo project, which I'm super stoked about. I've also got [my new band] HAIL THE HORNS. We're releasing the video that we did for a KISS cover today. I've got REVENGE BEAST. I've got ACOUSTIC VENDETTA. Things are good. And I'm doing a lot of good shit. I'm going full forward with my solo project. That's really where my heart is at, where I get my writing credit, where I get credit for my work and all my hard work gets proper credit. It's a healthier environment."

Rizzo joined SOULFLY in 2004, and has since appeared on all of the band's subsequent records, including "Prophecy" (2004),"Dark Ages" (2005),"Conquer" (2008),"Omen" (2010),"Enslaved" (2012),"Savages" (2013),"Archangel" (2015) and "Ritual" (2018). In 2007, Rizzo became a member of CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, the side project of SEPULTURA co-founders, brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, and has performed on all CAVALERA CONSPIRACY releases including "Inflikted", "Blunt Force Trauma", "Pandemonium" and the critically acclaimed 2017 LP "Psychosis".

Back in 2018, Max praised Rizzo, telling "The Classic Metal Show": "He loves what he does; he loves playing in SOULFLY; he loves working with me. We are totally connected. He gives 150 percent every show, no matter if there's ten people or ten thousand, which is rare. Sometimes when there's not a lot of people, it's hard to go out there and still be excited and he does it. I do believe he's underrated big-time, but I'm kind of happy about that because if he gets too big, then he will go away. He will join a big band. I'll be out looking for another guitar player and it would suck. It would really suck to lose Marc. I'm kind of happy. It's almost like a secret thing that we have, this treasure that we have. He's fantastic. He's an amazing guitar player. I sit sometimes around the dressing room just to hear him play. Just go in the dressing room to hang out while he's practicing just to hear him playing some of the flamenco sections in the dressing room or when he's just shredding. He's killer. He is a true, true guitar hero."

Rizzo was originally a member of New Jersey Latin metal favorites ILL NIÑO, appearing on their classic 2001 Roadrunner release "Revolution Revolucion" and the 2003 follow-up "Confession".