Soulfly: News, History & Updates

Soulfly Biography

By MAX CAVALERA, exclusively for Alternative Nation

Leaving Sepultura/Forming Soulfly

Max Cavalera: A confusing period, very dark period. A lot of people say, like, big things, powerful things are born sometimes from tragedy and pain. I believe that. And I think Soulfly is one of those situations where coming out of a tragic event, I was able to create something quite special, but quite unique that would let me continue using music as – I always say – a weapon. As an inspirational thing for yourself, for your heart, for your soul.

So, I think it was a very strange place to be. I mean, the best I can sum up from that time was actually the song, ‘No Hope = No Fear,’ which was written for the first record [1998’s self-titled debut]. Which is very much the kind of state of mind I was in at that time – you have no hope, therefore, you also have no fear. You can go anywhere. You can do whatever you want.

It was a strange place to be. It’s wild to be in a place of like, not much hope, but also, with this crazy freedom that you can do whatever you want. And that really sparked…the theme of Soulfly really comes from this song. This song sums up the vibe of the whole first record. And from then on, I just never looked back. I just kept going.

Soulfly’s Early Albums (Co-Produced by Ross Robinson)

Max Cavalera: I love producers in general. I love working with them – everybody from Scott Burns to Andy Wallace to Ross. Ross was fun because we had just finished working with him on [Sepultura’s] Roots. So, I struck up a good friendship with him. He liked my mom [Vania Cavalera] a lot. He was really close with my mom. It was really cool to see the both of them really get together.

And then also gave the record some really wild ideas at the time. I remember just recording some of the stuff, like the instrumental [‘Soulfly’], we were just jamming, and he pressed record, and he captured the whole moment – the live moment – ended up being instrumental song.

I think in general, I enjoy working with people that are passionate about the project as much as you are. As an example, like our new record, Chama, we have our son, Zyon, produce. That’s a total opposite of all that, because he’s not really a producer. And that was so cool because of that, because he’s not a producer. He was all about how inspired he was to make a great thing, and how inspired he was to make this record be as amazing as it can be.

That’s all you need to be a good producer. That’s like, the main quality, I think – more than anything else. More than knowing the board. It’s to inspire the musician, you know. Zyon really inspired me on the new record, Chama, and I really love that.

Max and Chino Moreno Bury Master Tapes of Soulfly’s Debut Album Overnight

Max Cavalera: We buried them in Indigo Ranch [Studios, in Malibu, California]. We knew there was a burial ground there, like, Indian burial ground from 300 years ago. So I wanted to capture the essence of the land, of the indigenous power. So, me and Chino from the Deftones, we dug big holes, put the tapes there. We closed it, let it spend the night. The next day, dug them up. It was cool. It was kind of crazy, but fun at the same time.

That’s why in the album, there’s a picture of Chino with a shovel, and the shovel is from when we were digging the holes. That’s why he has a shovel. People are still like, ‘Why is he holding a shovel in a picture?’ That’s why. Because we’re digging holes in in Indigo Ranch, in the Malibu hills.

Most Overlooked Soulfly Album

Max Cavalera: I think [2000’s] Primitive. Primitive is really cool. I love the whole idea of having guests on almost every song. It comes from hip-hop. And it had everybody from Tom Araya, we had Chino Moreno, we had Corey Taylor…dude, it was crazy. It had Sean Lennon. It was insane having all these musicians be part of a record.

I think that’s a really intense record. Sounds really cool. The production of it sounds great, the groove of it sounds great. And it’s quite different from the first record, as well. So, I think I like all of those elements about Primitive. I think Primitive, it’s definitely a special Soulfly record.

Soulfly’s 2025 release, Chama

Max Cavalera: Every record is different. There’s some that, for some reason, they have something in it that is hard to explain what it is, but it makes them stand out. And you kind of know that are going to stand out and it’s going to be a different kind of record right away. It’s weird how that works. I felt it on [1998’s] Soulfly I, [2000’s] Primitive, a little bit later, [2005’s] Dark Ages. And now, Chama has the same kind of thing. It’s almost like a rebirth, reinvention of itself. But I think it’s a combination of all of that.

And then, of course, the way the record was produced, having Zyon [Cavalera, Max’s son] producing the record and Arthur [Rizk] mix it. Those two together are two evil scientists. It was incredible. It was really cool to see them collaborate on the record together. Just feels very different. It feels new. It feels fresh. Feels raw. I feel very inspired right now for this record. It’s a really cool record in my career.

Max Cavalera interview conducted exclusively by Greg Prato for Alternative Nation.