During a recent appearance on “Talk Toomey” podcast, SOULFLY frontman Max Cavalera discussed how was it like to record new album, Totem, without longtime guitarist Marc Rizzo, who left the band last year.
“Whenever [anything] like that happens, it’s an opportunity to do something different, bring in new blood,” Max responded. “Especially [with] SOULFLY, there’s always been that kind of motto of changing people from time to time.
“I love that the record had a little bit of struggle related [to it]. Those are some of my best records — the ones that are not easy sailing; they’ve got drama in it. And Totem is full of drama. The whole Rizzo thing was its own soap opera. It’s, like, c’mon, man.
“So I saw this as an opportunity to do a couple of things,” he continued. “And we took the opportunity, as much as we could, by having Dino [Cazares, FEAR FACTORY guitarist] playing live [with SOULFLY]. It was incredible. We’re still jamming with him right now. And then on the record itself, I had the opportunity to work with the ETERNAL CHAMPION guys, which I’m a big fan. And they kind bring that old-school heavy metal vibe to the solos — Arthur [Rizk] and John Powers. And I love it; I was totally on board with it. It sounded different, fresh and new and exciting.
“The stuff with Rizzo kind of was always the same — a lot of the stuff was sounding a lot the same — and this is new and different and exciting. And I felt f**king great when I was working on the songs and I would hear the solos coming in, and it was different and exciting. We just did whatever we could for the record.
“So there was a bit of a struggle because of the whole Rizzo thing, and that’s kind of worked in the favor of the record, I think,” Cavalera added. “‘Cause you don’t wanna f**k with me, man. You don’t. You f**k with me, yeah, there’s payback. I just kind of go in that f**king warrior mode and get angry and pissed off and good sh*t comes out of it, musically talking. So the record has that little bit of anger, a little bit of fire.”
Totem will be released via Nuclear Blast on August 5th.
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.