Soundwave Festival has announced the daily schedules for each day and newly announced show dates. Day by day positions along with the recently announced 24 additions to the lineup are all mentioned below. The festival hits Australia and New Zealand in late February and early March.
Joining the FAITH NO MORE / SOUNDGARDEN headlined day are
STEEL PANTHER
FALLING IN REVERSE
DRAGONFORCE
ONE OK ROCK
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
LOWER THAN ATLANTIS
BAYSIDE
HE IS LEGEND
KING PARROT
RIVAL SONS
SLEEPWAVE
RAGLANS
Catch these new additions
Adelaide: Saturday February 21
Melbourne: Sunday February 22
Sydney: Saturday February 28
Brisbane: Sunday March 1
Joining the SLIPKNOT headlined day are new headline act
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS
along with
MILLENCOLIN
KILLER BE KILLED
EXODUS
THE VANDALS
THE WONDER YEARS
TWIN ATLANTIC
ANIMALS AS LEADERS
FUCKED UP
EVERGREEN TERRACE
NONPOINT
LE BUTCHERETTES
Catch these new additions
Melbourne: Saturday February 21
Adelaide: Sunday February 22
Brisbane: Saturday February 28
Sydney: Sunday March 1
A bit of kitchen sink album, this one – prog, power, death, bits that sound like Extreme (the band), a concept that makes Demanufacture look like a children’s story (OK, it is hardly the most developed story anyway…) and part 1 of a trilogy I’m keen to see if it can keep up with the level of this first one.
The album I wanted ‘At War With Reality’ to be, but with a metric tonne of breakdowns (or possibly beatdowns – I still get them confused) on top. Blistering with Gothenburg tinged spiky riffing, dual guitars flying, full on vocals and some good old fashioned metal aggression, Old Wave of Swedish Melodic Death Metal style. No remorse, no repent, no let up, no problem!
I have always had a very strong dislike of Opeth. Then they released an album that doesn’t sound like Opeth. Now loads who did like them, don’t, and loads who didn’t like them, do. Not normally a massive prog fan either, but this album is really good. AND somehow I’ve now started to get into the older stuff I’ve never liked before like Blackwater Park and Still Life. Weird, innit.
21, Overkill– White Devil Armory (Nuclear Blast/eOne)
Continuing their brilliant run of form that near matches their classic first 3 albums since signing for Nuclear Blast with another energetic, full-on, thrash classic. Really loving the vitality but above all the quality of the tunes. Always had a soft spot for Overkill and well chuffed they’re still flying the flag louder and harder than any other “old school” thrash band. Proud to review this one here.
Set your HM-2 pedals to kill… Really enjoyable old school Death Metal romp. Plenty of Dismember, plenty of Entombed, bit of Morbid Angel in places, and just sounds like a bunch of guys who know what they’re doing having fun with metal they love. ‘sGot big riffs. And I like Nick Holmes vocals on it, too. More cookie monster than cookie cutter and add a distinctive edge.
So, I split the two albums out and Dark Matters was in the ‘Not Quite…’ list. It took me a little while and a few listens to forgive Sky Blue for not being Epicloud. But seeing as Epicloud is probably my favourite album released in the last 10 years it was always going to be difficult. Sitting very much in the Addicted, Epicloud pop-metal end of the DTP arsenal, it can’t help but be a great, enjoyable listen. I just think he perfected it last time around, so this has a touch of diminishing returns. Still think it’s bloody good, like (hence it making the top 20).
‘im from Mastodon, ‘im from Dillinger, another ‘im from somewhere else (can’t be bothered to google it, sure someone will say below) and a Max Cavalera relegated to side-man all pulling off (tee hee) a bloody great album of riffs, grooves and big old tunes. Lovely stuff.
17, Primordial – Where Greater Men Have Fallen (Metal Blade)
The first track is possibly the greatest chest-beating Heavy Metal track of the year, resplendent (I’ve always liked that word) in its’ Bathory meets Manowar glory. After such an blinding start the album could only struggle to live up to expectations. It is bloody good though, and the last track is also amazing. Does what Primordial do, and does it well. One I reviewed, too, so you can check that out here if you like
16, Machine Head – Bloodstones & Diamonds(Nuclear Blast)
OK, still haven’t fully gotten grips with this one – it’s not long been out, there were other albums to cram in before end of year, reviews, life, all that, plus it’s a pretty long album and there’s a lot of music going on (contrary to popular belief, your average Machine Head track isn’t as bone head as many think these days), so sticking this one here. I know it’s good, I know I like it, just not lived with it enough to know how much.
Still, I know it brings the riffs, diversity, some intelligent song-writing, some really cool choral and non-metal touches, and I know I’ll like it more once I spend some time with it and the songs separate out.
15, Judas Priest– Redeemer of Souls (Epic/Columbia)
No, it’s not as heavy as Painkiller, but it does sound like a mix of everything they’ve done til now. Just lashings of good, solid, classic Priest with plenty of nods to their 70s and early 80s stuff (though no Turbo, unfortunately)
And, you know, songs and shit. Good job all round and damn fine album.
The one where they brought it all together, tying up all the threads that make up Fen and producing their best material to date with every track. A sound of a band with confidence and making a statement about who they are. More focused, more “metal” than the last and their definitive release to date.
Note this is MY albums of the year… and by that I mean favourite not “best”. The perception that most people don’t give a monkeys about post-Colony In Flames is completely overridden by the fact that they’re loads more popular now than they were then (though popularity isn’t a measure of quality etc, I know…) It’s just the undergroundzz innit.
According to itunes, this was my most listened to album of 2014, and, yep, I dig it. It doesn’t do anything particularly different, amazing, new or unexpected, but is a step up on everything post-Come Clarity, for me.
Above all I just think it has a load of good songs. And I like good songs. Even more than I like spazzy-jazzy tech metal. Much more than I like spazzy-jazzy tech metal, to be honest… I dig it. Most of you on here will scoff. The band won’t care either way. And neither will I…
Excellently crafted “serious” metal, with a great album dynamic that moves through and between post-Black Metal, UK Doom and post-metal, but doesn’t sound inconsistent or forced. I have Steve Patton of Sea Bastard to thank for bringing these to my attention. Really glad he did. I reviewed here.
This album still intimidates me. I probably could (should?) have this higher in my list, but I very rarely want to listen to it cos it’s hard work. Rewarding, but horrible hard work to listen to. Probably the most extreme, all out clusterfuck of the modern-tech “jazz” Ulcerate/Gorguts/Deathspell Omega influenced death metal albums of them all. This was the highest mark I’ve given anything in a review since I gave Insomnium‘s demo 10 back in the late 90’s (and the only time I’ve had an online slagging for giving a band a great review!). Takes death metal almost to the point of not being music any more.
Just don’t call them free-form… (which I actually didn’t… You can read what I did say here)
10, Edguy– Space Police: Defenders of the Crown (Nuclear Blast)
I really like this. It’s dumb, cheesy fun, yes, but it’s well put together, catchy – I still have a fair few of the songs and riffs bouncing around in my head – good, enjoyable entertaining rocky power metal. Cheesier than the stuff that’ll be on the board that will come out with the port at my folks an hour after Christmas dinner, and I love it for that.
Also, it has the best song Van Halen have(n’t) written for 20 years. Reviewed this one here.
Came to this late in the year as was unsure about its mammoth length (fnarr etc). Atmospheric black/death cleverly sprawling over 85 minutes, it certainly doesn’t drag, filling every one of those minutes with quality.
Was very impressed with these at Bloodstock, the discovery of the weekend for me, so couldn’t wait to check out the album particularly once you hear they’d chucked in a concept to it. Wasn’t disappointed, indeed they exceeded my expectations. Discordant and unsettling and well worth a checking if you haven’t already.
And for the record, I’ve never checked Akercocke beyond seeing them live at the LA2 as a support band 15+ years ago, so no fanboying from me.
Not much to say, other than a massive return with a massive batch of massive songs.
As I said in my review for Ghost Cult: “The Gray Chapter is a statement of intent, a mountain-strong collection of hate-anthems to stand with Slipknot’s best.
All Killer, No Filler, And then some. .5 punches hard, deep and long, undeniably their most consistent album since Iowa. Nine may have become seven, but if you’re five five five, then they’re (still) six six six. ‘.5: The Gray Chapter’ is an album of some significance.”
6, Winterfylleth – The Divination of Antiquity (Candlelight)
It’s a close run thing, but I think I love the classics of black metal more than those of death metal, yet, other than those 90’s gems, I have very little time for black metal – mainly because it tends to involve the aping of the same 5-10 albums again and again (ad infinitum). It’s not a hard and fast rule, there are bands / albums of BM nature I’ve picked up on and very much enjoyed over the last 15-20 years, and this year brought forth a couple of beasts. I’ve already mentioned Fen, but there was also this British classic that brought joy to my ears. Running a gamut (good word) of sentiments and feelings, being more human than a lot of black metal dares to be, ‘Divination…’ excels dynamically, melodically and emotionally. Distinctively Winterfylleth, this is their best yet.
The most hotly anticipated modern death metal riff-fest of the year did not disappoint in any way shape or form. Power, grooves, and, well, riffs. Riffs that came armed with big meathooks. Some cool Slipknot-y and industrial touches here and there, but this was all about great *heavy* metal. I like the overall sound on it, too, dragging them out of the “death metal” pack and making them sound more in a field of one. Which, I guess is where they now stand…
Another band I’d never been massively bowled over by in the past who impressed me this year. Something to do with the fact they actually have songs with hooks and interesting things going on in them. The album gets better as it goes on, peaking in a brilliant crescendo of ‘O Father! O Satan! O Sun!’.
Added to the music, aesthetically this album is great (cover, production, photos, the official vids as well) and can see why it’s wracked up a number of album of the year awards, including the Ghost Cult Magazine official writers AOTY.
Paul Alan Ryan spun me a couple of Revocation tunes way back at the start of the year, and I was impressed, so had my eye out for this release. Once it hit, the mix of intelligent thrash, Death (Official) and definite lashings of Mastodon in the melodies and approach all wormed its way under the brain to become one of my go to albums in the second half of the year and one that I’ll keep going to into the new year. Really good modern, technical thrash with a touch of (when they were good ‘Rust In Peace’ era) Megadeth in there too. You’ll do me.
Was late to the Mastodon game, arriving some point around 2009 and ‘The Hunter’ was their first “new” album for me. Despite loving a bit of Leviathan and a bit of Crack The Skye (but not so much Blood Mountain), for me, their simpler, rockier stuff definitely suits them and they’ve really come into their own recently as OMRTS picks things up where Hunter left them off. Just tune after tune after tune after tune with swagger and hooks galore and distinctively ‘Don. Also, they have a song called ‘Diamond In The Witch House’ which does it for me in spades.
Two in a row for Sólstafir. Hats off! Svartir Sandar romped it for me in 2011, and by golly, Iceland’s finest have only gone and bloody gotten even better! Last time around it could be argued the album went on a touch too long and the vocals weren’t quite up to the level of the rest of wares on offer (though only by a smidge), well, those minor gripes have been consigned to the bin.
Now, post-rock isn’t exactly my bag of gravy, but Sólstafir delivers atmosphere, emotion and deep feelings, while the dynamic journeys of each track on Ótta pull you along for the ride.
A beautiful, magical album. As I say, it’s not my usual bag. Scroll through my ipod and there’s little similar on there, but Sólstafir have a way of speaking to me. Truly. Deeply.
The countdown to the Official Ghost Cult Magazine Album of the Year for 2014 continues. Please consume and enjoy the results of our 2014 Writers’ Poll. We hope it will introduce you to some of the incredible works of art you may have missed that we have had the immense pleasure of listening to and writing about this year.
In our second installment we bring you albums 40 through to 31
40. JOB FOR A COWBOY – Sun Eater (Metal Blade)
“Evolution from deathcore to a more compact, yet technical, death metal… complex and melodic structures accompany a diversified approach” DIOGO FERREIRA 7/10 Full review here
39. AGELESS OBLIVION – Pethos (Siege of Amida / Century Media)
Marrying both technical and atmospheric forms of Death Metal, Ageless Oblivion create their own brand of chilling yet punishing aggression, presented in a show of impressive progression.
38. KILLER BE KILLED – Killer Be Killed (Nuclear Blast)
“Cavalera, Puciato, Sanders, and Elitch put their stamp on this recording, making a memorable, political-flavored, heavy album that certainly lives up to the hype” KEITH ‘KEEFY’ CHACHKES 8.5/10 Full review here
37. AEVANGELIST – Writhes In The Murk (Debemur Morti)
“If you’re able to get past the initial disorientation and look inside, you’ll find an album that follows its own perverse ambition flawlessly, with not a shred of compromise, dilution or failure” RICHIE HR 10/10 Full review here
36. FEN – Carrion Skies (Code666)
“Fen are the rawer, rockier, more achingly human cousin to Tombs’ Neurosis-driven thunder, and among the richest and most emotionally expressive Metal albums of 2014” RICHIE HR 9/10 Full review here
35. JUDAS PRIEST – Redeemer of Souls (Epic/Columbia)
“Judas Priest has released a retrospective that nods to their career, recalling everything that has made them genuine legends of our metal world, Redeemer Of Souls has a beautifully warm and classic Priest feel”. STEVE TOVEY 8.5/10 Full review here
34. COFFINWORM – IV.I.VIII (Profound Lore)
The phrase “Doom” doesn’t do justice to the ugly, polluted, measured sludgy bludgeon of IV.I.VIII; a beautifully horrible record of nihilistic malevolence, that dissolves doom, death, black and sludge in its fetid path.
33. TRAP THEM – Blissfucker (Prosthetic)
“My advice? If you have never listened to Trap Them, get on this bandwagon before these guys run you over with it”. TIM LEDIN 8/10 Full review here
32. YOUNG AND IN THE WAY – When Life Comes To Death (Deathwish Inc)
The hardest of hardcore punk fused with the blackest of Darkthrone’s black metal offspring, creating a crusty hell in aural format.
31. AGAINST ME! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues (Total Treble)
The gutsy pop-punk outfit release a cathartic biographical concept album of frontwoman Laura Jane Grace’s experiences for their sixth album.
Keeping it fresh and invigorating is clearly the modus operandi for Iggor Cavalera. The 44 year-old father of four (In addition to his step son from his marriage to Laima Leyton) has expressed in the past that rock and metal was getting somewhat “uninspiring” for him. Considering the ground-breaking impact of Sepultura’s Roots (Roadrunner) album with its much imitated tribal drum patterns, you can’t blame Cavalera for looking to spice things up when it came to working in a different medium like electronica. “I have to say when I started doing Mixhell, I wasn’t finding much excitement in hardcore and metal. Bands were very reluctant to come out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves. I think now there are a new wave of musicians that are exciting in metal. I needed a break from metal and rock to grow to love it again.”
Certainly Iggor is not the only rock musician to dabble in other genres with Faith No More vocalist Mike Patton, (Who also made a guest appearance on Roots (Roadrunner), another notable example. Patton disciple and Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato also makes an appearance on Mixhell’s track ‘Exit Wound’. Puciato in turn collaborated with Iggor’s brother Max and Mastodon’s Troy Sanders in metal supergroup Killer Be Killed. Clearly birds of a feather… “Greg is such a talented guy. I remember when I first heard of him when he joined Dillinger after the E.P. they did with Mike Patton, (Irony Is A Dead Scene), they found someone who could really push himself. Dillinger Escape Plan did a tour with The Cavalera Conspiracy in the states and I played him the Mixhell material which he loved. He is a big fan of Nine Inch Nails and all the industrial bands so I sent him a track to put vocals on. Mike is one of the greatest artists in music. A real genius. He can do all this extreme stuff and then the Mondo Cane project playing Italian music from the 40s! He brings a unique atmosphere to everything he does! He is a very close friend and we see each other all the time!”
The new issue of Ghost Cult’s digital magazine is out now! Ghost Cult #19 features an in-depth interview with The Atlas Moth’sStavros Giannopoulos. The June release of The Old Believer (Profound Lore) was a previous Album of the Month for us. Other features include Arch Enemy, Anathema, EyeHateGod, Killer Be Killed, Tombs, Whitechapel, Cradle of Filth, Prong and Lionize. We also have special features such as Metal Book Reviews, a recap of Maynard James Keenan’s (Tool, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer) Birthday Celebration, Unsigned bands, album reviews and more. As we do every issue we present concert reviews from around the world from the likes of Neurosis and Ghost B.C., as well as metal festival reviews like Maryland Deathfest, Scion A/V Rockfest and the inaugural Temples Festival. Read it on our site and download it for your smartphone or tablet.
It has been seven years since Brazil’s most famous musical siblings put an end to a ten-year family feud. The formulation of Cavalera Conspiracy saw the return of a revolutionary musical partnership and again brought credence to the old adage ‘blood is thicker than water’.
Now residing in London, England, the younger of the siblings, Iggor Cavalera, relocated last year in order to focus on his electro DJ outfit Mixhell with his wife Laima Leyton. “In Brazil there is not much of a scene for that style of music.” Iggor confessed. “Our management is here and it helps us focus on our main project. I enjoy London a lot more as a resident than as a tourist. It hasn’t really affected what I do with Max because I just take a ten-hour flight to LA but I am closer for European tours. We split our focus between Cavalera stuff, Soulfly and Mixhell so it has been pretty simple to do so far!”
Iggor may be broadening his horizons delving into the world of electronic music but The Cavalera Conspiracy are chomping at the bit to release forthcoming third record Pandemonium via Austrian label Napalm Records. It has been touted as ‘a more violent and faster record than the band has ever released’ which sound whet the appetite of long-term fans. “We never plan or premeditated what we do in Cavalera Conspiracy. We both wrote a number of things but when we got to the studio we wanted to keep it raw and powerful. It was a lot of fun to keep it spontaneous. It is quite different than then first two records. We used some really high BPM’s which were challenging to play but a lot of fun.”
A genre crossing musician, Iggor was not always the master of equipment he is today. In the early days of Sepultura he was playing with very basic kit. Did Pandemonium see a return a more instinctive style of playing to capture the energy of old? “Both Max and I having our own band has been really good for us. We focussed on keeping things of minimal as possible. It was really challenging and refreshing playing without a big set up and very enjoyable. A lot of drummers want to play very technically and the music looses its soul. We wanted to prevent that happening here.”
Filling out the line-up, which includes guitarist Marc Rizzo, is a new bass player in the shape of Converge man Nate Newton. Iggor enthuses greatly about how this came about. “The bass player role is generally going to be a guest musician every time. Nate is an amazing player but of course his main commitment is to Converge and we respect that. He wrote all his own parts, you shouldn’t tell a collaborator what to do. We hope we can schedule some shows with him if possible.”
It has been eight long years now since Iggor’s exit from Sepultura with Max’s departure a whole decade prior to that. Iggor made it very clear how he feels about the remaining members’ decision to carry on with the Sepultura name. “I got to the point where I wasn’t feeling it anymore. All the joy was gone. It is like a covers band now. I don’t pay much attention to what they are doing because I am focussed on my own stuff. I think it would have been time for them to hang it up.”
While the dissolution of the classic line up happened eighteen years ago Iggor confirms that both he and Max have received some crazy offers to reunite with their old colleagues. “We have received a lot of offers but nothing that concrete. If we got something concrete we would certainly consider it. We realise a lot of people want to see the classic line up and respect that. There is no master plan behind it but I would make a record too if it felt right. I think it is important that we are still all active musicians so we could carry it off. I would like my kids to see it!”
Getting back to present day, it was recently announced that ‘Pandemonium’ will appear on the Napalm Records imprint. This seems a curious decision as both Max’s projects Soulfly and Killer Be Killed call Nuclear Blast home. Igor explained the brothers thinking behind it. “Napalm were really excited to work with us. After we left Roadrunner we decided we didn’t want to be tied to just one company business wise anymore. They are respectful of the other projects and ensure the released dates don’t clash. Napalm have Cavalera and NB have Soulfly and both labels treat these projects as their top priority.”
Scheduling is key to an artist who has many different irons in the fire. Iggor outlines the plans for touring. “It will be tough but we want to play as much as possible with all our projects. We will be doing lots of festival appearances in 2015. I’ll be working on more Mixhell material and touring around that too so it will be fitting around that. I hope metal fans can listen to the other music I make and get something from it. The most important thing about music is to keep an open mind.”
Throughout the conversation Iggor comes across as a man content with his lot in life. These two workaholic family men have eleven children between them. “I think it our Italian heritage.” Iggor chuckled. While his nephews are plying their trade in bands (Incite and Lodykong) and have been mentored by their father, who has even taken them on tour, Iggor is less sure if his offspring will wish to carry on the family tradition. “Max is very supportive of Ritchie, Zyon and Igor’s musical careers. I will support mine in that too if they want it. At the moment my children are younger so they have time to decide what they want to do. Maybe one day we will all do a festival together!”
Max Cavalera. His name is synonymous with the modern metal era. Do I even need to write about the impact Max has made on the metal scene the last 25-plus years? If you don’t know at least half the story, you might as well turn your metal card in right now. The foundation he laid down as the mastermind of Sepultura during their legendary rise to prominence may never be repeated, simply because the music business has changed so much since the 80s. As a member of one of the most ground-breaking bands as there ever has been in metal, the impact Max has made on several sub-genres, not to mention creating a few himself. It’s undeniable. Along the way he’s had many well-documented highs and lows personally and professionally. It is a very interesting prospect when a very famous person, who has had many battles in the public eye, writes their autobiography. Max to his word, has chosen to tell his life story so far from a very humble and honest perspective, not glossing over his mistakes, or over inflating his triumphs as he takes the reader on the journey of his life in and out of metal.
Starting with his childhood and early life, My Bloody Roots from Sepultura to Soulfly and Beyond (Jawbone Press) tells Max’s life story and humble beginnings. He goes into great detail how he and his brother Igor had very happy childhood in Bello Horizonte, Brazil, and some of the funny things he’s gotten into. Max’s father was a big influence on his life, always promoting a love of family and music which clearly has guided his entire being all these years. The loss of his father has stayed with Max and also colored a lot of his experiences as grown man too. Past childhood, we are taken to the teenage Cavalera’s home life and how they gravitated to metal and punk rock simultaneously. Focusing their energies together, Max and Igor’s raw style musically helped turn them into a creative powerhouse they would become., innovating screaming and playing in metal. Writing a truly unvarnished account about his rise to fame and the many mistakes that he made along the way with alcohol and drugs on occasion, coupled with is sense of reckless abandon, you have to be impressed with the candor put forth by Max and venerable music journalist Joel McIver. It’s definitely a warts and all account.
We are regaled with some amazing stories, such as Max getting baptized in a church tomb under the Vatican as a young boy, to running afoul of Lemmy a few times, to other musical highlights such as earning Gold records (when they counted) and headlining major music festivals around the world. The path to Sepultura wasn’t a straight one, and even he marvels at some of the things that were achieved in their heyday of the late 80s and early 90s. One surprising thing about the book is the attention to paid to his anguished split from Sepultura in late 1996. He openly talks about the events leading to the rift (possibly it was coming for some time) and the painful betrayal he felt. However, much of this story has been told over and over, and certain details seem glossed over and omitted on purpose, and it’s totally a good thing. There’s no real revelatory moment here, and this reviewer appreciates it. This is also possibly owed to the fact of Max reuniting with Igor the last few years and not wanting to fully revisit that time, open up old wounds. Especially with all that business behind them. When so much bad blood has been spilled in public over the years, it’s likely for the best.
While the loss of father and namesake Massimiliano shaped his youth, the tragic death’s of his stepson Dana Wells and his grandson Moses, instead of filling him with bitterness, were events that hurt tragically, but pulled his family together. The Max Cavalera story is really his family history. Along with his wife Gloria, who Max considers his rock; they are all a very tight-knit unit with a lot of love and music around all the time. The way he was raised is the way he is now as a husband, father and grandfather. Mostly My Bloody Roots is a love letter to his home land Brazil and a toast to an explored life. Touring with his many bands, and exploring other cultures and world music to incorporate into his own his time off, this give him the fuel for life that he needs.
Lightning can in fact strike twice. Perennially hard-working metal legend Max Cavalera has been a prolific writer and frequent collaborator, both in his for band Sepultura, but also in his other projects such as the long running Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy. Twenty years ago Max formed a partnership with Fudge Tunnel’s Alex Newport and Nailbomb was born. One of the best heavy albums ever, the true spirit of creativity and melding the styles of the artists involved. Along the same lines, but conscious of not repeating the past, Max has a new group in Killer Be Killed, featuring leaders of the heavy music scene like Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Troy Sanders of Mastodon, and Dave Elitch (ex-The Mars Volta) to create something truly unique, heavy, yet quite melodic. We caught up with Max by phone at his home in Arizona, and in the many times we have chatted with the man, he has rarely sounded this excited about a new project.
Several years in the making and now poised to come out, Killer Be Killed has been the buzz of the metal press for sometime yet. Max was positively jubilant discussing the album and the final results.
“I love how Killer Be Killed came out. I really love the blend of all the melody and thrash. I really love all the guys in the band, Troy, Greg, and Dave. We made the best record we could possibly make. Only a few times in life you get a chance to make a special album like Killer Be Killed. I love hearing all the great reviews coming in from all over, really great people are talking about it, and that the people really love the record. It’s really amazing to me that the album is getting this great praise, and I’m very excited for it.”
Instantly noticeable upon hearing the album is how melodic the album is, without sacrificing any of the heaviness. We asked Max what the genesis of the sound was and if this element was pre-planned:
“It came naturally to us, but we really wanted it. You know Greg and me have a side to us that has, an attitude like Nailbomb, really really aggressive and we wanted it to keep it on the cutting edge of heavy music. So part of Killer Be Killed is a part that very fast, thrash and on cutting edge kind of vibe. The other influences that come from Mastodon and Dillinger Escape Plan. There are some vocal melodies and parts Greg singing his ass off on on this record, throwing on some of these really catchy choruses. Really beautiful, beautiful melodies. I don’t even think he does that kind of stuff in Dillinger. He did it especially for Killer Be Killed. Then Troy was just amazing man. He has such an amazing voice, with the parts he put on. It was so amazing. Even I was surprised at how great it was and I am so stoked for how the record came out.”
For all the deserved hype surrounding the big name guys coming together to make this record, Dave Elitch put down a brutal and classic performance on this album, almost like a secret weapon. Max weighed in on this: “Dave’s a great guy and a great drummer. He tore it up with (The) Mars Volta. I totally agree with you, he is really like the secret weapon of the band. He really shined on this recording as a killer drummer. Some of the fills he did were just unbelievable on this record. He really did some Dave Lombardo stuff. I so happy that he got to do that and he contributed that. It’s great to have someone who can play technical and fast. Dave can really do it all. It was super cool and really great having him in the band. He killed it!”
Even though Max purposefully wanted to evade any musical references to Nailbomb, aside from his own writing style, the KBK album does have a fire political angst running through it. We asked if the album was meant to be so forward and radical in its philosophy.
“There is a political side to the album, it’s very much against police brutality. Like ‘Setting Fire To Your Flag’ is very political. There is a song, ‘Forbidden Fire’, about kids in The Middle East who can not listen to metal. There is a level of a lot of political stuff that is similar to Nailbomb. Even how it started, the project started with ‘Face Down’, that was the first song we wrote for the record, and ‘Face Down’ is a Nailbomb type of song. And the second song we wrote I.E.D., is also Nailbomb type of song.”
“But what I think is cool is that Killer Be Killed is different than Nailbomb too, and has a different vibe. I think what is cool is that it is different than Nailbomb; there is a lot more melody. I am so glad that Killer Be Killed is its own thing. I didn’t want to just make another Nailbomb. Nailbomb was already done and I’m really proud that this album has its own set of values and its own sound, and its own identity, and is its own thing. It was very important to me.”
Max is very fond of producing his own albums, so we were intrigued as to why he was comfortable handing the reigns over to someone else. Picking Josh Wilbur, whom Max had never worked with before, seemed to be a very inspired choice:
“Yeah was a great guy. You know he did a great job on the Gojira album and the Lamb of God records. He was a big guy in the studio for us. He is fan of all of ours. He was a huge Sepeultura fan, and he learned everything he knows from Andy Wallace, which is to me, he is really the master of production. He produced Chaos A.D. (Roadrunner). So Josh really came from that school. So to me working with Josh was like working with Andy, in the sonic field. I also think Josh took it very seriously, to make a really great record. He tried to get something really special out of all of us, who are very established musicians. Sometimes its hard to take established musicians and get something great out of them. It can be very hard to do. Sometimes you get lazy and you don’t really want to do a lot of the work to get the best out of it. Josh did that. He really drilled the work out of us. He somehow made everybody excited and get the best out of us, to make a great album. He got the best out of all of us: out of me, out of Greg, out out of Troy. At the end of the day it was the right choice to make the record with Josh. I think he did a fantastic job.”
“I love the sound of the record. Especially a lot of the rhythm guitar work. I wrote 80% of the rhythm guitars. And also I played most of the riffs on the album, on the recording. So I worked very hard on the writing of the record and the creation of the songs. I worked very hard with Josh to get the right sound.”
“You know I like to do it all. I like to produce my own stuff, and I also like to work with different producers. You can get really cool stuff from working with different producers. It was really important for this record to have a guy who can get stuff that you might not get naturally, and you need the right guy to get that out of you. And Josh was the right guy for it. “
Much has been talked about the punk-rock vibe and guerrilla style used to put the album together with, but Max demystified that idea a little and gave us a breakdown of how the album was really created:
“It was done in different phases. In the first phase it was just me and Greg, and we wrote some songs. Then where was a phase where it was just me and Dave, and we wrote some more songs. Then it was me, Greg, and Troy and we wrote even more songs! And then we entered the studio and we wrote more songs, and we used some of the old songs, and some of the stuff just came out in the studio. Like ‘Fire…’, it was born in the studio. And its got new stuff like ‘Robots…’, and ‘Forbidden Fire’ and ’12 Labors’… they are newer songs, that we gave the same treatment as the older songs. In the end, even though the album was made quite fast, when you hear the songs they sound quite elaborate. We worked for a long time on the record, much more than it seems like it really was.”
In spite of the success of creating this special album, fans of KBK will have to wait until 2015 to see them live on a stage as a touring entity.
“Yeah, next year man. It’s going to have to be next year. Greg is on the road with Dillinger. Troy is on the road with Mastodon. I am going on tour with Korn in Russia. Next year we are all going to dedicate some time only for Kill or Be Kill, and try and get to play some of this music live for people.”
Collaborating with people and attempting to create something original in music, or any kind of art is always a risky proposition. Much like a relationship you must trust the process and become vulnerable in order to let your guard down and let things happen naturally. Sometimes things have a way of coming together in an unexpected way, and sometimes they go south in a big way. Especially when said collaborators are legendary figures in a scene, expectations tend to run high. We are writing of course about super-groups and really notable ones like Killer Be Killed who just finished their self-titled, debut album for Nuclear Blast. Names that have defined three generations of heavy music fans such as Cavalera, Puciato, Sanders, and Elitch put their stamp on this recording, making a memorable, political flavored, heavy album that certainly lives up to the hype.
Holding nothing back right out of the gate, ‘Wings of Feather and Wax’ is blast of super-catchy, melodic post-hardcore. From Max Cavalera’s instantly recognizable gritty guitar tone, to the vocal majesty of Troy Sanders on the verses and Greg Puciato on the choruses, they let you know that this album is going to be special. There is a great breakdown where Max comes in on the vocals and there are a few thrash breakdowns added in. For the most part is sounds pretty smooth and well done. The chorus is almost a little too sugary for my taste, but it gets the job done for a lead off track. The next song ‘Face Down’ is a step up, more metal and pissed off all the way through. It is not unusual to hear Max and Greg switching off lines, but Troy is really the interesting element here. Troy’s voice being so strong, he struck a balance between heaviness and melody that is a great treat. By the time you get to ‘Melting of My Marrow’, you find the real star of the album is Dave Elitch (ex-The Mars Volta) whose power-house drumming and killer grooves makes the tracks jump through your speakers. The best cuts are the groovy ‘Snakes of Jehova’, ‘Save The Robots’, ‘Fire To Your Flag’, ‘I.E.D., ‘Dust Into Darkness’ (the most Dillinger type track), and ‘Twelve Labors’.
Many of the songs hold up on repeated listens, while a few are just good, not great. For some, it may take a few listens to really sink in and get a hold of you. This may be since the album was written over a brief period of time without a ton of wood-shedding. It’s raw in a good way, and not all balls out heavy at the time either. Mellow parts, interesting use of vocorders, dynamic shifts, tempo drops all give the album a lot of character. Producer Josh Wilbur’s (Lamb of God, Gojira, Avenged Sevenfold) clean tones definitely are an ear opener too. This album gives a much needed shot in the arm of the current scene, and sounds like nothing else. Here is hoping they get to more music like this in the future.
