In May 2014, Soulfly and Korn will go on a joint tour around Russia. The bands will present their latest work to listeners: Soulfly released the album “Savages” in October 2013, and Korn released “The Paradigm Shift” in the same month. The last time Soulfly were in Russia was in 2006. On the occasion of their arrival, Lenta.ru spoke with the founder and leader of the team, the living legend of modern heavy music, Max Cavalera.

In an interview, Max said that writing angry songs is as easy for him as writing songs about love for The Beatles, and his own music is becoming heavier and heavier over time. He expressed dissatisfaction with the current political situation, condemned Pussy Riot and George W. Bush, and also admitted his love for Orthodoxy, which, in his opinion, is closer to God than Catholicism. In conclusion, he said that GMOs are not scary, and said that he had finally come to terms with his scandalous departure from Sepultura.

Are you coming to Russia with Korn?

Yes, we've known them for a long time, they're great guys. We had performed together many times before. The fans will be pleased - two powerful bands in one evening. I'm sure it will be a great show. We will visit ten cities, including Yekaterinburg and Krasnodar. It will be very cool.

That's what everyone says, to be honest. Name three things that make your show great.

It's very loud. And very lively. I mean, we don't use any recorded parts - we play everything live. And thirdly, probably unpredictability. You never know what will happen at a concert. Someone might start an epic mosh. We do this all the time at our concerts, we have a spirit of freedom.

You've been writing heavy music for 30 years. Don't want to do something quieter?

Somehow I didn’t want to. It’s not at all difficult for me to write heavy music. It comes naturally and doesn’t go away over time. Like The Beatles had the gift of writing love songs, and I had the gift of writing angry songs. At the same time, I don’t have to be angry myself. I just redirect that negative energy into music. That is, I take the guitar and just play a meaner riff.

And the further I go, the angrier my music becomes. That is, as you say, someone gets older and begins to listen and write more softly. And I am the opposite. This is clear from our latest disc “The Savages”.

What exactly are you listening to?

Different things. Lately I’ve been obsessed with grindcore and other things like that. Pig Destroyer, All Pigs Must Die, The Acacia Strain, Man Must Die, Nails - this is what I can remember right away from the new ones. Of course, I don’t forget about the classics - Morbid Angel, Carcass, Napalm Death, Dark Angel, Death. I listen to a lot of hardcore now - Discharge, GBH. In general, a lot of things.

The main thing, however, is that I listen to a lot of modern music, young bands. And I really like what I hear - a lot of people have just fantastic energy. They are aggressive, angry and make cool music. I try to get to know these people in person and exchange T-shirts. I am very pleased that I live during such a heyday of heavy music and that I myself am a part of it.

What about mathcore or djent, for example?

Yes, I listen a little. Mainly The Dillinger Escape Plan and I am the heresy. With Greg ( Greg Puciato vocalist of The Dillinger Escape Plan - Lenta.ru note ) we even did the Kill or be Killed project in 2011. Then I studied the work of the “Dillingers” very closely. It was important for me to capture the essence of Greg as a musician.

Sometimes I also listen to more prog bands, say, Mastodon. Or something even like Black Cobra or Black Tusk.

As for djent, of course I love Meshuggah. We had the opportunity to perform on the same stage with them. Once we even flew together to Sweden, to some festival. We talked on the plane - very cool guys. With absolutely crazy music.

Isn't this kind of music too low for you? You once said that you don’t have to build low to sound heavy. And modern metalheads build low...

I have never had any prejudice against low sound. “Diamond Eyes” ( the Deftones album - Lenta.ru note ) is also played in low tuning, early Korn - I really, really like it all. Another thing is that there is Slayer playing in B, our “Roots” in the same tuning - and everything is quite heavy. Rather, I meant that some are trying to make up for the deficiency in this way. That is, you don’t have to build low to sound heavy.

What inspires you to write angry songs? News on TV?

Sometimes there is news, of course. We live in a very ****** [bad] world, of course. People are just creating some kind of ****** [nightmare] - wars, epidemics, violence, racism. This is essentially what our latest album “The Savages” is about ( translated from English as “savages” - note by Lenta.ru ) - that under this veneer of civilization and technology we are all real savages,

Sometimes I get inspired by cinema - I watch a lot of things. At various times I was inspired by Francis Copolla's Apocalypse Now, Oliver Stone's Alexander, Sergei Bodrov's Mongol, and Ruggero Deodata's Cannibal Inferno. For example, the song "Gladiator" from the album "Enslaved" was inspired by the film "Gladiator" by Ridley Scott. There are also classics - for example, Doctor Zhivago.

Do you follow the political situation in the world?

A little. Soulfly is an apolitical group. We're not Rage Against The Machine or Public Enemy. For me, politics is synonymous with corruption; all politicians are corrupt people to one degree or another. And it doesn’t matter who is in power, what party or who the president is. This is simply the essence of this activity. If you go into politics, be prepared to be bought by all these capitalists, whose money controls this very politics.

But there's nothing you can do about it. This is partly why I have very little interest in politics. For me it's too boring, mostly ***** [nonsense, utter stupidity].

You say Soulfly is apolitical. How do you feel about musicians who speak out, including through music or at concerts, on political issues?

I do not like it. We are not politicians, we go on stage to entertain people. It seems wrong to me when instead of music from the stage there is a lecture on current political issues. This is wrong, I have been to such concerts a couple of times. This usually spoils the mood terribly. In such a situation, I, as a listener, want them to talk less and play more.

Have you heard of Pussy Riot?

Heard. I even watched a documentary about them quite recently. I don't think they're a musical group. They don't know how to play and are more about shocking behavior than music.

As for their performance in the temple, I personally didn’t like this story at all. This was very wrong. My wife is Orthodox. I really like Orthodoxy, it seems to me that it is much purer and more sublime than Catholicism. Much closer to God. And Catholics have too much of all sorts of ***** [condemned things] - sex with children, that's all.

Our family has many friends - Orthodox priests: from Russia, from Serbia, from the USA. One, for example, lives in Oklahoma City and constantly goes to our concerts.

Of course, I was upset by what they did. But what upset me even more was the public support for their antics, including from public figures. For example, when Madonna was in Russia, she spoke out for Pussy Riot. But Madonna is Jewish. What if they tried to do this in a synagogue? I should have looked at her reaction then.

It's all about respect here. I understand their message - nonconformism, anti-Putin sentiments, protest. I also couldn’t stand Bush when he was president. I still think that he is a ***** [bad person].

Which of the two?

Yes, both. The second one is even worse. In general, the message is clear to me, but I don’t like the form. The girls were supposed to anger politicians, not the church.

Do you go to church?

Well, I was in church, of course. But I don't go there regularly. I don’t think that believing in God requires going to church, that you have to get dressed and go listen to a sermon every Sunday. Sometimes, of course, I go with my wife - I just really like Orthodox services. But this is not regular.

Religion is generally a very personal thing. But I am a very, very religious person. In difficult moments in life, I turned to Him and He always helped me. I am grateful to Him for this. This faith is also in my songs - for example, in “No Hope = No Fear”, “I Believe”. On the last album we have the song “Soulfliktion”, it is dedicated to the Last Judgment.

You had the song “Biotech is Godzilla”. There was the line “Biotechnology is not so bad.” How do you feel about GMOs?

Well, this is not my song. The lyrics were written by Jello Biafra, who is known for his ironic lyrics. Very, very smart.

It was he who wrote, for example, the lyrics for the songs “Holiday in Cambodia” and “Let's Lynch the Landlord” for the Dead Kennedys. He wrote this song specifically for our CD. I didn’t tell him what to write about, he came up with everything himself - he created the whole concept that AIDS was a secret development of the government. There they say that biotechnology is not bad. They become bad in the wrong hands.

This also applies to GMOs. The overall good idea behind this is to feed people. But this whole thing must be handled carefully.

Why did you stop including “Soulfly” in the album ( we are talking about songs that have the same name as the group - approx. “Lenta.ru” )?

We haven't stopped. They are now going to B-sides. It just so happens that our music gets heavier and heavier over time. And there is no room left for such light lyrical compositions. On the other hand, as I know, many fans really like these compositions, so we don’t refuse them. The move to B-side seems quite logical - the album itself remains heavy, and those who wish can purchase the corresponding version.

By the way, I like writing them myself. I try to make them different from each other. I want to experiment in the future: I’m thinking of recording them in some exotic countries, for example, Tunisia. Maybe I’ll use some rare instruments to make the sound unusual. They still sound good. In one of the last ones, for example, there was a fragment made in the style of reggae. “Soulfly IX” was inspired by the work of the Dub orchestra team. It turned out something so oriental.

What is heavier - modern Soulfly or old Sepultura?

Soulfly is definitely heavier. “Enslaved” was generally on the border of death metal. We have just an awesome double kick drum there, and the producer was the same as Oceano and Shadow Fall (these are heavy teams). I think "World Scum" is the heaviest thing I've ever done. She's just super metallic. I love playing it live - powerful energy, double kick almost the entire song. In general, I really like it.

The main thing, however, is the internal rhythm of Soulfly. We are constantly changing. Today we are heavier, but tomorrow, for example, I can easily record a prog album if I suddenly want to. Let's say something in the spirit of the same Mastodon. And then go into grindcore - we are free in our choice. The main thing is that my fans completely accept it. Over the years of Soulfly's existence, they have already realized that they can expect almost anything from us. They don't focus on just one thing.

On our latest album we have “Ayatollah of Rock 'N' Rolla”, we recorded it together with the vocalist Clutch. This kind of oriental metal, if you like. The fans really liked it, especially in the UK. It even came out as a separate single there - they love Clutch very much.

If I suddenly want something completely different, I do a side project. Nailbomb or Kill or be Killed. Or Cavalera Conspiracy, where Igor and I just play metal. That is, something from the “Arise” era, two brothers playing metal in a garage.

Are you in touch with the rest of Sepultura?

No, actually, no. We regularly run into them at festivals, and we cross paths with Andreas Kisser. We are still friends, even though he constantly vilifies me in his interviews. I'm not offended, that's just the kind of guy he is. It seems to me that after 15 years, I have finally come to terms with what happened ( Max Cavalera, in fact, was kicked out of the group - approx. Lenta.ru ). I'm proud of the old records, I really like them. But now I have Soulfly.

“Just playing a meaner riff.”