Max Cavalera spent two years searching for a name for latest project Killer Be Killed, he's admitted – and when he finally found it, he was concerned someone else might already be using it.
The supergroup consists of Mastodon bassist Troy Sanders, Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Greg Puciato and former Mars Volta drummer Dave Elitch, alongside Soulfly man Cavalera.
He says: “We struggled with a name for two years. It was painful – people kept asking ‘What’s the name of the band?’
“Greg’s first name was Negative Fox, which is a great name, so punk; but we couldn’t really go for that. I was watching Inglourious Basterds and that gave me the idea of 99 Scalps.”
The second title was abandoned over concerns of racial sensitivity – and from then on Cavalera says the word “Kill” was involved.
“It was Kill for a long time because we looked around and found out there was no band called Kill; there was The Kill but not just Kill. There was always some killing involved – it was the right word for this band.
“Troy suggested Kill Or Be Killed, which we sing on Face Down. In the studio someone switched it to Killer Be Killed.
“It sounded unusual but cool – really odd but really catchy-sounding. We decided, ‘This is the name. Let’s check nobody else has it.’ Nobody else did, so we went with it.
“When Killer Be Killed came in that was it. You know the name when you hear it – there’s something about it.”
The supergroup’s self-titled debut album is released on next week via Nuclear Blast. Discover more about the band and their album.
Tracklist
Wings Of Feather And Wax
Face Down
Melting Of My Marrow
Snakes Of Jehova
Curb Crusher
Save The Robots
Fire To Your Flag
IED
Dust Into Darkness
Twelve Labors
Forbidden Fire
Ghosts Of Chernobyl (vinyl bonus track)
