Goreripper: Congratulations on the new album Max. It's really a good listen.
Max Cavalera: Thank you man, appreciate that. We're getting very excited. To me, this is the hardest part of making a record. The weeks before the release. Because you did everything you wanted to do. Which is why I'm doing interviews, because otherwise you want to kill somebody! The waiting just kills you, man. But I'm very excited. I've been talking to my brother... I was in New York with Iggor a couple of weeks ago and I can see in his eyes that he's very happy that we play together. It's amazing man, really cool. I was really hoping that things would turn out better, and they did you know? Because for a long time I didn't talk to him, and it was very hard on him and me and the family and my mother and the fans even, around the world. But me made it through and we got an album out of it and we are very proud of it and we can't wait to tour.
Goreripper: That was one of the things I was going to ask you about, because obviously there was a lot of bitterness there for a while. What was it like working with Iggor again after all that time?Max Cavalera: Honestly it was very easy... it got back to where it was. When Iggor and I are in the room... it's like, with our instruments... everything disappears. It's quite amazing. The only thing that matters is the music and what we are doing. Nothing else even bugs us. It's quite a strong feeling. I myself, I was worried... well not worried but kinda curious. Would that still be there when we do this again? Would the feeling still be there? Would it be weird? We had these questions. But it wasn't weird at all! It was completely back. Not just back, but more hungry, more excited and more appreciative of each other. I still play the guitar with four strings and he still hits the drums with the upside-down drumsticks! We still play the same way we did 10 years, 15 years ago.
Goreripper: Have you made plans for Cavalera Conspiracy beyond this tour, or is it just one thing at a time for the moment?
Max Cavalera: Well at the moment we are just booking as we go. No big planning, but the album is getting a lot of excitement around the world and a lot of festivals call us and they want us to be part of that and so we are doing a lot of shows in the European festivals with bands we know. Metallica, Morbid Angel, Carcass, many, many other cool bands. After that I heard something about a US tour with Dillinger Escape Plan which is friends with Iggor. He knows these guys and they are cool band. After that, I don't know my man. I hope we can come to Australia. Ha!
Goreripper: Well I hope so...Max Cavalera: You know I was there a bunch of times with Sepult, with Soulfly. Great fans, man. Great place. The Gigantour Soulfly reaction was amazing and so I think it would definitely be something special to come back with Iggor. We will definitely have to work something out.
Goreripper: What does this mean for Soulfly?
Max Cavalera: The only thing that happened to Soulfly is that it made Soulfly heavier. Because I had to write a heavier album for Soulfly now because I can't write a Soulfly album that will sound like chicken shit compared to Conspiracy! (laughs) So in a way I'm very thankful for Conspiracy to kick my ass to make Soulfly an even heavier, crazier record. Which it is going to be because I already recorded most of it. In terms of timetables and things, it's great because Soulfly could do with a bit of a break from extensive touring that we did the last six years. Soulfly has not stopped. Soulfly had play everywhere, more than fifty countries. Everywhere from Kosovo to who knows where... Argentina. We didn't stop. Just tour, tour, tour, tour. So it's a good thing to take a little break, a little rest. I did Conspiracy.. once that touring's done I go back into Soulfly and we release this album which like I told you is going to be heavy as fuck because it needs to be heavier than Conspiracy.
Goreripper: A lot of people who have heard the Conspiracy album have compared it to what you were doing with Sepultura around the time of Arise. What is your assessment of that?Max Cavalera: I hear a lot of things. I heard everything so far from Nailbomb to Arise to Chaos AD to Soulfly I, some of the thrash of it is like Dark Ages, but with Iggor on the drums. I agree with all of them! Yes! More and more the faster, the heavier, the crazier! That's what we are here for. That's what we do best, metal music. It doesn't matter what we listen to. Iggor listen to different things in his spare time, when he come to write songs with me it's fucking metal!
Goreripper: Your music has always been quite spiritual and political as well. Is a lot of that coming through in Inflikted?
Max Cavalera: Well I had to try to do a little bit differently, musically, lyrically. But yeah, there's hints of politics especially in songs like "Nevertrust" which makes mention to politicians, presidents, cops, Fallout Boy, music, politicians... Music politics. I think "Black Ark" is a dark spiritual song, so it's there. Maybe not as so much in evidence compared to some other things but all the elements are there. Even the grooves, man. On the first listen to hear a thrash sound, but listen to this album I think you find a lot of cool grooves throughout. Iggor was doing a lot of Brazilian grooves, especially in songs like "Terrorize" and "The Doom of All Fires" that has a killer groove. So the album grows and develops. That's what I think is good about it. Just like it has to be. Not just one thing. Not a copy of the past. Influence from the past, but going into the future.
Goreripper: You said that this album influenced the next Soulfly album. What can we expect from that?
Max Cavalera: Well the next Soulfly album is being mixed in England with Andy Sneap, and it's very heavy in its own way. In a Soulfly way. It's still got craziness... I recorded a lot in Egypt this time. I spent some time in Cairo working with some Egyptian musicians and we came up with some really wicked interludes and passages. It sounds nothing like anything I ever done. Very very amazing Egyptian instruments. There is a song that is a colloboration with Morbid Angel's singer David Vincent which is one of my favourite songs forever in my whole life that I wrote. It's called "Blood Fire War Hate" and that should be the opening of the album. It's very energising, verrrry powerful, man. I can't wait for fans to hear it. It's the shit. That one is gonna definitely create some chaos in the moshpit.
Goreripper: Thanks Max. Just before we go, I'd like to get your perspective on the US elections. From our side of the Pacific is just looks like a big circus. Who do you like out of the candidates.
Max Cavalera: Well, I wish Jello Biafra was one of them! None. It's a joke like you said. Anybody's better than Bush. That's the kind of attitude people have around here. It's weird. All these guys, they say something, but they do the complete opposite. Bush say all these things, but when we got in power he change everything. So... does it really matter? Sometimes I think it doesn't really matter you know? On the other hand I something think that Armageddon is here. The Apocalypse. We are going to the End of the World. It doesn't really matter who we put in power, because the shit's going to go down anyway. It's crazy times. I don't like politics. I think politicians are very much scum. Scum of the earth. They judge everybody, they tell you don't do this, but they do all that behind doors. They are the worst kind of people. At least with rock people, metal people what you see is what you get. We're not perfect, but we not try to be. We don't try to lie about it. I stay away from politics man. It's better.
- Goreripper
