This is an old interview I did with Max Cavalera of Sepultura for the Roots CD in 1996. I just dug this up and thought it was kind of cool.After starting the worldwide chaos three years ago, the long awaited Sepultura has finally arrived. Appropriately titled Roots, they're geared and ready to take the mayhem to the next level. Max Cavalera explains his roots and everything behind all the hype.
How did you start writing for Roots ?
The title Roots came up around a year ago, where I found it interesting, making a record returning to our roots, using Brazilian instruments and people who the rest of the world hasn't seen [much of] yet. We worked with percussionist Carlinhos Brown, continuing what we started on Chaos A.D., which was the first real combination of heavy music with percussion. That combination blended well because it influenced bands in and outside of Brazil. We wanted to make Roots sound stronger.
Were the songs written with Carlinhos Brown, or were they written already?
We wrote a song together, called "Ratamahatta", which has various sounds. He did the percussion parts on some of the other songs, like "Ambush" and "Endangered Species".
What did Ross Robinson bring to the Sepultura sound?
He brought vibes, getting into the real thing, as on "Roots" and "Attitude". On "Straighthate", there's lines like "Walking down on different dirty streets/but still the same old feeling still exists", where you've gotta mean it. We worked on the vocals closely, being in the vocal booth every day and redoing it three or four times until we got it right. I remember Ross saying "it had to be right. If it felt a bit fake, we weren't gonna put it on the record".
By doing this, do you think the way you play the older songs has changed?
No. It's gonna be great mixing the older and the newer stuff. We're gonna do a really intense show, mixing "Roots" with "Attitude", "Territory" and "Troops of Doom". It's gonna be a show that'll be really intense all the way.
You've experimented with various Brazilian instruments. Have you played them on previous albums?
I've played them for fun back in Brazil, but back then we were numb towards towards those ideas and instruments. When we left Brazil, it helped us see that there are a lot of cool things that we could add to our music. I've been practicing on the Bearing Bow again. I'm playing it live when we're on tour. I wanna do really wild sounds, unlike the normal sounds.
Lyrically, you've said that the songs are more personal than previous material. In what way do you mean by that?
This album has a different attitude, which tells the listener to believe in yourself and fight back. On the others, I was whining about world issues. I'm complaining less now and I'm giving people more advice., showing how I was influenced by people like Bob Marley and Jello Biafra. Through that, I'm trying to pass the same feeling to our fans through this record at a personal level.
Musically, other than the Brazilian influences, your musical influences have changed. Who are you influenced by these days?
When we were writing the record, we listened to a lot of old hardcore, old Black Sabbath, and newer stuff like the Deftones, Korn, and Ministry. There's a bit of Nailbomb, which I can't deny had an impact on Roots.
How much of an impact do you think bands like Korn and the Deftones had on Roots ?
It had an influence on the songwriting, with different structures, less lead guitars and more riff oriented. The bass is fatter, unlike previous Sepultura albums or any older heavy metal records, where you can barely hear the bass. There's also a hip-hop influence on some of the songs, which comes from what I listen to and Igor's influence from listening to a lot of Ice Cube and Public Enemy.
You used Mike Patton, DJ Lethal and Jonathan Davis [Korn vocalist] on "Lookaway". How did you incorporate their sounds into your record?
Since Schizophrenia, we've had guests appear on our albums. People like John Tardy (Obituary) and Jello Biafra to Evan [Seinfield] (Biohazard). This time, we took it one step further and brought Carlinhos [Brown], DJ Lethal (House of Pain), Mike Patton (Faith No More) and Jon [Davis] (Korn) into the studio. We decided "Lookaway" would be the song that would put us together. It flowed. Everyday we kept adding more and more. At the end of the recording, we were excited about what we had in our hands.
Did DJ Lethal do the scratching on "Ratamahatta"?
That's Carlinhos Brown's voice. He can do some f**kin amazing effects with his voice. It's funny you mentioned that, because I played it for Chino [Moreno], the Deftones singer. That's the first thing he said, like "there's some cool scratches!" I told him it's not scratching. He's like "no way!" I told him it's done with a human voice!
How did you arrange to record with the Indian tribe for "Itsari"?
It was one of the earlier ideas [we had] for the record. If it didn't feel true, I would have changed the album title. It wouldn't be the same without "Itsari". It happened when I found out that we didn't have to deal with the Brazilian government. That was the first positive thing, since it didn't sit well with them. I got in touch with the tribe and they were really excited. The news about the recording got all over the press within Brazil. It helped make the youth look at them less as animals and more as people, who have real feelings, with a culture they want to protect. We were proud to be the first rock band to record with the tribe.
You've recorded covers of Celtic Frost's "Procreation of the Wicked" and Bob Marley's "War". How did you select these songs to cover?
When I thought about the roots of death metal, Celtic Frost was one of the most influential. They had the whole vibe, being dark and heavy. "Procreation of the Wicked" is one of my favorite heavy songs of all time. We thought it would be great to cover that and making it heavier than the original. We did it because it sounded like a twisted Melvins version!
What about the Bob Marley song?
The lyrics are strong. The music's nothing like the original. You wouldn't expect us to play reggae! It's slow, heavy beats, and my vocals, if you're familiar with the song, comes from a United Nations speech. Bob Marley turned it into a song, and I turned it back into a speech, which I'm singing into a speakerphone. It's gonna sound like a speech, with a heavy vibe. It talks about racism and prejudice in an in-your-face way.
Are you planning on touring places like Southeast Asia again?
I hope so, because I enjoyed playing places like Indonesia. I can't forget the whole experience. Chaos A.D. went gold in Malaysia, so we're really trying to play there. One of the Sepultura goals is to play where nobody wants to go. It's important to go where people don't see many shows. I remember how I wished a band would go [to Brazil] and play so I could see a show. I feel the same way by doing that for other people.
What kind of fan mail did you receive from those regions of the world after touring there?
We get a lot of mail from those places. The fan clubs in Phoenix and Brazil inform me with most of the letters they think I should read. It's great because these kids really mean it when they say that the music's really helping them. For me, it's takes a strong effort to keep writing when many people say "oh you're wasting your time because no one's taking what you write seriously". It's bulls**t. A lot of people take what you write seriously. It does help many people, mainly in the poorer countries in various parts of the world.
Do you think that by being experimental, it might turn off any longtime fans?
When we wrote the record, we recreated ourselves, grabbing new influences mixed in with older elements, which became original sounding. I don't mean to turn off any Sepultura fans. All they need to do is listen to the end of Roots to understand that it's the heaviest s**t we ever recorded. But at the same time, we're reaching to a new audience with "Ratamahatta" and "Lookaway", which we never did before. This album really takes chances, but it pays off at the end.
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