Max Cavalera and his wife Gloria have reflected on his 16-year battle with drug and alcohol addiction.
And the 47-year-old Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy and former Sepultura frontman says “it’s a miracle I’m still alive” as he recalls what drove him down the road of becoming reliant on pills and booze.
Cavalera, who previously admitted he was once so desperate for alcohol that he drank hand sanitiser, says he lost his way soon after his father’s death and it wasn’t long before he became hooked on prescription drugs.
Cavalera says: “I was taking too many of them on a daily basis and then drinking on top of it. It’s a lethal combination, and then I added sleep medicines on top of all that.
It’s a miracle I am still alive.
“There’s a lot of pressure that comes with fame. Record label pressure, fans pressure, and we don’t have a manual or a guide to surviving this shit.”
He continues: “I think for some musicians the pressure of fame gets to them. For me, it started with the death of my father. I became very sad and drinking was one way to deal with my sadness.
“The drugs – I just liked them. I liked the buzz of a pain killer. The energy it gave me.”
Max’s wife of 23 years, Gloria, gave him an ultimatum to get sober and clean or she would walk away from their marriage. She recalls how he would lie to his family to cover his addiction.
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She says: “I called a relative to help, but he lied to the relative and they tried to take him with them and break up our family.
“It was in the hallway of our house when he was lying about me to his relative, when our son, Zyon, cornered him and towering over him, because of his height, stopped the charade. Zyon told him he was lying and abusing me and Max stopped arguing.
“The next day I had him on a plane to Florida. He finally admitted his behaviour and stayed there for a month.”
The couple look back on that day with a strange fondness as Max has remained sober, clean and healthy in the 10 years since.
Gloria adds: “He has never once relapsed. Max still sees his therapist and our marriage is really solid.”
Max and his brother Igor are currently in Europe on their Return To Roots tour.
Max and Igor Cavalera Return To Roots European tour 2016
Nov 24: Katowice Mtp2, Poland
Nov 25: Berlin Huxley’s, Germany
Nov 27: Hamburg The Docks, Germany
Nov 28: Munich Backstage Werk, Germany
Nov 29: Tilburg 013, Netherlands
Nov 30: London O2 Kentish Town Forum, UK
Dec 01: Luxembourg Rockhall, Luxembourg
Dec 02: Cologne Essigfabrik, Germany
Dec 03: Paris Eylsee Montmarte, France
Dec 05: Copenhagen Pumpehuset, Denmark
Dec 06: Oslo Vulkan Arena, Norway
Dec 07: Gothenburg Pustervik, Sweden
Dec 09: Helsinki Aulanko Arena, Finland
Dec 11: Moscow Yotaspace, Russia
Confessions: Max Cavalera - "Lemmy tipped his drink over my head!"
