Max Cavalera

Max Cavalera

Performing with Cavalera Conspiracy at the Eurockéennes festival in Belfort, France on July 5, 2008
Background information
Birth name Massimiliano Antonio Cavalera
Also known as Max Possessed
Born August 4, 1969
Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Genres Groove metal, thrash metal, death metal, alternative metal, heavy metal, world, industrial metal, Nu metal
Occupation(s) Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, berimbau, percussion, sitar, sampler, talk box, agogô, chains
Years active 1984–present
Labels Roadrunner, Cogumelo, Nuclear Blast, Napalm
Associated acts Sepultura, Nailbomb, Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, Killer Be Killed, Roadrunner United, Metal All Stars, Guerrilha
Website cavaleraconspiracy.com
Notable instruments
ESP Max Cavalera AX signature model

Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera (Portuguese pronunciation: [masimiliˈɐnu ɐ̃ˈtonju kɐvɐˈleɾɐ], born August 4, 1968) is a Brazillian singer, guitarist, and songwriter who currently plays in heavy metal bands Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, and Killer Be Killed. In 1984, he co-founded the acclaimed heavy metal band Sepultura with his brother Igor Cavalera and played as the band's lead singer and rhythm guitarist until he left in 1996. Cavalera was also involved in a short-lived side project called Nailbomb.

Life and career

His father, Graziano Cavalera, was an employee of the Italian Consulate in São Paulo and died at 40 years of age and is buried in Belo Horizonte; Max was nine when his father died. Max's family was in a state of financial crisis and family turbulence when he formed Sepultura with his younger brother Igor.

In the early 1990s he relocated to Phoenix, Arizona. He did not begin to make spiritual-music until after he quit Sepultura. His earlier lyrics for Soulfly were influenced by religion and spirituality, though he is critical of religion. His later albums, starting with Dark Ages, began to incorporate lyrical themes of violence, warfare, anger and hatred. His albums have all been dedicated to God, and he has often been depicted by the press as a man of religion, especially in the United States, something that Cavalera himself says he does not understand:

“ I do hate a lot of 'religion' but people like Christ – yeah they inspire me. I mean if you look at Christ, He was hanging around with the lowlifes, prostitutes and the losers you know, not going around with those high society motherfuckers you see trying to sell Jesus today![1] ”

When asked in an interview whether he was a Christian and whether Soulfly was a Christian band, he said:

“ No. I mean, if I was a Christian I would wear all these different kinds of omens. Because Christian people are so close-minded. A priest would not accept that. So I don't like the concept of Christianity in terms of being so close-minded. It is the same with music. Sometimes I compare preachers to close-minded musicians or close-minded listeners, who only like one kind of music. Some preachers are the same. And they don't tolerate Hindus, Buddhists or whatever. Only them. It's bullshit. So Soulfly is not a Christian band at all. Very much opposite. But we are very spiritual. Spiritual has nothing to do with Christianity anyway. It has been here since the beginning of time.[2] ”

In another interview he was asked about the Varg Vikernes church burnings. He quoted, "I support church burnings 100 percent, but why don't we just burn everything. Mosques, temples, all religious buildings." However he later claimed his views changed about the church burnings and called them "too violent." He has stated that he does believe in God, "But it might be different than the God the preacher preaches about."

Of enduring influence to his music is the untimely death of his stepson Dana Wells, who was killed after the release of Roots in 1996. The songs "Bleed", "First Commandment", "Pain", "Tree of Pain" and "Revengeance" are tributes to Wells, as well as Deftones' song "Headup", in which Cavalera featured and co-wrote. He reunited with his brother Igor, in their band Cavalera Conspiracy, and wrote and performed on Soulfly's Conquer, released in 2008.[3][4] In November 2011, Cavalera announced that he is working on an autobiography, for publication in 2013: his co-writer is the British author Joel McIver and the book's foreword has been written by Dave Grohl.[5] During an interview with Metal Shock Finland, Andreas Kisser described Max's autobiography as science fiction.[6][7]

Personal

Cavalera, a dedicated football fan who supports Brazilian football club Palmeiras, still lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife Gloria and his five children, Zyon, Igor, Richie, Jason,and Roxanne—Richie, the eldest, was adopted by Max. Zyon, Igor and Richie have all collaborated with Max in his various projects, particularly Richie, who has contributed vocals to albums by Cavalera Conspiracy and Soulfly, and played occasional guitar on Nailbomb's live album Proud to Commit Commercial Suicide, credited as Richie Bujinowski. The three sons are also active in music, with Richie fronting Incite and Igor and Zyon performing in Lody Kong. In 2012 and 2013 Zyon toured with Soulfly after David Kinkade's retirement.

Instruments

With Sepultura, Cavalera played a B.C. Rich Warlock, and now plays a custom ESP six-string signature guitar. Designed to his specifications and based on the Viper design, the guitar features a Seymour Duncan SH6 Distortion pickup. A budget version (with a stock pickup) is sold under the LTD moniker. Another signature guitar produced by ESP, based on the AX model, is white with a Soulfly logo inlays. He also used a series of Gibson SG guitars during his later years in Sepultura and on the first two Soulfly albums and the tours that supported them. For 2011, ESP did a new signature model for Max, called the Max Cavalera EX, which consists of a single Seymour Duncan distortion and Soulfly logo inlays. He plays through a Peavey 3120, and also used Peavey 6505.

Cavalera's own guitar is only strung with four strings, as he has claimed that he never used the highest two strings. Besides the guitar, he also plays a berimbau, a Brazilian one-string instrument (cordophone family), a sitar and sometimes percussion on stage and studio recordings.

Collaborations

Max Cavalera 2015

Cavalera has collaborated with many different artists while in Sepultura and Soulfly. In 2003 he joined forces with former Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters' frontman Dave Grohl to produce "Red War" for the self-titled release of Dave Grohl's metal project, Probot.

Musicians

Cavalera has worked with the following musicians:

Bands

Cavalera has collaborated with the following bands:

Cavalera appeared in The Scorpion King in an off-camera role, providing the guttural screams for Dwayne Johnson.[8] He also appears in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned as a DJ for the radio channel LCHC.

Discography

Sepultura
Nailbomb
Soulfly
Cavalera Conspiracy
Killer Be Killed

References

  1. ↑ "Soulfly : interview". Musicomh.com. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Exclusive: Talking Music & Horror with Max Cavalera of SOULFLY
  4. ↑ "A Conversation with the Cavalera Conspiracy and Soulfly Vocalist". About.com. heavymetal.about.com. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
  5. ↑ "MAX CAVALERA's Autobiography To Include Foreword By DAVE GROHL". BlabberMouth.
  6. ↑ "SEPULTURA's ANDREAS KISSER Says MAX CAVALERA's Autobiography Is 'Like Science Fiction'". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  7. ↑ Virmakari, Tarja. "Audio Interview With SEPULTURA: Andreas Kisser Talks About The New Album, Reveales How Drummer Dave Lombardo Got Involved, And Comments On Max Cavalera’s Provocative Statements". Metal Shock Finland. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Full Cast and Crew for The Mummy Returns". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2009-04-07.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Max Cavalera.