Max Cavalera has confirmed to Ireland’s Overdrive that SOULFLY is working on material for the follow-up to 2018’s “Ritual” album. “I’m currently writing loads of stuff with Zyon [Cavalera, SOULFLY drummer and Max‘s son] three times a week,” he said. “On the way to the jam space, we are playing a lot of stuff that he [Zyon] has never heard before. Like, the other day we were driving along and I was playing C.O.C. ‘Technocracy’, which is their hardcore stuff which they don’t play anymore. I was telling Zyon to pay attention and check out the old-school stuff. [Laughs]
“Having him in a band with me is such a cool situation as we get to jam so many different ideas and he will bring some new stuff to the table that I’ve not heard before,” Max continued. “One of the things that is really cool is the way Zyon plays is very free. Not so much technical but more ‘free-spirited,’ if you know what I mean. Kind of like old ENTOMBED. He’s a little out of control, as it’s like an animal — slightly crazy and raw.
“Today, everybody is obsessed with making the most perfect-sounding album, and I don’t like that at all,” he added. “I like mistakes and things to be kind of crazy. If you listen to those early KREATOR records, the drumming and the riffs are all over the place. It’s like they weren’t playing together but it sounds so fucking killer. I want to go back to that old-natural live sound for the next SOULFLY album.”
Elaborating on his comment that he wants to make a more organic-sounding LP next time around, Max said: “I’m not worried too much about the technical side of things and want to capture the rawness of sound, kind of like HELLHAMMER. I want that insanity and brutal beauty for this album. Going from KILLER BE KILLED to SOULFLY is going to be a big jump in sound and songwriting, as they are two very different entities. Put it this way, I’ve never had so much time to work on a new SOULFLY album so this new one is going to be very interesting.”
Asked when fans can expect to hear the new SOULFLY album, Max said: “Well, right now I can’t really say. I’m not really in a big hurry to put out the next SOULFLY. I just want to write the best material I can for it. I’ll know when the time is right. I would say that I will be in the studio with SOULFLY next year, but whether that means a new album will follow in the same year? I just can’t tell at this stage.”
Max‘s side project KILLER BE KILLED has just released its sophomore album, “Reluctant Hero”, via Nuclear Blast. He is joined in the supergroup by Troy Sanders (MASTODON), Greg Puciato (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN), and Ben Koller (CONVERGE, ALL PIGS MUST DIE, MUTOID MAN).
This past June, SOULFLY released a new digital EP, “Live Ritual NYC MMXIX”. The effort was recorded at The Gramercy in New York City on February 11, 2019 while SOULFLY was on tour in support of its most recent full-length album, “Ritual”. The audio for the EP was mixed and mastered by Charles Elliott (ABYSMAL DAWN) from Tastemaker Audio. Cover artwork was comprised of live photos taken by Rodrigo Fredes.
“Ritual” was released in October 2018 via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to 2015’s “Archangel” was produced, recorded and mixed by Josh Wilbur (KILLER BE KILLED, LAMB OF GOD, GOJIRA). Cover artwork was painted by artist Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, ICED EARTH, SODOM). Additional booklet art was handled by Marcelo Vasco (SLAYER, HATEBREED, KREATOR), who also handled the package design. The album features multiple guests, including Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD).
