SOULFLY are set to release their devastating new album “Ritual”, on October 19 via Nuclear Blast. The album also features multiple guests including Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD) and Ross Dolan(IMMOLATION). We talk to Max Cavalera about the new record and more.
Metal-Roos: All I can say is amazing. Soulfly has conquered the globe several times over and is now back with the raging Ritual the new album and 11th full length from Soulfly. The sound of this album is massive and destructive, the songs are relentless and weave in and out with shifting structures and huge riffs, while also having moments of pure tranquil beauty. The singles off the album have been met with critical acclaim. You guys have to be stoked with how the album sounds and how it has been received so far…
Max: Yeah, we’re very happy. The reviews I’ve read are all very positive, I mean some people are saying that this is the best Soulfly record they’ve heard and some of the best stuff we’ve done…So of course it makes me happy, we worked really hard on the album.
I think it’s a cool record man, I think it’s the record I wanted to make as a fan of the metal music that I am. It satisfied me when I listened to it, and I think it also satisfied the fans because Josh Wilber the producer came in as a fan and tried to make the record that he wanted to hear as a fan. So, he was looking out for the fans, I was looking out for my own metal interests and I think at the end of the day we got a good record out of it.
Metal-Roos: You said that Josh Wilbur wanted to hear the album from the POV of a fan. How much of a positive vibe did this inject into the project? How much did that inspire you guys to get through the best out of the recording process?
Max: Oh for sure, man, he was like a teenager, headbanging and getting excited whenever we did something cool. When we did Ritual and Bite the Bullet he was super pumped, those are like the two groove songs that he loved on the album. Dead Behind the Eyes and Under Rapture are more my neck of the woods, just more like what I listen to.
Just putting the record together with him was really cool and professional. He had a cool studio, but we actually recorded in three separate places, at LA, Josh’s house, and my house to get this thing done. It was quite a journey to get it done.
Metal-Roos: How does the writing and recording process for Soulfly usually work? Was it different at all for Ritual?
Max: A little, yeah. Normally we all bang it out at once and it gets all done, but it wasn’t the case. That gave me a little but more time to think more about lyrics and arrangements with the luxury to do it at home which was cool… just sitting at home thinking at night, then meeting up during the day with Josh when we wanted to, no time frame. I think one night we went till 2 in the morning, which was good, we kept rolling kept playing till my voice broke down…
Soulfly recording has been the same for years, I write and arrange all the riffs. Then I jam them with Zyon a little bit, then we take all that to the studio and we turn those riffs into songs. Then I put lyrics over it later, vocals, mark puts solos down and some of the stuff turns to magic!
Metal-Roos: You said that you ran out of time in the studio, why did you go overtime? How much do you guys work the songs in the studio?
Max: Oh, we only had limited amount of time and if we didn’t finish we would have to finish somewhere else. Josh suggested we record at my house and he would bring all his equipment which was cool.
This record we worked on the songs a bit when we left the studio, recording at home, and then recording with the Navaho. I went on a field recording trip, with my 4 tracks, some microphones, met with the Navaho at the reservation, got in a circle with them, recorded all the chants and put all that in the record. There is some really cool stuff like that, which happened on this album. Some of the Soulfly records don’t have much stuff like that so I was happy that we were able to do more this time.
Metal-Roos: Recording with the Navaho sounds crazy! Have you worked with them before?
Max: I have been to rituals with them. My family has been baptised by them, we have played for them a bunch of times. We played with a Navaho metal band before. I met the Vice-President… Extremely nice people, very cool people, huge metal fans. Beautiful lands man, the landscape is just beautiful there, the land is very spiritual there as well, very cool.
Metal-Roos: The lyrics on the album sound quite direct, as always, is there a concept behind the album?
Max: Nah, it’s just all kinds of stuff going on. From Dead Behind the Eyes which is about Hellraiser and Hell Priests, Cenobites and all that Clive Barker world. Demonized which is some stuff I took from the Bible about the Seven Thunders, Sit Back is about touring and life on the road, Healing Power is about dictators from Hitler to Trump, Blood on the Streets about Navaho girls getting murdered on the streets… The record just shoots in all different directions. Normally how I like to make records is focus on all different topics.
Metal-Roos: Soulfly alone have released 11 albums, you also have Cavalera Conspiracy and Killer Be Killed, where do you find inspiration for so much material? Just everywhere?
Max: Pretty much. A lot of ideas I just turn into songs. With the Cavalera album Psychosis I tried to make the lyrics about really heavy subjects, like Judas Pariah and Excruciating. Crom was about the father of Conan and Conan mythology, sometimes about movies and books. Sometimes about everyday life… it all depends, I am aware of all my surroundings so I try to be influenced by everything at all times if it’s possible.
Metal-Roos: The fact that you were able to launch a career in Brazil and move out to the States and maintain success is astounding… with the changes in the world and the music industry, do you think it’s easier or more difficult to be able to follow in your footsteps?
Max: I don’t know man, that’s a really good question. I mean when we started there was no internet it was all tape trading and word of mouth plus I think there was less competition. Right now there is a tonne of competition, there’s a billion bands out there now man. If you go to the internet you start searching for bands, you would lose your mind how many there are, just too many… and it’s so easy to get information about any bands at any given moment with the internet, things like Spotify is like having an entire record store at your fingertips. But I don’t know if that’s good or bad. Sometimes I think it’s better for the listener but worse for the bands because it makes it harder for the bands to get attention, you gotta be willing to do something really different to stand out. Even when you do videos… all the videos get stuck with all the other videos and nothing really special happens, unless you do something really amazing in your video to make something happen, so it’s kinda a little bit of both.
But it’s possible, there are bands doing it now. Krisiun’s doing a great job, coming out of Brazil and Nervosa are starting to tour more. Some of those guys are doing well with this, so that makes me extremely happy.
Metal-Roos: Do you want to comment on the current political climate of Brazil? It really doesn’t look good with Bolsonaro leading the election at last count…
Max: Yeah… unfortunately that’s just Brazil, man. Politics of Brazil sucks especially when they try to imitate what happened in the States… They got a guy like Trump, so they gotta get a guy like Trump, who supports fascists and all this bullshit. I dunno, man, it’s all corrupt man, I don’t understand politics. When Evil Empowered was written, it seems like no matter who gets in power they abuse that power for evil instead of helping the people, so that song is exactly what is happening in Brazil right now.
Metal-Roos: You have kept the theme of ending the album on an acoustic number. When/how/why did this change from a “cool idea” to this how we end each album?
I don’t think they have become a trademark yet, because some of them are in the middle of the record and that’s kinda how it started with Soulfly. The last couple of albums we did it, I think on Archangel, Soulfly X was a bonus track. I kinda debated doing it on this album, I wanted to keep it to nine tracks and keep the instrumental as a B-side. But the label and Josh thought the song came out really cool with the saxophone and thought it belongs on the album which I agree with now. If you listen to the whole record as a journey, it’s cool, it’s like the Pantera record that ended with Planet Caravan. It feels cool. Or Black Sabbath ending an album with a slow melodic song – Mob Rules or Heaven and Hell. It’s cool, it fits the vibe of the album so I’m happy with it.
Metal-Roos: I thought the use of small acoustic and melodic sections really broke up the album, balancing it really well…
Max: Yeah, I like melody, I have no problem with melody. I just don’t try to sing with melodic vocals cause I can’t do it and it would be a disaster if I tried. So I don’t even go there, I don’t even try… hahaha… some other people they try but it’s not for me. But we add melody in other things like the intro of Demonize. Mark layed down a beautiful acoustic guitar, some of the passages and solos are very melodic and beautiful and then we had Soulfly IX for the end of the of the record.
Metal-Roos: With 11 albums under their belt, gold albums and immense worldwide following what goals do Soulfly have left, what’s next for Soulfly?
Max: For me it’s just continuing, man. A steady continuation of my work. I’m still hungry, I’m still looking for that one perfect record which I don’t think I have yet, not yet. Ritual is pretty close but not there yet, so I will keep trying. As long as you’re still hungry and you still love and enjoy what you are doing nothing will stop you keeping it going. I’m excited for the tour, which starts in January, we are hoping to come out to Australia next year which would be really great. I’m excited for all that.
Metal-Roos: Awesome man, thanks so much for your time this morning, Max! I really appreciate it, killer album and see you soon!
Max: Thanks! Nice talking to you brother.
Interview Date: 2018-10-16
Interviewer: Jonathan Hurley
