Interview: Heavy Metal Icon Max Cavalera – Spotlight Report

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Interview: Heavy Metal Icon Max Cavalera – Spotlight Report

It’s always an honor to chat with the iconic Max Cavalera – a metal pioneer who never slows down and has always been incredibly generous with his time, having spoken with Spotlight Report on multiple occasions. From Soulfly and Killer Be Killed to Go Ahead and Die and the family-driven juggernaut Cavalera, Max has forged a legacy of chaos and creativity, inciting mosh pits and blending genres like no other.

In this latest interview, we talk about Max’s ambitious re-recordings of Morbid Visions, Bestial Devastation, and Schizophrenia, uncovering the raw passion and purpose behind revisiting these landmark albums. He also teases what Australian fans can expect when he storms down under in January 2025.

But there’s more – Max reflects on the cassette that shaped his journey into heavy metal(trust us, it’s not what you’d expect!) and delivers invaluable advice for unleashing the ultimate “metal scream.” This conversation is one of our most candid and inspiring yet with the metal legend himself.

So crank up the volume, put on your favorite Cavalera album, brace for carnage, and prepare to hit the pit this January – Max Cavalera is coming, and it’s going to be unforgettable!

SR: Hi Max! Nice talking to you again. We’re looking forward to seeing you here with Cavalera in full force in Sydney.

Max: Yeah, we’re excited, man.

SR: What was the motivation behind the re-recording of those monstrosity of albums: Morbid Visions, Bestial Devastation, and Schizophrenia?

Max: We were not very happy with the original sound. You know, there’s of course a charm to those records, the way they were. But as musicians, we were always curious about how they would sound with good production, you know, with a very heavy, really aggressive production so you could hear the riffs. Because I don’t think you can really hear the riffs on the original Morbid Visions, Bestial Devastation, and Schizophrenia. The riffs are buried because of bad recording.

So most of it was because of that, and also because Igor and I really enjoy playing the old stuff and we’ve been doing it live and trying it just for fun, you know, it was like we had nothing to lose… so let’s just go there and record and see what happens, you know. And what I think the difference is, the way we approached it was we felt like teenagers again, except with the experience of the years.

But as far as the aggression and the heaviness and the gritty attitude, we kept that intact, you know? And that’s why I think people really love these re-recordings. A lot of people told me, “I can finally hear the riffs.” And I was like, exactly. That’s what I’ve been saying.

“…as far as the aggression and the heaviness and the gritty attitude, we kept that intact…”

Those are great songs that people could never really understand because they were badly recorded. But now you can really hear them the way we want them to sound, you know, the way we wanted people to hear them. And that’s how we sound live, you know, that’s what people in Australia are going to see.

We sound like that. We sound like those records live, you know, and that’s the main thing. It sounds so killer with the band playing, you know, with Igor my brother. It’s like you get the sound of the record, but live is just really fantastic.

SR: Did it feel weird going to the studio to record these, especially because back in the ’80s everything was analog? Now you have all this technology. Do you guys feel like kids in a candy store or something, like trying new things?

Max: Well yeah, that’s the thing. We tried to record in a really kind of analog way, like the way we play was all live.

We didn’t use much technology to improve. That was not necessary, you know, because we played those songs for real as humans, you know, and we felt that they just needed to be recorded better. But as far as performing them, we got the performing part down. We know what they sound like. We know how to play them. So, I think we stay away, actually, from technology. Like I myself, I did not use any Pro-Tools.

No. I recorded every single riff, you know. I wanted to record like it was back in the day, like if I was doing it just like it was in the ’80s. So, I recorded every riff, I sang every part of the whole record. And what was cool was the way we recorded the drums to create this live environment. We set up a guitar line going through Igor’s headphones. So, I play with him live, like really live, like if you were on a stage, and we captured the drums like a live recording.

Now, that’s why you have the power of the drums and the performance came out like that. Because of that, I think any other way we would have done it, man, if we had tried to use technology to recreate that, it would definitely ruin it, you know, you’d ruin the magic. Yeah. There’s no way you could do it.

SR: That’s one of the things that fascinates me about your music, mate. You always explore new sounds. You have these tribal sounds in some songs and more brutal ones in others depending on the band. The question I always wanted to ask you is, with all the bands you have—Killer Be Killed, Go Ahead and Die, Soulfly, Cavalera—when on earth do you have any free time?

Max: (Laughs) Yeah, yeah, I try, I try true, but I love this. I love, I love, I love staying busy. And right now I’m actually creating new Soulfly music for next year. At this moment, I’m making the riffs and just getting the fingers organized. But yeah, you know, we just had this show in Phoenix with Nail Bomb and Go Ahead and Die.

It was a great show, and it was all the Cavalera musical era. I think we’re going to try to do another one next year with other bands, maybe Killer Be Killed and other bands involved, but I think, like, yeah, I don’t like to have too much free time. I like to stay busy, man.

You know, because to me, I don’t see this much as work. It’s more like it’s fun, you know, it’s fun to play music and I enjoy it. I know it is work, you know, given what we’re doing right now, it’s working. But I don’t really see it like that. I kind of still have this young heart and young mind that loves what I do.

You know, I love what I do, and I try to just really enjoy staying busy and jump from one to the other. You know, I’m really excited for this tour. I think this tour is great. We played these records already in Europe and it was fantastic. The energy was incredible. And I think Australia has always been great.

We always do great in Australia. Hopefully we can get some more songs from Schizophrenia in. So, it’s more of the three records, the majority of the three records.

SR: The fact that you have so many bands is impressive. How do you manage to keep every single band so powerful but so different at the same time?

Max: Well, that comes down to, yeah, on the creative side of things. I think you gotta use the tools at your disposal and the people around you, because each band is different with different players, different musicians.

So, you know, Killer Be Killed is a bit more melodic. I get to explore my more melodic side of riffing, and Go Ahead and Die is just pure punk metal. So, I just go off on the old, old-school sound, you know? So, it’s more like the groove, tribal groove for Soulfly. They are a little bit different, but that’s why it’s cool.

You know, if they sound the same, then it wouldn’t have been as much fun. I like that they are different. I like that, and there’s also a challenge to make them a little bit different from each other. That creates, to me, like a challenge. And I love to embrace the challenge and try to do the hard parts and find time to do all of them, you know? Yeah, that’s the hard part. But apart from that, everything’s cool.

SR: Speaking about the Australian tour, we are expecting a crazy mosh pit and a loud, loud set. In your own words, what can fans expect about these shows with Cavalera?

Max: It’s very nostalgic, man. You know, in fact, it’s like kind of freaky, like time travel, because even the way we look is based on that. We got the spikes and the belts, you know, we are embracing the era entirely. The whole ’80s metal era, and it was the time of spikes and bracelets and bullet belts and leather jackets.

We go all the way. We, you know, all of us wear that stuff. And the show itself, it’s a powerhouse. I think, you know, if you love this stuff, if you grew up with that music, you know what those records mean to you. That’s the beginning. That’s the foundation of the early extreme music scene.

You know, when we made Bestial Devastation, it was even before, like Norwegian black metal. It was made all the time by Venom and Hellhammer, and we embrace all of that. I think, again, we played them, of course, with the sound of now. So, the modern sound of amplifiers and just distortion helps make them even heavier, and then of course, there’s also the adrenaline of the show.

The setlist is really cool. We combine all three records. It is just pure brutality. Yeah. Nostalgic brutality!

SR: I’m a huge fan of your music, and I must say Killer Be Killed really has blown me away. Do you have any plans for a third album?

Max: I talk to Greg (Puciato) all the time. I mean, he’s the one that I speak with the most. But we all love the project. And I think it’s cool that we don’t do too much with it. It is a bit more special, you know, so whenever we do it, it’s going to be special.

But yeah, I think we’re definitely gonna work on, maybe next year, the third record and hopefully have some kind of touring for that as well. But right now I’m really busy with making the new Soulfly and the Cavalera dates. Going to keep me busy next year. But yeah, I don’t forget about KBK because it’s one of my most fun projects I have, you know, like, those guys are my friends, I love their music.

You know, I’m a fan of their bands. So, you get to do that with your friends. I know it’s a fantastic experience, a very unique experience. And I think the fans really love it, and Australian fans are privileged to be the only ones that actually witness KBK live ever, you know, we didn’t play anywhere else. But yeah, we will make a third record for sure.

SR: Going back to the ’80s again, what would you say was the first tape, the first cassette that blew you away and got you into metal music when you were younger? The tape that made you think, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”

Max: Me and Igor, we bought it right after we saw Queen live in Brazil. We went to the store and we bought Queen’s Live Killers and Igor bought Kiss Alive too. And we listened to those nonstop, you know.

I was more into the Queen cassette tape, but later I became a big Kiss fan, you know, very, very fanatic of Kiss.

Then a little bit later, Van Halen and Judas Priest—all these bands made a big impact. But yeah, it always started with Queen, which I think is really cool because they’re not a traditional heavy metal band, you know, they’re more of a rock opera band. But I’m proud to say that Queen is the gateway that started all this.

SR: That’s incredible. I would never have imagined that. Just to wrap up, we asked this before, but just checking if you have any more recent funny stories or something cool that happened to you on the latest tours you can share with us?

Max: Funny things. That’s funny all the time, you know, people falling on the stage all the time and…

I mean, I did three sets in Phoenix at the “Max Dynasty Show” and I had never done that before, so I did Go Ahead and Die, Nail Bomb, and Soulfly and I had to save energy for each one of them.

It was crazy, man. All in one night. Three shows. We filmed the whole thing. It’s great. It’s like, there are some videos on YouTube and stuff, but I think, you know, one of the coolest things is to still be able to do this with pure enjoyment. You know, I still really enjoy doing this.

Like, I was a kid, like, I’m a kid and I talk to a lot of fans. We do meet and greets. We are going to do meet and greets in Australia. So I get to ask the fans straight up after the show and that’s what I love about metal fans. They don’t really bullshit you. If you’re bad, they call you out on your bad.

So, you better be better next time. Oh, so you better be on your game, man. You got to be on. You got to be on it. You got to be on top of it. So, yeah. So that’s cool. I love it. We just did the Soulfly tour with EyeHateGod and Mutilation Barbecue. So yeah, very much, very, very much looking forward to Australia. It’s going to be great.

SR: A quick fan question before we finish. What is the best advice you can give to aspiring metal singers to do the famous “metal scream”?

Max: You just gotta let it out. Like, don’t even think about it, you know? I remember listening to Motörhead live at “No Sleep to Hammersmith”. There’s a Lemmy scream in the middle of the set. I forgot between which song. So, all he does, he just screams. He doesn’t announce the song or anything, it’s just a fucking scream. And I thought, that’s like pure primal caveman inside all of us.

We all have a caveman inside of us that lives somewhere. Sometimes you gotta let it out. I do that every night. You know, I’ve been making a living off going on stage and screaming every night. Yeah. I never had treatment. I never had vocal lessons. I don’t want to have a vocal coach, I don’t want to learn how to sing. Fuck that.

“…We all have a caveman inside of us that lives somewhere. Sometimes you gotta let it out…”

I like my voice the way it is. I like the screams the way they are and, for young people: just scream! And it’s good. Screaming is good for you. Because as much as laughing and screaming are good.

SR: Just to finish, any message for your Australian fans on the tour?

Max: Oh man, be there, man! It’s going to be insane. I’m telling you, I’m just preparing you, it’s gonna be like time travel. If you’re young and you’ve never seen anything like this, prepare yourself. It’s going to be a trip. If you’re there, you get to revive that. You have to relive it again. It’s the closest thing to the 1980s.

Watch us live, the whole atmosphere we create, the whole atmosphere that’s supposed to bring you back to 1983 Brazil. So, we are bringing that to Australia. It’s going to be fucking awesome.