Soulfly
Encyclopedia
Soulfly is a heavy metal
band formed in 1997 based in Phoenix
, Arizona
. The original lyrical content revolved around spirituality
and religious themes, with later albums encompassing other themes including war, violence, aggression, hatred and anger. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura
frontman Max Cavalera
, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 1996. The band has released seven studio albums, one tour EP
, several singles, and one DVD video. Their seventh album Omen
was released on May 25, 2010.
Soulfly incorporate many styles of metal with Brazilian tribal and world music
. The band has had all six of their studio albums debut on the United States Billboard 200
, with a peak position at number 32 for their second album, Primitive
. Their debut album, Soulfly
, has been certified gold
by the Recording Industry Association of America
. The band has gone through numerous line-up changes, with the most recent change being drummer Joe Nunez
leaving, being replaced by former Borknagar
drummer David Kinkade
.
was released in April 1998, and reached number 79 on the Billboard 200
.
In addition to the core band, Soulfly featured Mario C., Burton C. Bell
, Dino Cazares
and Christian Olde Wolbers
from Fear Factory
, Fred Durst
and DJ Lethal
from Limp Bizkit
, Chino Moreno
from Deftones
, Benji Webbe
formerly of Welsh band Dub War
and now a member of Skindred
, Eric Bobo from Cypress Hill
and Jorge do Peixe and Gilmar Bola Oito from Chico Science & Nação Zumbi. The album was recorded at Indigo Ranch Studios in Malibu, California and was overseen by producer Ross Robinson
.
In addition to fronting Soulfly, Cavalera also branched out into other areas not usually associated with heavy metal musicians. He became a speaker at music conventions, appearing at CMJ's New Music Marathon in New York and Holland's Crossing Border Festival, both in late 1997, and sang a TV commercial for Sprite
in Brazil.
After recording the first album, Jackson Bandeira returned to Brazil with Nação Zumbi
and was replaced by Logan Mader
of Machine Head
for the live tour that followed. Soulfly played on the 1998 Ozzfest
mainstage alongside Ozzy Osbourne
, Megadeth
, and Tool
, and played small club tours around the world with bands such as System of a Down and Snot. After the world tour in support of Soulfly
, Logan Mader was replaced by Mikey Doling who had just been displaced by the breakup of Snot.
A variety of influences, including Heavy Metal
, appeared on 2000's Primitive
, and it was the most successful album by the band in the U.S., reaching number 32 on the Billboard 200 and number 11 on the independent charts. Joe Nunez
, from Chicago, replaced Roy Mayorga
on drums for Primitive. The album featured a number of guest appearances as well, including Corey Taylor
of Slipknot
and Stone Sour
, Sean Lennon
, Chino Moreno
of Deftones
, Tom Araya
of Slayer
, Grady Avenell of Will Haven
, Cutthroat Logic, and Asha Rabouin and was produced by Toby Wright
. In addition, artwork was created by longtime Bob Marley
artist Neville Garrick
. The release of the album was followed by world tours with the likes of Pantera
, Morbid Angel
and Ozzfest
.
was the first Soulfly album which was produced by Max Cavalera. Other musicians performing on 3 included Cristian Machado of Ill Niño
, and guitarist Wiley Arnett and drummer Greg Hall, and Max's stepson Ritchie Cavalera. The album reached number 46 on the Billboard 200 in that year. After the release of 3 on June 25, 2002, Soulfly toured throughout Europe
and North America
with bands such as Slayer
, In Flames
, God Forbid
, and Will Haven
.
In September 2003, after the world tour for 3, Mikey Doling, Marcelo Dias, and Roy Mayorga
all made the decision to leave the band and together they departed from Soulfly, leaving Cavalera as the lone remaining core member for a period of three weeks.
Cavalera recruited a new lineup in October 2003 for the recording of Soulfly's Prophecy album. Joe Nunez was back behind the drumkit with New Jersey native Marc Rizzo
, formerly of Ill Niño
, on guitar and Kentucky native Bobby Burns, formerly of Primer 55
, on bass. David Ellefson
, formerly of Megadeth
at the time, also contributed several tracks on bass to the album.
Max Cavalera
explains on the band's website that he wants to use different musicians as part of the group for each album. "This is an approach that I've wanted to do for a while. I never wanted Soulfly to be a band like Metallica
, with the same four guys. On every Soulfly album, we've changed the line up and it will probably continue that way. In order to do that, I had to start from the inside out and bring in people who caught my attention, that I had never played with before, and create this."
While a member of Sepultura
, Cavalera had shown an interest in world music
as shown in Roots, featuring elements of the music of Brazil
's indigenous peoples. This approach continued on the Prophecy album, with Cavalera traveling to Serbia
to record with traditional musicians. On the track "Moses", he works with Serbian band Eyesburn
, which also features reggae influences from one of his heroes, Bob Marley
. Other tracks on the album feature instruments from the Middle Ages, sheepskin bagpipes, and Serbian Gypsies. Danny Marianino and Asha Rabouin returned as guest vocalists on Prophecy, as well, and Max Cavalera produced the album. Prophecy was released on March 30, 2004 and in April of that year had reached a peak of number 82 on the Billboard 200, although it has reached the top 50 of the Australian album charts. Soulfly followed the album release with tours supporting Black Sabbath
and Morbid Angel
.
In February 2005, Soulfly released their first DVD
, entitled The Song Remains Insane. This was a biography of the band, containing live footage from all over the globe, interviews, and all of the band's music videos. In August 2005, Roadrunner Records
reissued their self-titled first album as part of the label's 25th anniversary celebration.
was shot to death while playing in Ohio, and on December 10, Cavalera's 8 month old grandson Moses unexpectedly died due to health complications. The following fall, on October 4, 2005, Dark Ages
was released. Many critics have described Dark Ages
as a return to Cavalera's thrash metal
roots of the early Sepultura
days; however, the world metal influence found on the first four Soulfly albums is still present. In fact, this time, Cavalera traveled to five different countries — Serbia
, Turkey
, Russia
, France
, and the United States
— in order to record all the sounds that he desired to have on the new album.
The core band on Dark Ages
still consisted of Max Cavalera
, Marc Rizzo
, Joe Nunez, and Bobby Burns, and on this album, Dave Ellefson came back to lend his talents to a couple of tracks, Eyesburn
vocalist Coyote sang on "Innerspirit", Stormtroopers Of Death
vocalist Billy Milano
and Russian singer Paul Fillipenko of FAQ screamed on the hardcore
influenced "Molotov", and Max's stepson, Ritchie Cavalera from Phoenix-based band Incite, sang on "Stay Strong". Soulfly supported Dark Ages
on a world tour with various bands such as Deftones
, Korn
, Throwdown, and Skindred
that has stretched through North America, South America, Europe, Russia, and Australia.
On August 17, 2006, Soulfly played the 10th Annual D-Low Memorial show with several guest artists including Dave Ellefson and Roy Mayorga
, the latter of whom who currently plays with Stone Sour
. Most notably, Max was reunited onstage for the first time in 10 years with his brother Igor Cavalera
. Max and Igor formed Sepultura
together in the early 1980s, but had not played together since Max's departure in 1996. Igor joined the band mid-way through the set for a jam on the drums and stayed onstage to play the Sepultura
classics "Roots Bloody Roots
" and "Attitude
" on Joe Nunez's drum kit.
In the time between legs of Soulfly's world tour for Dark Ages
and afterwards, members of Soulfly stayed extremely busy by focusing on projects and activities outside of the band. Max Cavalera guested on the Apocalyptica
single "Repressed
" with Bullet For My Valentine
vocalist Matt Tuck during a visit to Germany
, went to Russia
in January 2007 to guest on the album Circus Dogs by Russian hardcore band FAQ and played on Saint-Petersbourg with radiohead album sound producer Nike "Naik" Groshin, played a surprise jam session in Serbia
with Dan Lilker
of Brutal Truth
and S.O.D., and spent time in Arizona
writing for future releases. Marc Rizzo spent the year on the road throughout North America
playing his solo flamenco-meets-shred metal, gaining him further recognition as one of the world's premier metal guitarists. Earlier in 2005 Marc had released his debut solo album, Colossal Myopia, through Shrapnel Records
, and in 2007 he prepared his follow-up, The Ultimate Devotion, which has now been released. Bobby Burns purchased a studio in Orlando
, FL
with his partner Tim Lau, revived his former band Primer 55, and worked on new releases for his Love Said No and King Street projects. In September 2006 Bobby suffered a mild stroke, was forced to sit out of Soulfly's North America
n tour, and his spot in the band was briefly filled by Dave Ellefson and Danny Lilker. Joe Nunez worked on the development of several drum accessories with Slug Drums, and taught drum lessons and worked construction in Chicago.
Soulfly ventured to Undercity Recording Studios in March 2007 to record a cover of the Marilyn Manson
single "The Beautiful People" with Logan Mader producing. The song was later released in June 2007 by Kerrang!
magazine in issue 1164 as part of their Higher Voltage compilation. During time in the studio, Max Cavalera also recorded vocals for the song "War Is My Destiny" with Ill Bill
and Immortal Technique
for Ill Bill's second studio album, The Hour of Reprisal
, expected to be released on August 26, 2008.
on August 31, 2007. Cavalera Conspiracy
also made their debut live performance at the show by opening for Soulfly. One week after performing the show, Soulfly went to Bobby Burns and Tim Lau's newly renovated Porch Studio in Orlando
, FL
to begin work on their sixth studio album, which Cavalera had begun writing during the summer. After working halfway through recording until September 29, Cavalera halted the session to travel throughout Egypt
to record more sounds to integrate into the new songs. In November 2007, Cavalera returned to Orlando to complete tracking and the album was mixed by Andy Sneap
in early 2008. The album featured collaborations Dave Peters
from Throwdown and David Vincent
from Morbid Angel
.
Soulfly released their sixth album entitled Conquer
on July 29, 2008. Following the release of the album, the band toured the United States with Devastation and Bleed the Sky
in the fall, toured Europe in winter of 2009 with Incite, played a small UK and European festivals during the spring and summer of 2009, and went on a fall 2009 U.S. headlining tour with Cattle Decapitation
, Prong, and Mutiny Within.
Soulfly entered the Edge of the Earth Studios in Los Angeles, California on November 6, 2009 to begin recording their seventh album with Max Cavalera and Logan Mader both producing. Through a series of streaming web video updates, frontman Max Cavalera revealed on November 13, 2009 that the album would be called Omen
and would feature guest appearances by Tommy Victor
of Prong and Greg Puciato
of The Dillinger Escape Plan
. Additionally, the album features performances on drums from Max's sons: Zyon Cavalera on a b-side cover of Sepultura
's "Refuse-Resist" and Igor Cavalera (not to be confused with his brother of the same name) on a cover of Excel
's "Your Life, My Life". Omen has been released worldwide on May 25, 2010.
From May 13 - December 16, 2010, Soulfly conducted a World tour in support of their new album "Omen".
On July 18, 2010, bassist Bobby Burns posted following message on his Twitter profile: "To all the fans... SOULFLY and I have decided to part ways. Stay tuned for my next projects already in the works. Thanks 4 ur support!!!"
, Prong, and Ministry
bassist Tony Campos
into the band, replacing former bassist Bobby Burns, who left the group in July of last year.
In August 2011, Joe Nunez was replaced by Borknagar
drummer David Kinkade
. In September 2011, the band announced they entered the recording studio to make their next album due for an early 2012 release. In late October it was revealed that recording had finished, and Kinkade claimed that the new album is like "Arise on crack". Confirmed guests on the album are Adam Warren of Oceano
and Dez Fafara
of Coal Chamber
and DevilDriver
, although Warren pulled out of recording and was replaced by Cattle Decapitation
frontman Travis Ryan. In the December 2011 issue of Metal Hammer
, Cavalera stated that the main theme of the album will be slavery, with confirmed song titles "Slave", "Change", "Legions" (a song about the Roman Empire
), "Gladiator", "Redemption of Man By God" (featuring Dez Fafara), and "Revengeance" (with Max's 3 sons featuring: Zion on drums, Richie on vocals and Iggor writing half the guitar riffs). The album was produced by Zeuss
.
Former
Touring members
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band formed in 1997 based in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. The original lyrical content revolved around spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
and religious themes, with later albums encompassing other themes including war, violence, aggression, hatred and anger. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
frontman Max Cavalera
Max Cavalera
Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the heavy metal band Sepultura, before forming Soulfly in the late 1990s...
, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 1996. The band has released seven studio albums, one tour EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, several singles, and one DVD video. Their seventh album Omen
Omen (album)
-Personnel:*Max Cavalera - vocals, 4-strings guitar, sitar*Marc Rizzo - guitar, flamenco guitar*Bobby Burns - bass*Joe Nunez - drums, percussion*Branden Krull - keyboards*Greg Puciato - vocals on "Rise of the Fallen"...
was released on May 25, 2010.
Soulfly incorporate many styles of metal with Brazilian tribal and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
. The band has had all six of their studio albums debut on the United States Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, with a peak position at number 32 for their second album, Primitive
Primitive (album)
-Appearance:The track "Son Song" appears on the Valentine OST, although not included in the film.The track Mulambo appears in the movie The Forsaken .-Personnel:*Max Cavalera – Vocals, Guitar, Berimbau, Bass, Producer*Mike Doling – Guitar...
. Their debut album, Soulfly
Soulfly (album)
-Digipak Edition released on October 19, 1999 bonus disc track listing:-Roadrunner Records 25th Anniversary Reissue bonus disc track listing:The album was also released on August 30, 2005 as part of the Roadrunner Records 25th Anniversary Reissues with the Limited Edition bonus tracks and a new one...
, has been certified gold
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
. The band has gone through numerous line-up changes, with the most recent change being drummer Joe Nunez
Joe Nunez
Joe Nunez is the former drummer for heavy metal bands Soulfly and current drummer for Stripping the Pistol. He joined Soulfly in 2001, only to leave again in 2003 to join the Chicago based Stripping the Pistol but re-joined them in 2005. He has played on four Soulfly records all released by...
leaving, being replaced by former Borknagar
Borknagar
Borknagar is a progressive black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines folk metal and black metal with progressive and melodic elements...
drummer David Kinkade
David Kinkade
-History:David Kinkade was born in New Jersey in 1983. At the age of three, he started picking up drums after his Grandfather gave him his first drum kit....
.
Debut album and Primitive (1998-2001)
Cavalera was troubled during the recording of Soulfly's first album, and on the band's website he said that he founded the band "with the idea of combined sounds and spiritual beliefs". As well as leaving one of the world's most renowned thrash metal bands, he had to deal with the death of his stepson and best friend Dana Wells. The self-titled debut albumSoulfly (album)
-Digipak Edition released on October 19, 1999 bonus disc track listing:-Roadrunner Records 25th Anniversary Reissue bonus disc track listing:The album was also released on August 30, 2005 as part of the Roadrunner Records 25th Anniversary Reissues with the Limited Edition bonus tracks and a new one...
was released in April 1998, and reached number 79 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
In addition to the core band, Soulfly featured Mario C., Burton C. Bell
Burton C. Bell
Burton Christopher Bell is an American musician. Bell is best known as the frontman of the metal band Fear Factory where he is the only consistent member. His singing style mixes clean vocals with death growls.-Fear Factory:...
, Dino Cazares
Dino Cazares
Dino Cazares, born in El Centro, California, is a Mexican-American musician and the guitarist for Los Angeles-based industrial metal group Fear Factory. He also plays in the metal bands Divine Heresy and Asesino.-Biography:...
and Christian Olde Wolbers
Christian Olde Wolbers
Christian Olde Wolbers , is the guitarist of the metal band Arkaea. He is the former bassist and guitarist of the industrial metal band Fear Factory, and is now in Beowülf.-Biography:...
from Fear Factory
Fear Factory
Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band. Formed in 1989, they have released seven full-length albums and a number of singles and remixes. Over the course of their career they have evolved from a succession of styles, as well as steadily pioneered a combination of the styles death metal,...
, Fred Durst
Fred Durst
William Frederick "Fred" Durst is an American musician, director, producer and actor, well known as the frontman of the band Limp Bizkit.-Early life:...
and DJ Lethal
DJ Lethal
Leor Dimant , better known as DJ Lethal, is a turntablist and producer and member of the bands Limp Bizkit, House of Pain and La Coka Nostra.-Early life:Leor Dimant was born in Riga, Latvia, when this country was still part of the Soviet Union...
from Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Formed in 1995, the group's lineup consists of Fred Durst , Wes Borland , Sam Rivers , John Otto and DJ Lethal . The band achieved mainstream success with their second studio album Significant Other, released in 1999...
, Chino Moreno
Chino Moreno
Chino Moreno is an American musician. He is best known as the lead singer and contributing guitarist of Deftones. He is also a member of the side-project bands Team Sleep and Crosses....
from Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
, Benji Webbe
Benji Webbe
Clive "Benji" Webbe is a Welsh singer best known as the lead vocalist for the alternate rock band Skindred and as a former member of Dub War...
formerly of Welsh band Dub War
Dub War
Dub War was a four piece metal band from Newport, South Wales, UK. Formed in 1993, the band offered an innovative mix of metal, punk, and ragga influenced by bands like The Clash and Bad Brains...
and now a member of Skindred
Skindred
Skindred is a Welsh rock band from Newport. The band was formed in 1998 following the disbandment of vocalist Benji Webbe's previous band, Dub War. Skindred's musical style mixes alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and reggae...
, Eric Bobo from Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...
and Jorge do Peixe and Gilmar Bola Oito from Chico Science & Nação Zumbi. The album was recorded at Indigo Ranch Studios in Malibu, California and was overseen by producer Ross Robinson
Ross Robinson
Ross Robinson, son of Byron Katie, is an American multi-platinum music producer, who has discovered successful acts such as Korn, At the Drive-In, Glassjaw, Repeater, Slipknot and Limp Bizkit. Robinson has also worked with Machine Head, Vanilla Ice, The Cure, Sepultura and many others...
.
In addition to fronting Soulfly, Cavalera also branched out into other areas not usually associated with heavy metal musicians. He became a speaker at music conventions, appearing at CMJ's New Music Marathon in New York and Holland's Crossing Border Festival, both in late 1997, and sang a TV commercial for Sprite
Sprite (soft drink)
Sprite is a transparent, lemon-lime flavored , caffeine free soft drink, produced by the Coca-Cola Company. It was introduced in the United States in 1961. This was Coke's response to the popularity of 7 Up, which had begun as "Bib-Label Lithiated Lemon-Lime Soda" in 1929...
in Brazil.
After recording the first album, Jackson Bandeira returned to Brazil with Nação Zumbi
Nação Zumbi
Nação Zumbi is a Brazilian rock band formed by Chico Science. The musicians of the group continued as Nação Zumbi after Chico died in a car accident on February 2, 1997....
and was replaced by Logan Mader
Logan Mader
Logan Mader was born on November 16, 1970 in Montreal, Canada. Logan is best known for his work as a guitarist in the heavy metal band Machine Head, who formed in Oakland, California in 1992. Their 1994 debut, Burn My Eyes, was released by Roadrunner Records and quickly became the top-selling...
of Machine Head
Machine Head (band)
Machine Head is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California. Formed on October 12, 1991, the group was founded by Robb Flynn and Adam Duce. There have been 4 member changes since their inception. The current lineup of the band comprises Flynn , Duce , ex-Vio-Lence guitarist Phil Demmel ,...
for the live tour that followed. Soulfly played on the 1998 Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
mainstage alongside Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
, and Tool
Tool (band)
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...
, and played small club tours around the world with bands such as System of a Down and Snot. After the world tour in support of Soulfly
Soulfly (album)
-Digipak Edition released on October 19, 1999 bonus disc track listing:-Roadrunner Records 25th Anniversary Reissue bonus disc track listing:The album was also released on August 30, 2005 as part of the Roadrunner Records 25th Anniversary Reissues with the Limited Edition bonus tracks and a new one...
, Logan Mader was replaced by Mikey Doling who had just been displaced by the breakup of Snot.
A variety of influences, including Heavy Metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, appeared on 2000's Primitive
Primitive (album)
-Appearance:The track "Son Song" appears on the Valentine OST, although not included in the film.The track Mulambo appears in the movie The Forsaken .-Personnel:*Max Cavalera – Vocals, Guitar, Berimbau, Bass, Producer*Mike Doling – Guitar...
, and it was the most successful album by the band in the U.S., reaching number 32 on the Billboard 200 and number 11 on the independent charts. Joe Nunez
Joe Nunez
Joe Nunez is the former drummer for heavy metal bands Soulfly and current drummer for Stripping the Pistol. He joined Soulfly in 2001, only to leave again in 2003 to join the Chicago based Stripping the Pistol but re-joined them in 2005. He has played on four Soulfly records all released by...
, from Chicago, replaced Roy Mayorga
Roy Mayorga
Roy Maurice Mayorga is the drummer for the hard rock band Stone Sour. He is of Ecuadorian and Cuban descent.-Musical history:...
on drums for Primitive. The album featured a number of guest appearances as well, including Corey Taylor
Corey Taylor
Corey Todd Taylor sometimes known by the number 8, is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Slipknot and Stone Sour. Taylor was raised by his single mother. He developed a fond feeling toward classic rock after his grandmother introduced him to it...
of Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
and Stone Sour
Stone Sour
Stone Sour is an American rock band from Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2006, the group has been composed of Corey Taylor , Jim Root , Josh Rand, , Shawn Economaki and Roy Mayorga . Original drummer Joel Ekman left the group in 2006...
, Sean Lennon
Sean Lennon
is an American singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist and actor. He is the only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. His godfather is Sir Elton John.-Early life and education:...
, Chino Moreno
Chino Moreno
Chino Moreno is an American musician. He is best known as the lead singer and contributing guitarist of Deftones. He is also a member of the side-project bands Team Sleep and Crosses....
of Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
, Tom Araya
Tom Araya
Tom Araya is a Chilean musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer...
of Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, Grady Avenell of Will Haven
Will Haven
Will Haven is a noise metal band from Sacramento, California, USA.-History:In 1995, Will Haven, named after a fictional, self-created character, formed and released a six-track demo. The band was formed from members of Sock, a band that was formed with Shaun Lopez of Far. Will Haven's debut...
, Cutthroat Logic, and Asha Rabouin and was produced by Toby Wright
Toby Wright
Toby Wright is a record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with artists such as Alice in Chains, Metallica, Sevendust and Korn. He is currently in Nashville, Tennessee working on Kara Clark's latest Ep.-Producer:...
. In addition, artwork was created by longtime Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
artist Neville Garrick
Neville Garrick
Neville Garrick is a Jamaican-born Los Angeles-based graphic artist, photographer, filmmaker, and writer.He is best known for creating the art work for many Bob Marley album covers. He has also worked with Burning Spear, Steel Pulse and many others...
. The release of the album was followed by world tours with the likes of Pantera
Pantera
Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas. Formed by the Abbott brothers, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell in 1981, bassist Rex Brown would join in late 1981 with vocalist Terry Glaze. Looking for a new and heavier sound, Pantera had Terry replaced in 1987 with Phil Anselmo as...
, Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida. UK music magazine Terrorizer ranked one Morbid Angel album in its “Top 40 greatest death metal albums”, with their 1989 debut Altars of Madness appearing at number 1...
and Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
.
3 and Prophecy (2002-2004)
In late 2001, Joe Nunez left Soulfly to join Stripping the Pistol, saying that it was "time for [him] to move on". Roy Mayorga departed from his band Medication to rejoin with Cavalera, Doling, and Dias for the recording of the band's third album. 33 (Soulfly album)
-Personnel:*Max Cavalera – Guitar, Arranger, Sitar, Vocals, Berimbau, Producer, Mixing, Photography, Cover Art*Marcello D. Rapp – Bass, Group Member*Roy Mayorga – Percussion, Drums, Group Member*Isabel Adelman – Voices...
was the first Soulfly album which was produced by Max Cavalera. Other musicians performing on 3 included Cristian Machado of Ill Niño
Ill Niño
Ill Niño is an American six-piece metal band from New Jersey founded in 1998. The band has sold over 3.3 million units worldwide; they have 5 studio albums and 10 music videos.-History:...
, and guitarist Wiley Arnett and drummer Greg Hall, and Max's stepson Ritchie Cavalera. The album reached number 46 on the Billboard 200 in that year. After the release of 3 on June 25, 2002, Soulfly toured throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
with bands such as Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, In Flames
In Flames
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. Since the band's inception in 1993, they have released ten studio albums and one live DVD...
, God Forbid
God Forbid
God Forbid is an American heavy metal band formed in 1996 in East Brunswick, New Jersey.-Biography:Building up a following in the late 1990s by touring with bands such as GWAR, Nile, Cradle of Filth and Candiria, God Forbid's first full album Reject the Sickness was released by 9 Volt Records in 1999...
, and Will Haven
Will Haven
Will Haven is a noise metal band from Sacramento, California, USA.-History:In 1995, Will Haven, named after a fictional, self-created character, formed and released a six-track demo. The band was formed from members of Sock, a band that was formed with Shaun Lopez of Far. Will Haven's debut...
.
In September 2003, after the world tour for 3, Mikey Doling, Marcelo Dias, and Roy Mayorga
Roy Mayorga
Roy Maurice Mayorga is the drummer for the hard rock band Stone Sour. He is of Ecuadorian and Cuban descent.-Musical history:...
all made the decision to leave the band and together they departed from Soulfly, leaving Cavalera as the lone remaining core member for a period of three weeks.
Cavalera recruited a new lineup in October 2003 for the recording of Soulfly's Prophecy album. Joe Nunez was back behind the drumkit with New Jersey native Marc Rizzo
Marc Rizzo
Marc Rizzo is the lead guitarist of American metal band Soulfly and formerly of Ill Niño. He has featured on four Soulfly albums to date: Prophecy, Dark Ages, Conquer, and Omen. He has also released three solo instrumental albums; Colossal Myopia, The Ultimate Devotion, and Legionnaire...
, formerly of Ill Niño
Ill Niño
Ill Niño is an American six-piece metal band from New Jersey founded in 1998. The band has sold over 3.3 million units worldwide; they have 5 studio albums and 10 music videos.-History:...
, on guitar and Kentucky native Bobby Burns, formerly of Primer 55
Primer 55
-History:The band was formed in 1997 by guitarist Bobby Burns, who was influenced by heavy metal music and vocalist J-Sin, who was influenced by hip hop. Burns and J-Sin enlisted the help of bassist Mike "Jr." Christopher and drummer Josh McLane...
, on bass. David Ellefson
David Ellefson
David Warren "Dave" Ellefson is a bassist and founding member of the American thrash metal band Megadeth. He also goes by "Junior." He currently resides in Scottsdale, Arizona...
, formerly of Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
at the time, also contributed several tracks on bass to the album.
Max Cavalera
Max Cavalera
Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the heavy metal band Sepultura, before forming Soulfly in the late 1990s...
explains on the band's website that he wants to use different musicians as part of the group for each album. "This is an approach that I've wanted to do for a while. I never wanted Soulfly to be a band like Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, with the same four guys. On every Soulfly album, we've changed the line up and it will probably continue that way. In order to do that, I had to start from the inside out and bring in people who caught my attention, that I had never played with before, and create this."
While a member of Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
, Cavalera had shown an interest in world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
as shown in Roots, featuring elements of the music of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
's indigenous peoples. This approach continued on the Prophecy album, with Cavalera traveling to Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
to record with traditional musicians. On the track "Moses", he works with Serbian band Eyesburn
Eyesburn
Eyesburn is a Serbian hardcore punk/crossover thrash band with influences of reggae music.- 1990s :The band was formed in 1994, and the original line-up featured former Dead Ideas guitarist Nemanja "Kojot" Kojić , who simultaneously worked as trombonist in Del Arno Band and bass guitarist in...
, which also features reggae influences from one of his heroes, Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
. Other tracks on the album feature instruments from the Middle Ages, sheepskin bagpipes, and Serbian Gypsies. Danny Marianino and Asha Rabouin returned as guest vocalists on Prophecy, as well, and Max Cavalera produced the album. Prophecy was released on March 30, 2004 and in April of that year had reached a peak of number 82 on the Billboard 200, although it has reached the top 50 of the Australian album charts. Soulfly followed the album release with tours supporting Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
and Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida. UK music magazine Terrorizer ranked one Morbid Angel album in its “Top 40 greatest death metal albums”, with their 1989 debut Altars of Madness appearing at number 1...
.
In February 2005, Soulfly released their first DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, entitled The Song Remains Insane. This was a biography of the band, containing live footage from all over the globe, interviews, and all of the band's music videos. In August 2005, Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records
Roadrunner Records is an American record label that concentrates primarily on heavy metal bands. It is currently a subsidiary of Warner Music Group.-History:...
reissued their self-titled first album as part of the label's 25th anniversary celebration.
Dark Ages (2005-2007)
In December 2004, as recording was beginning for Soulfly's fifth studio album, the band was rocked by several tragedies that affected the outcome of the album. On December 8, Max's friend Darrell "Dimebag" AbbottDimebag Darrell
Darrell Lance Abbott , also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist. He was best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott also contributed to the album Rebel Meets Rebel, a collaboration between Pantera and David Allan Coe...
was shot to death while playing in Ohio, and on December 10, Cavalera's 8 month old grandson Moses unexpectedly died due to health complications. The following fall, on October 4, 2005, Dark Ages
Dark Ages (album)
-Credits:*Max Cavalera - Lead vocals, Guitar, Sitar, Producer, Berimbau*Marc Rizzo - Guitar, Vocals, Flamenco guitar*Bobby Burns - Bass*Joe Nunez - Drums, Percussion*Billy Milano - Vocals on "Motolov"*David Ellefson - Bass on "Riotstarter"...
was released. Many critics have described Dark Ages
Dark Ages (album)
-Credits:*Max Cavalera - Lead vocals, Guitar, Sitar, Producer, Berimbau*Marc Rizzo - Guitar, Vocals, Flamenco guitar*Bobby Burns - Bass*Joe Nunez - Drums, Percussion*Billy Milano - Vocals on "Motolov"*David Ellefson - Bass on "Riotstarter"...
as a return to Cavalera's thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
roots of the early Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
days; however, the world metal influence found on the first four Soulfly albums is still present. In fact, this time, Cavalera traveled to five different countries — Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
— in order to record all the sounds that he desired to have on the new album.
The core band on Dark Ages
Dark Ages (album)
-Credits:*Max Cavalera - Lead vocals, Guitar, Sitar, Producer, Berimbau*Marc Rizzo - Guitar, Vocals, Flamenco guitar*Bobby Burns - Bass*Joe Nunez - Drums, Percussion*Billy Milano - Vocals on "Motolov"*David Ellefson - Bass on "Riotstarter"...
still consisted of Max Cavalera
Max Cavalera
Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the heavy metal band Sepultura, before forming Soulfly in the late 1990s...
, Marc Rizzo
Marc Rizzo
Marc Rizzo is the lead guitarist of American metal band Soulfly and formerly of Ill Niño. He has featured on four Soulfly albums to date: Prophecy, Dark Ages, Conquer, and Omen. He has also released three solo instrumental albums; Colossal Myopia, The Ultimate Devotion, and Legionnaire...
, Joe Nunez, and Bobby Burns, and on this album, Dave Ellefson came back to lend his talents to a couple of tracks, Eyesburn
Eyesburn
Eyesburn is a Serbian hardcore punk/crossover thrash band with influences of reggae music.- 1990s :The band was formed in 1994, and the original line-up featured former Dead Ideas guitarist Nemanja "Kojot" Kojić , who simultaneously worked as trombonist in Del Arno Band and bass guitarist in...
vocalist Coyote sang on "Innerspirit", Stormtroopers Of Death
Stormtroopers of Death
Stormtroopers of Death, better known as S.O.D., was a crossover thrash band formed in New York in 1985. They are commonly credited as being among the first bands to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal into a style sometimes called "crossover thrash." The song "March of the S.O.D.," from their 1985...
vocalist Billy Milano
Billy Milano
Billy Milano is a Bronx-born heavy metal musician now based in Austin, Texas. He was the singer, guitarist, and bassist of crossover thrash band M.O.D., and the singer of its predecessor, Stormtroopers of Death....
and Russian singer Paul Fillipenko of FAQ screamed on the hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
influenced "Molotov", and Max's stepson, Ritchie Cavalera from Phoenix-based band Incite, sang on "Stay Strong". Soulfly supported Dark Ages
Dark Ages (album)
-Credits:*Max Cavalera - Lead vocals, Guitar, Sitar, Producer, Berimbau*Marc Rizzo - Guitar, Vocals, Flamenco guitar*Bobby Burns - Bass*Joe Nunez - Drums, Percussion*Billy Milano - Vocals on "Motolov"*David Ellefson - Bass on "Riotstarter"...
on a world tour with various bands such as Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
, Korn
Korn
Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
, Throwdown, and Skindred
Skindred
Skindred is a Welsh rock band from Newport. The band was formed in 1998 following the disbandment of vocalist Benji Webbe's previous band, Dub War. Skindred's musical style mixes alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and reggae...
that has stretched through North America, South America, Europe, Russia, and Australia.
On August 17, 2006, Soulfly played the 10th Annual D-Low Memorial show with several guest artists including Dave Ellefson and Roy Mayorga
Roy Mayorga
Roy Maurice Mayorga is the drummer for the hard rock band Stone Sour. He is of Ecuadorian and Cuban descent.-Musical history:...
, the latter of whom who currently plays with Stone Sour
Stone Sour
Stone Sour is an American rock band from Des Moines, Iowa. Since 2006, the group has been composed of Corey Taylor , Jim Root , Josh Rand, , Shawn Economaki and Roy Mayorga . Original drummer Joel Ekman left the group in 2006...
. Most notably, Max was reunited onstage for the first time in 10 years with his brother Igor Cavalera
Igor Cavalera
Igor Graziano Cavalera is a Brazilian musician. He is best known as the former drummer for Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura.-Biography:...
. Max and Igor formed Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
together in the early 1980s, but had not played together since Max's departure in 1996. Igor joined the band mid-way through the set for a jam on the drums and stayed onstage to play the Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
classics "Roots Bloody Roots
Roots Bloody Roots
"Roots Bloody Roots" is a song by Sepultura, the song is released as the first single from their sixth album Roots, released in 1996. The song is the band's best known and remains a concert staple to this day. A music video was filmed for the single which features the band performing in an...
" and "Attitude
Attitude (Sepultura song)
"Attitude" is Sepultura's eighth official single, and the second of three to be taken from the 1996 album Roots. The song is amongst the band's best-known and remains a concert staple to this day...
" on Joe Nunez's drum kit.
In the time between legs of Soulfly's world tour for Dark Ages
Dark Ages (album)
-Credits:*Max Cavalera - Lead vocals, Guitar, Sitar, Producer, Berimbau*Marc Rizzo - Guitar, Vocals, Flamenco guitar*Bobby Burns - Bass*Joe Nunez - Drums, Percussion*Billy Milano - Vocals on "Motolov"*David Ellefson - Bass on "Riotstarter"...
and afterwards, members of Soulfly stayed extremely busy by focusing on projects and activities outside of the band. Max Cavalera guested on the Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica
Apocalyptica is a band from Helsinki, Finland, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso and drummer Mikko Sirén...
single "Repressed
Repressed
"Repressed" is a single by Apocalyptica, released on May 19, 2006.-Track listing:# "Repressed" featuring Max Cavalera & Matt Tuck# "Path Vol.2" featuring Sandra Nasic# "Betrayal" # "Repressed"...
" with Bullet For My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine
Bullet for My Valentine are a Welsh heavy metal band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matt Tuck , Michael Paget , Jason James , and Michael Thomas . They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana...
vocalist Matt Tuck during a visit to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, went to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in January 2007 to guest on the album Circus Dogs by Russian hardcore band FAQ and played on Saint-Petersbourg with radiohead album sound producer Nike "Naik" Groshin, played a surprise jam session in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
with Dan Lilker
Dan Lilker
Dan Lilker is a musician from the United States, most known as a bass player, but also guitarist, pianist, drummer and vocalist...
of Brutal Truth
Brutal Truth
Brutal Truth is an American grindcore band from New York City, formed by ex-Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, and Stormtroopers Of Death bass guitarist Dan Lilker in 1990. The group disbanded in 1999, but reformed in 2006 and continue to release new music.-History:...
and S.O.D., and spent time in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
writing for future releases. Marc Rizzo spent the year on the road throughout North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
playing his solo flamenco-meets-shred metal, gaining him further recognition as one of the world's premier metal guitarists. Earlier in 2005 Marc had released his debut solo album, Colossal Myopia, through Shrapnel Records
Shrapnel Records
Shrapnel Records is a guitar-oriented record label started in 1980 by record producer Mike Varney. Guitarist Marty Friedman , one of the label's most successful artists, first appeared on the album Unsung Guitar Heroes II in 1980 with the band Vixen. Vixen would later change their name to Hawaii...
, and in 2007 he prepared his follow-up, The Ultimate Devotion, which has now been released. Bobby Burns purchased a studio in Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, FL
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
with his partner Tim Lau, revived his former band Primer 55, and worked on new releases for his Love Said No and King Street projects. In September 2006 Bobby suffered a mild stroke, was forced to sit out of Soulfly's North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n tour, and his spot in the band was briefly filled by Dave Ellefson and Danny Lilker. Joe Nunez worked on the development of several drum accessories with Slug Drums, and taught drum lessons and worked construction in Chicago.
Soulfly ventured to Undercity Recording Studios in March 2007 to record a cover of the Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
single "The Beautiful People" with Logan Mader producing. The song was later released in June 2007 by Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
magazine in issue 1164 as part of their Higher Voltage compilation. During time in the studio, Max Cavalera also recorded vocals for the song "War Is My Destiny" with Ill Bill
Ill Bill
William Braunstein, better known as Ill Bill, is a American rapper and record producer from Brooklyn, New York. Having gained notoriety in the underground hip hop group Non Phixion, Ill Bill is known for his hardcore lyrics and as the producer, founder and CEO of Uncle Howie Records...
and Immortal Technique
Immortal Technique
Felipe Andres Coronel , better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics...
for Ill Bill's second studio album, The Hour of Reprisal
The Hour of Reprisal
The Hour of Reprisal is the second studio album by American hip hop musician Ill Bill. It was released on September 16, 2008 by Uncle Howie Records. Featured guests on the album include Howard Jones of Killswitch Engage, Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks, H.R...
, expected to be released on August 26, 2008.
Conquer and Omen (2008-2010)
In August 2007, Soulfly did a tour that consisted of a mixture of festival and club shows through Europe before playing the 11th Annual D-Low Memorial Show in Tempe, AZArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
on August 31, 2007. Cavalera Conspiracy
Cavalera Conspiracy
Cavalera Conspiracy is a Brazilian heavy metal band founded by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera , along with American guitarist and bassist Marc Rizzo and Johny Chow. The band originally formed in 2007 as Inflikted but changed its name for legal reasons...
also made their debut live performance at the show by opening for Soulfly. One week after performing the show, Soulfly went to Bobby Burns and Tim Lau's newly renovated Porch Studio in Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, FL
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
to begin work on their sixth studio album, which Cavalera had begun writing during the summer. After working halfway through recording until September 29, Cavalera halted the session to travel throughout Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
to record more sounds to integrate into the new songs. In November 2007, Cavalera returned to Orlando to complete tracking and the album was mixed by Andy Sneap
Andy Sneap
Andy "Undie" Sneap is an English record producer, recording engineer, mixer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is best known for producing and mixing many acclaimed heavy metal albums.-Musician:...
in early 2008. The album featured collaborations Dave Peters
Dave Peters
Dave Peters was the original guitarist for the band Eighteen Visions, and a guitarist in Throwdown. He is now the vocalist for Throwdown. He did guest vocal for the song "Unleash" by alternative metal band Soulfly and for the song "Feel as though you could" by Demon Hunter. He is straight edge.-...
from Throwdown and David Vincent
David Vincent
David Alexander Vincent , also known as Evil D, is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist and bassist for the death metal band Morbid Angel as well as the bassist for Genitorturers...
from Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel
Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida. UK music magazine Terrorizer ranked one Morbid Angel album in its “Top 40 greatest death metal albums”, with their 1989 debut Altars of Madness appearing at number 1...
.
Soulfly released their sixth album entitled Conquer
Conquer (album)
-Bonus DVD listing:Live in Warsaw, Poland#"Prophecy"#"Downstroy"#"Seek 'n' Strike"#"No Hope = No Fear"#"Jumpdafuckup / Bring It"#"Living Sacrifice"#"Mars"#"Brasil"#"No"#"L.O.T.M."#"Porrada"#"Drums"#"Moses"#"Frontlines"#"Back to the Primitive"...
on July 29, 2008. Following the release of the album, the band toured the United States with Devastation and Bleed the Sky
Bleed the Sky (band)
Bleed the Sky is an American groove metal band formed in Orange County, California in 2003. The band is currently signed to Nuclear Blast.-Formation and Paradigm in Entropy :...
in the fall, toured Europe in winter of 2009 with Incite, played a small UK and European festivals during the spring and summer of 2009, and went on a fall 2009 U.S. headlining tour with Cattle Decapitation
Cattle Decapitation
Cattle Decapitation is an American deathgrind band from San Diego, California, formed in 1996.-History:Originally founded in 1996, Cattle Decapitation's songs protest the mistreatment and consumption of animals as well as the abuse of the environment. Lyrics may also focus on subjects such as...
, Prong, and Mutiny Within.
Soulfly entered the Edge of the Earth Studios in Los Angeles, California on November 6, 2009 to begin recording their seventh album with Max Cavalera and Logan Mader both producing. Through a series of streaming web video updates, frontman Max Cavalera revealed on November 13, 2009 that the album would be called Omen
Omen (album)
-Personnel:*Max Cavalera - vocals, 4-strings guitar, sitar*Marc Rizzo - guitar, flamenco guitar*Bobby Burns - bass*Joe Nunez - drums, percussion*Branden Krull - keyboards*Greg Puciato - vocals on "Rise of the Fallen"...
and would feature guest appearances by Tommy Victor
Tommy Victor
Tommy Victor is the lead singer and guitarist for the crossover thrash/industrial metal band Prong that he founded in New York in 1986. In the late 1980s Victor worked as a soundman at CBGB's. After the release of Rude Awakening in 1996, Prong disbanded and Victor moved to Los Angeles. Since then...
of Prong and Greg Puciato
Greg Puciato
Greg Puciato is the lead singer of the band The Dillinger Escape Plan. He is known for his reckless live performances, wide vocal range, and outspoken views, having caused controversy due to both performances and interviews...
of The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
. Additionally, the album features performances on drums from Max's sons: Zyon Cavalera on a b-side cover of Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
's "Refuse-Resist" and Igor Cavalera (not to be confused with his brother of the same name) on a cover of Excel
Excel (band)
Excel was a punk/metal fusion band from Venice, California founded in 1983 by singer Dan Clements and guitarist Adam Siegel. They were influenced by famous 70's punk rock musicians like The Police and The Sex Pistols, and heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath, Trouble, Slayer, Corrosion of...
's "Your Life, My Life". Omen has been released worldwide on May 25, 2010.
From May 13 - December 16, 2010, Soulfly conducted a World tour in support of their new album "Omen".
On July 18, 2010, bassist Bobby Burns posted following message on his Twitter profile: "To all the fans... SOULFLY and I have decided to part ways. Stay tuned for my next projects already in the works. Thanks 4 ur support!!!"
Line up Change and Upcoming 8th Studio Album (2011-present)
On July 1, 2011, Soulfly has announced that the group has recruited former Static-XStatic-X
Static-X is an American industrial metal band from Los Angeles, California. They were formed in 1994. They are signed to Warner Bros. Records and have released six albums, their most recent being Cult of Static, which was released on March 17, 2009....
, Prong, and Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
bassist Tony Campos
Tony Campos
Tony Campos is a Mexican American musician. He is the bass guitarist for the heavy metal band Soulfly and former bass guitarist of industrial metal band Static-X and frontman/bassist for Asesino. Campos was the final bassist for Ministry, which retired in 2008, though he rejoined when the band...
into the band, replacing former bassist Bobby Burns, who left the group in July of last year.
In August 2011, Joe Nunez was replaced by Borknagar
Borknagar
Borknagar is a progressive black metal band from Bergen, Norway, founded in 1995 by Øystein Garnes Brun. The band's style combines folk metal and black metal with progressive and melodic elements...
drummer David Kinkade
David Kinkade
-History:David Kinkade was born in New Jersey in 1983. At the age of three, he started picking up drums after his Grandfather gave him his first drum kit....
. In September 2011, the band announced they entered the recording studio to make their next album due for an early 2012 release. In late October it was revealed that recording had finished, and Kinkade claimed that the new album is like "Arise on crack". Confirmed guests on the album are Adam Warren of Oceano
Oceano (band)
Oceano is an American deathcore band from Chicago, IL formed in 2006. The band signed to Earache Records and released their debut album, Depths on April 7, 2009. Their second album, Contagion was released on November 9, 2010.-History:...
and Dez Fafara
Dez Fafara
Bradley James 'Dez' Fafara is the current vocalist for DevilDriver and the recently reformed Coal Chamber.-Personal life:Dez is of Portuguese and Italian, specifically Sicilian descent...
of Coal Chamber
Coal Chamber
Coal Chamber is an American alternative metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1993. Prior to Coal Chamber, Dez Fafara and Meegs Rascón formed the band She's In Pain in 1992. The two decided to create Coal Chamber. They disbanded in 2003 after ten years together, but announced a reunion in...
and DevilDriver
DevilDriver
DevilDriver is an American heavy metal band from Santa Barbara, California, formed in 2002. The band was originally named Deathride, however, due to copyright issues and the name being taken by several bands, Deathride changed its name to DevilDriver, which refers to bells Italian witches used to...
, although Warren pulled out of recording and was replaced by Cattle Decapitation
Cattle Decapitation
Cattle Decapitation is an American deathgrind band from San Diego, California, formed in 1996.-History:Originally founded in 1996, Cattle Decapitation's songs protest the mistreatment and consumption of animals as well as the abuse of the environment. Lyrics may also focus on subjects such as...
frontman Travis Ryan. In the December 2011 issue of Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
, Cavalera stated that the main theme of the album will be slavery, with confirmed song titles "Slave", "Change", "Legions" (a song about the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
), "Gladiator", "Redemption of Man By God" (featuring Dez Fafara), and "Revengeance" (with Max's 3 sons featuring: Zion on drums, Richie on vocals and Iggor writing half the guitar riffs). The album was produced by Zeuss
Zeuss
Chris "Zeuss" Harris is a record producer who specializes in metal and hardcore albums. He is based in Hadley, Massachusetts and he owns and operates Planet-Z recordings. Zeuss started his music career in metal bands, the best known being Doom Nation, before taking on music production full time...
.
Band members
Current- Max CavaleraMax CavaleraMassimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera is a Brazilian singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the heavy metal band Sepultura, before forming Soulfly in the late 1990s...
- vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(1997–present) - Marc RizzoMarc RizzoMarc Rizzo is the lead guitarist of American metal band Soulfly and formerly of Ill Niño. He has featured on four Soulfly albums to date: Prophecy, Dark Ages, Conquer, and Omen. He has also released three solo instrumental albums; Colossal Myopia, The Ultimate Devotion, and Legionnaire...
- guitar (2003–present) - Tony CamposTony CamposTony Campos is a Mexican American musician. He is the bass guitarist for the heavy metal band Soulfly and former bass guitarist of industrial metal band Static-X and frontman/bassist for Asesino. Campos was the final bassist for Ministry, which retired in 2008, though he rejoined when the band...
– bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
(2011–present) - David KinkadeDavid Kinkade-History:David Kinkade was born in New Jersey in 1983. At the age of three, he started picking up drums after his Grandfather gave him his first drum kit....
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(2011-present)
Former
- Jackson Bandeira (Lúcio Maia) - guitar (1997–1998)
- Mikey Doling - guitar (1999–2003)
- Marcelo "Cello" DiasCello DiasMarcelo Dias, better known as Cello Dias, is the bassist of Against All Will and the former bassist of Soulfly.-The Mist:He began his career in 1988 playing bass for the Brazilian thrash metal band The Mist, who had just changed their name from Mayhem following a number of line-up changes...
- bass (1997–2003) - Bobby Burns - bass (2003–2010)
- Roy MayorgaRoy MayorgaRoy Maurice Mayorga is the drummer for the hard rock band Stone Sour. He is of Ecuadorian and Cuban descent.-Musical history:...
- drums (1997–1999, 2002–2003) - Joe NunezJoe NunezJoe Nunez is the former drummer for heavy metal bands Soulfly and current drummer for Stripping the Pistol. He joined Soulfly in 2001, only to leave again in 2003 to join the Chicago based Stripping the Pistol but re-joined them in 2005. He has played on four Soulfly records all released by...
- drums (2000–2001, 2003–2011)
Touring members
- Logan MaderLogan MaderLogan Mader was born on November 16, 1970 in Montreal, Canada. Logan is best known for his work as a guitarist in the heavy metal band Machine Head, who formed in Oakland, California in 1992. Their 1994 debut, Burn My Eyes, was released by Roadrunner Records and quickly became the top-selling...
- guitar (1998–1999) - Johny Chow - bass (2010–2011)
Discography
- 1998: SoulflySoulfly (album)-Digipak Edition released on October 19, 1999 bonus disc track listing:-Roadrunner Records 25th Anniversary Reissue bonus disc track listing:The album was also released on August 30, 2005 as part of the Roadrunner Records 25th Anniversary Reissues with the Limited Edition bonus tracks and a new one...
- 2000: PrimitivePrimitive (album)-Appearance:The track "Son Song" appears on the Valentine OST, although not included in the film.The track Mulambo appears in the movie The Forsaken .-Personnel:*Max Cavalera – Vocals, Guitar, Berimbau, Bass, Producer*Mike Doling – Guitar...
- 2002: 33 (Soulfly album)-Personnel:*Max Cavalera – Guitar, Arranger, Sitar, Vocals, Berimbau, Producer, Mixing, Photography, Cover Art*Marcello D. Rapp – Bass, Group Member*Roy Mayorga – Percussion, Drums, Group Member*Isabel Adelman – Voices...
- 2004: Prophecy
- 2005: Dark AgesDark Ages (album)-Credits:*Max Cavalera - Lead vocals, Guitar, Sitar, Producer, Berimbau*Marc Rizzo - Guitar, Vocals, Flamenco guitar*Bobby Burns - Bass*Joe Nunez - Drums, Percussion*Billy Milano - Vocals on "Motolov"*David Ellefson - Bass on "Riotstarter"...
- 2008: ConquerConquer (album)-Bonus DVD listing:Live in Warsaw, Poland#"Prophecy"#"Downstroy"#"Seek 'n' Strike"#"No Hope = No Fear"#"Jumpdafuckup / Bring It"#"Living Sacrifice"#"Mars"#"Brasil"#"No"#"L.O.T.M."#"Porrada"#"Drums"#"Moses"#"Frontlines"#"Back to the Primitive"...
- 2010: OmenOmen (album)-Personnel:*Max Cavalera - vocals, 4-strings guitar, sitar*Marc Rizzo - guitar, flamenco guitar*Bobby Burns - bass*Joe Nunez - drums, percussion*Branden Krull - keyboards*Greg Puciato - vocals on "Rise of the Fallen"...
- 2012: (TBA)