Max Cavalera: Soulfly Concert Almost Like A Ritual

Max Cavalera (Instagram @thesoulflytribe)

JAKARTA - In a recent interview with Project Bckstage Interviews, Sepultura's former vocalist and Soulfly's current vocalist, Max Cavalera, spoke about what kept him motivated to continue music and tour for nearly four decades after Sepultura's founding.

"For me, this is a journey. It's been a long journey. Of course it started in Brazil I think it's been 40 years now. I made music and toured for almost 30 years, I think; 27 years of tour," Max opened.

"And the best thing is that I don't lose my passion. I still, I was nervous before the show; I'm going to be nervous tonight - very nervous, like a butterfly and everything. But I don't think it's good. It's a good anxiety. It's a kind of nervousness that's different from the other kind of nervousness you're going through. It's good," continued Max. "It's a joy, kind of nervousness. It's hard to explain. But it goes until you reach the stage and then you hear the roar and you hold your guitar and you hear the first tone and it goes away as soon as you reach the stage."

"It's incredible. It's magical. I think there's a lot of magic in me. I know it's cheap to say magic, but I don't know other words to describe this, because it's a crazy feeling we got on stage, and I think fans understand it."

"I think Soulfly concerts often tend to be almost like rituals; they are more than just rock shows. I think because of the whole ethnicity feeling we bring into it, it's almost like a religious experience. Everyone is very connected through all the songs. And I like that about Soulfly."

"It's also a very positive band... I also love the fact that we are an old-school band type where everything is live. We use minimal playback maybe intro; for two or three songs, we have intro, but the others are us. Everything is organic, so it all comes from us playing the instruments, which come from The Beatles, if you go back to the history of rock music. It's back to Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath real live, organic."

"Every night is a little different, and I like it, because it makes... so it's not like a robot. Every show is not the same. So tonight I'm sure it will be different from last night."

Soulfly's twelveth album, Totem, was released in August 2022 through Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to the ritual (2018) was recorded on the Platinum Underground in Mesa, Arizona by Johnquilino and Arthur Rizk with the help of John Powers.

Produced by Max Cavalera with Arthur Rizk (Kreator, Municipal Waste, Code Orange), the album features guest performances from John Powers (Eternal Champion), Chris Ulsh (Power Trip), and John Tardy (Obtuary).

Rizk is also responsible for playing the main guitar in the recording. The artwork was created by James Bousema.