Sepultura founder Max Cavalera believes he should have kept the band name and fired his “asshole” colleagues rather than leaving the outfit in 1996.
But he says he just didn’t have the vision to make the move, partly because his life was in turmoil at the time.
Cavalera’s departure fuelled decades of acrimony between him and Sepultura. He went on to form Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy, featuring his brother Igor, who remained with Sepultura until 2006.
Max tells Metal Insider: “It was a really hard time in my life, a very difficult period, because I never thought I was going to leave the band.
“For the first month I didn’t even want to play any more. I was like, ‘I’m done with this.’ I just wanted to get high and get drunk and not give a fuck.
“Then, little by little, I started writing and it started coming out again. But it was a difficult time and I’m glad it’s over – I’d never want to go back to that time.”
He believes his Soulfly material “carried the same elements” of what he’d done with Sepultura, although it carried “a little bit of desperation” in the early days. “It’s kind of like, you lost everything and hard to start again,” he says.
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Describing Sepultura as “really close to my heart” he continues: “Now, after all this time passed and I think about it, Igor and I should have just fired those two assholes and kept the name.
“Why we didn’t do that, I don’t know – at the time we didn’t have the vision to do it, so I just quit.”
The Cavaleras are currently on their Return To Roots tour, which features full performances of classic Sepultura album Roots.
Max says: “20 years later, to go back and do this is amazing. It’s the best thing to come out of this story.
“It’s a happy ending – even though we had to go through all that hardship to get to where we are now.”
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Max & Igor Cavalera: Return To Roots tour dates
Sep 22: Oklahoma City Diamond Ballroom, OK (with Combichrist, Allegaeon)
Sep 23: Dallas Gas Monkey, TX (Final support to be announced)
Sep 24: Houston Houston Open Air Festival, TX
Sep 25: New Orleans Southport Music Hall, LA (with All Hail The Yeti)
Sep 30: Jacksonville Hooligans, NC (with Combichrist, All Hail The Yeti, Oni)
Oct 01: St Petersburg State Theater, FL (with Combichrist, All Hail The Yeti, Oni)
Oct 02: Ft Lauderdale Culture Room, FL (with Combichrist, All Hail The Yeti, Oni)
Oct 06: Chicago Reggie’s, IL (with Combichrist, All Hail The Yeti, Oni)
Oct 07: Detroit Harpos, MI (with Combichrist, All Hail The Yeti, Oni)
Oct 08: Dayton Oddbodys, OH (with Combichrist, All Hail The Yeti, Oni)
Oct 09: Pittsburgh Rex Theater, PA (with Combichrist, All Hail The Yeti, Oni)
Oct 10: Ottawa Mavericks, ON (with The Black Dahlia Murder, Allegaeon, Oni)
Oct 11: Toronto Opera House, ON (with The Black Dahlia Murder, Allegaeon, Oni)
Oct 12: Montreal Les Foufounes Electriques, QC (with The Black Dahlia Murder, Allegaeon, Oni)
Oct 14: Quebec City Imperial Theatre, QC (with Allegaeon, Oni)
Oct 15: Worcester Rock N Shock Festival, MA (with Combichrist, All Hail The Yeti, Oni)
Oct 16: Cleveland Agora Ballroom, OH (with Combichrist, All Hail The Yeti, Oni)
Oct 17: Sauget Pop’s, IL (with Combichrist, All Hail The Yeti, Oni)
Oct 20: Los Angeles The Regent, CA (with All Hail The Yeti, Oni)
Oct 21: Tempe Club Red D-Low Fest, AZ
Oct 23: Sacramento Aftershock Festival, CA
