I love seeing Jello Biafra and Max Cavalera making a statement together, three decades after their first collaboration. I’m lucky to have interviewed them both for my book—one of them showed me his cat’s dance moves over Zoom, and the other told me his cab driver refused to drive him to see Body Count in South Central LA (the driver thought they’d get killed).
Showing posts with label igor cavalera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label igor cavalera. Show all posts
Sunday, March 9, 2025
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Cavalera Conspiracy, "Inflikted"
Few songs display the powers of band chemistry like Cavalera Conspiracy's "Inflikted."
After ruling the death metal landscape through the first half of the '90s, Max Cavalera left Sepultura (and his brother, drummer Igor) to form Soulfly. Neither Soulfly nor Max-less Sepultura ever released anything worth listening to more than once, but I attributed that to Max's inevitable artistic decline and the fact that Sepultura lost their main songwriter, respectively. Whatever the case, both bands went deeper into the Cavaleras' fascination with world music, but no amount of tribal percussion could disguise how far the songwriting had slipped.
But for 2008's Inflikted, the Cavaleras reunited to create their best music since the classic Sepultura days. It helped that they had Gojira's Joe Duplantier and guitar wizard Marc Rizzo on board, but the Cavaleras have always worked with great musicians. Inflikted really scores becauses Max and Igor bring out the best in each other--hearing them apart is like hearing Eddie without Alex, or Dimebag without Vinnie. Check out how little there is to the title song--outside of the chaotic breakdown, there's nothing that a beginner guitar student couldn't play, or no lyrics that any moron couldn't write. But Max's phrasing on both the guitar and vocal lines proves that he never needed any of Soulfly's bells and whistles, just his brother to kick his ass a little.
I am thrilled to see that James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem is producing an EP with Max and Igor Cavalera, described by Igor as "a metal version of the White Stripes." If the jump from Soulfly and recent Sepultura to "Inflikted" is any indication, we have a lot to look forward to.
After ruling the death metal landscape through the first half of the '90s, Max Cavalera left Sepultura (and his brother, drummer Igor) to form Soulfly. Neither Soulfly nor Max-less Sepultura ever released anything worth listening to more than once, but I attributed that to Max's inevitable artistic decline and the fact that Sepultura lost their main songwriter, respectively. Whatever the case, both bands went deeper into the Cavaleras' fascination with world music, but no amount of tribal percussion could disguise how far the songwriting had slipped.
But for 2008's Inflikted, the Cavaleras reunited to create their best music since the classic Sepultura days. It helped that they had Gojira's Joe Duplantier and guitar wizard Marc Rizzo on board, but the Cavaleras have always worked with great musicians. Inflikted really scores becauses Max and Igor bring out the best in each other--hearing them apart is like hearing Eddie without Alex, or Dimebag without Vinnie. Check out how little there is to the title song--outside of the chaotic breakdown, there's nothing that a beginner guitar student couldn't play, or no lyrics that any moron couldn't write. But Max's phrasing on both the guitar and vocal lines proves that he never needed any of Soulfly's bells and whistles, just his brother to kick his ass a little.
I am thrilled to see that James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem is producing an EP with Max and Igor Cavalera, described by Igor as "a metal version of the White Stripes." If the jump from Soulfly and recent Sepultura to "Inflikted" is any indication, we have a lot to look forward to.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Spin's 100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music
Really enjoyed Spin's exceptionally well-written and compiled 100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music feature. Not only do these underappreciated players finally get some respect (how many "best singers" and "best guitarists" lists have you already seen?"), but the Chris Weingarten-edited list also honors an excellent selection of great metal drummers. Some of my favorites are below, along with their Spin-selected "Most Booming Moment."
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Song of the Day: Sepultura, "Ratamhatta"
Some of the best metal bloggers are freaking out this week over the image of Behemoth with producer Ross Robinson that's making it's way through the interwebs. Nothing has been officially announced yet, but of course people are assuming that this means one of the best black metal bands in the world is letting the guy who produced Korn, Limp Bizkit and Vanilla Ice's nu metal record take the reigns. But even if Robinson actually is producing the next Behemoth record, there's no need to raise a stink. Behemoth have been a great band for many years and they've earned your faith in them to make good music.
Not only that, Robinson has produced albums for more good music than you remember, including At the Drive-In, Blood Brothers and the Cure. But his best work is on Roots, Sepultura's last good album.
With every release, Sepultura gets more tribal and less metal, probably to distract listeners from the fact that they no longer have Max or Igor Cavalera. But Roots was a perfect blend of Sepultura's groove metal stomp and tropicália rhythms. I love the heavy percussion of "Ratamhatta," plus the call and response verses with Max Cavalera and Brazilian music hero (and future Oscar nominee, for Rio) Carlinhos Brown. Listen closely to also hear appearances from Mike Patton and a didgeridoo.
Artists like Paul Simon, David Byrne and Peter Gabriel get lauded for dressing rock music in worldbeat rhythms and for giving traditionally non-Western music an international audience. I'd argue that with Roots and "Ratamhatta," Sepultura and Ross Robinson deserve as much acclaim as any of them.
Not only that, Robinson has produced albums for more good music than you remember, including At the Drive-In, Blood Brothers and the Cure. But his best work is on Roots, Sepultura's last good album.
With every release, Sepultura gets more tribal and less metal, probably to distract listeners from the fact that they no longer have Max or Igor Cavalera. But Roots was a perfect blend of Sepultura's groove metal stomp and tropicália rhythms. I love the heavy percussion of "Ratamhatta," plus the call and response verses with Max Cavalera and Brazilian music hero (and future Oscar nominee, for Rio) Carlinhos Brown. Listen closely to also hear appearances from Mike Patton and a didgeridoo.
Artists like Paul Simon, David Byrne and Peter Gabriel get lauded for dressing rock music in worldbeat rhythms and for giving traditionally non-Western music an international audience. I'd argue that with Roots and "Ratamhatta," Sepultura and Ross Robinson deserve as much acclaim as any of them.
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