When Max Cavalera jumps on zoom, he’s revved up like an engine at full throttle. Soulfly have been tearing stages apart for nearly three decades, but he still carries the spark of someone who’s hungry.
That raw energy is exactly what he’s bringing back to Australia in January, where Soulfly, Nailbomb and Snot will storm Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne for three nights of awesome.
With Chama now out in the world and shaking the fences of extreme metal, the record’s fire is still fresh in his mind. Max explains the meaning behind the title straight from the source, “Yeah, it does, yeah. I mean, it’s a double meaning. Word also means calling you if you call somebody, or calling the spirits.”
For him, the symbolism leans heavily into the element that has always fuelled Soulfly, “I like to think is more flame, you know, it’s more about the fire.”
He paints the album in that imagery, recalling the cover’s Apache crow dancers surrounded by flames and calling it the return of the band’s lifeblood.
“The flame is back, the Soulfly sound is back, return to form.” And there’s pride in how Chama came together, especially with his son Zion taking the producer’s chair for the first time.
“Zion did a great, amazing job on the production,” Max says. “The album, to me, feels tribal, but also technology… like we have, we have technology shit and tribal shit together.”
Keeping the fire burning
What stands out most about Max is the way he talks about work, there’s no burnout in sight, he thrives on juggling projects. “I enjoy it truly,” he says when I ask how he handles so many bands at once. “One of the things I like the most is that I get to do so much different shit with different people and different styles.”
He rattles them off with the ease of someone who lives in constant motion, there’s Cavalera performing Sepultura era brutality, the punk fuelled explosion of Go Ahead And Die, Nailbomb’s industrial venom, and Killer Be Killed’s genre mashing heaviness.
He even jokes about forgetting Soulfly in the list, before grounding himself again, ‘Soulfly is my main thing, you know, it’s like my baby type, you know, band.’
Next year marks thirty years of Soulfly, a milestone he wears lightly but respectfully, without this band, he says, none of his other ventures would exist. The idea of slowing down? Not even for a second.
“I don’t believe in retirement. I think retirement, that is the death of purpose.” He doesn’t dress it up. “I want to be busy forever, until I fucking die.”
Double duties in Australia
With the January run pairing Soulfly and Nailbomb on the same bill, Max is about to test that philosophy in real time. He isn’t stressed though, he’s done triple duty before in Phoenix.
“It was fine. It was cool. I had energy for all of them,” he says.
The two sets demand totally different sides of him.
“The nail bomb is more electronic,” he explains. “I share the vocals with my son, Igor, so I don’t have to sing as much.” Soulfly, meanwhile, hits that deep, percussive pulse they’re known for, stomping through staples like ‘Prophecy’, ‘Jumpdafuckup’, and ‘Eye for an Eye’, alongside material from Shama. He’s confident: “It’ll be fine… I feel really good right now.”
Chasing new sounds while honouring the old
Talking about new Soulfly material reveals where Chama fits in the story, when I mention the album’s early Soulfly punch, he lights up.
“Feels a bit like the attitude of the record is very much similar to the attitude we had on those first Soulfly records.” But he’s quick to lay out how far the band has stretched since then.
He brings up ‘No No Pain No Power’, calling it a statement track. ‘To me, speaks to the diversity that Soulfly can achieve… really stretch the sound of Soulfly beyond what we people are expecting.’
The excitement in his voice makes it clear he’s not trying to recreate history, he’s trying to take it somewhere new.
The Detroit Lions and the joy of suffering
Somewhere in the middle of all this, Max has become a diehard Detroit Lions fan, an unexpected curveball for someone living in Phoenix, but his explanation is peak Max:
“I’m a Leo. So I like the lion logo… I thought I’m going to pick an underdog team. I don’t want to pick the best team in the league. I want to suffer a little bit and, you know, ride or die with this team.”
He laughs about their close calls, including watching a painful loss from Australia, but he’s hopeful.
“I hope so, man,” he says about a Super Bowl chance. In his spare time he does fantasy football with his kids, watches games on the tour bus, and talks about it like a second religion.
Soulfly, Nailbomb and Snot return to Australia in January
Soulfly, Nailbomb and Snot hit Australia in January for three huge shows with Max promising fire, sweat and history colliding each night.
Monday, January 26th – Brisbane, The Tivoli
Tuesday, January 27th – Sydney, The Enmore
Friday, January 30th – Melbourne, The Forum
Pick up your tickets here.
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