Interview with Nilesh from Bangalore based Death Metal Band Pisakas

Pisakas as many of us know they are one killer Death Metal band all the way from  Bangalore  India.  They will be touring Nepal at the mid of 2015. Without further delay, here is a short talk that we had with the bands guitarist Nilesh..

Greetings guys how are things going on?

Things are going fine, though everyone is busy with jobs and personal stuffs, we are managing pretty well to jam. It’s been long time since we went live and we are now finally on track. We are much exited about our upcoming gigs too. Officially Pisakas went Live and became active after 2011 when Pranaw(Currently in Chrematomania & Jhagra) joined in as the vocalist but he parted away in 2013 and then Nakhul(Ex-Reprisal) was handling the vocals. Nakhul parted away in 2015 due to some personal issues, since then Sourav(Our Lead Guitarist) is handling the vocals.

Pisakas what does the name mean?

Pisakas is an evil mythological character. It’s a demon who lives in cemetery and feeds on dead corpses.

As you have mentioned above the entire lineup and changes, tell us how has the journey been from 2011 until now?

The journey has always been memorable. Since the formation of our band, we have been trying to get better and better. We enjoy most of our time with our music and instruments. We really had some fun and killer time this whole journey but yes lineup changes are always awful and terrible, it slows down your flow. But we are always well determined and try our best to manage. No doubt, Pranaw and Nakhul were kickass vocalist with great potential, but now Sourav is kicking some major ass and we are waiting to unleash that soon.

Yeah i even heard that you guys are working on your E.P pretty soon. tell us about it?

Oh yes, we are struggling to release some stuff since a year and I think this time we are close enough to make a release. We are done with all recordings and mixing. All recordings have been done at our lead guitarist's place and he does all the software shit. I have been working on the album art and its almost done. We are doing a complete DIY E.P. Number of songs will be 5 and the E.P name will be announced along with the album art. I guess few more months and it will be out.

I hope to hear about it soon. Talking about the bands gigs update Pisakas will be playing in Vile fest this may and also you guys are touring Nepal in July. How is the preparing for the tour?

We are damn excited about our upcoming gigs. The last gig we played was in Jun 2014 in Hyderabad, India. We will be visiting Hyderabad again for the Vile Fest 2 this May. We get to share the stage with some of the best underground Indian bands. As a whole it will be a kickass evening. But the excitement doesn’t end here, In July we are touring Nepal for the 1st time. We will be playing for the Brutal Lunch Box Vol4 in Katmandu and the Line-up is sick. Also the other project “RIP OFF” is also in the list so it will be unforgettable evening. Waiting to hang out with wakk thuu and nude terror guys , Nischal and many more friends around there and of course you… We have been jamming rigorously and hope we deliver our best in these two gigs.

Yeah for sure waiting for your both projects Pisakas and rip of to terrorize Kathmandu during brutal lunch box.. In fact i was quite excited when the lineup was revealed.. Now coming beyond Pisakas, Nilesh tell us how your journey in Metal begun?

I come from a very small town from Odhisa so I was unaware of Metal’s existence until I was 18. My band mates introduced me to Metal when I met them after moving to Bangalore. Iron Maiden was the first band which I heard, and luckily got to see them live the very next year. For me Metal is like never-ending, it’s like an evolution that happening to me. After exploring Maiden, came across Sepultura, Megadeth, Slayer and many more. That’s where we decided to form a band and started learning our instruments. I wanted to explore more and came across Death Metal and Grindcore and many more underground genres. Since then I have never looked back. And in today’s world of Internet, finding out bands from different parts of the world and their music had become easier. So this keeps me occupied to learn new things.

For sure, so Nilesh tell us more about the scene back there in Bangalore?

Bangalore is the city that introduced me to Metal. Bangalore gave me the opportunity to see bands like Maiden, Megadeth, Sepultura, Slayer, Worm Rot, Destruction, and many more. There are some regular local gigs happening here and there. The Local organizers over here try to do their best. This year we have Cannibal corpse, Napalm death, Inquisition and belphagor in Bangalore. So this will be a huge year for me, seeing such bands and touring Nepal. But Underground bands have to struggle a lot in Bangalore. Lack of Venues, Cost and retarded society makes it difficult for them. On a good note, we don’t give a shit about such issues and keep on trying what we are capable of.

Yeah heard about that but trust me you guys do have some killer bands there in Bangalore grossty, rip off are some of my favorites to mention..

Grossty is killer and they are very good friends of mine. And yes we do have a lot of talented musicians in Bangalore…in recent times there are some new bands in the scene and also regular gigs happening.. Apart from musicians there are a good bunch of sick underground fans in Bangalore.

I they are on my list to witness especially vino and you guys here in Nepal. Hoping to grind with them soon as well. By the way, Nilesh tell us how hard is it for a metal band to run on in India having a same culture like that of Nepal where metal is considered a pain in the ear. Are you guys well equipped?

Its very difficult but not impossible for a Metal Band to run in India, especially for us as we all are staying away from our homes on our own. We try to make the most of it. Metal has always been taken in a negative way for harsh, abusive and noise. What people dont see is the effort behind it. My music shows the brutal side of the life. Its my way of speaking against inhumanity, religion, fucked up government and their rules. Here we have limited time in limited places for live metal shows. Again jamming place becomes an issue. We do have few jamming pads here but either, its far, or costly or crappy equipment’s. We jam at our drummer’s place. Its an apartment so we jam only for an hour or so for 2 days in a week. As its an residential apartment, sound becomes an issue and have faced a lot of complaint issue too. But its always fun to get stoned and jam, who gives a shit!!

I have seen that in some videos that you guys have shared with us. So talking about Pisakas tell us what do you guys do apart from music?

Well I work in a market research company, Our bassist Vicky and Drummer Arindam works at Flipkart and Sourav is a Freelancer. Apart from Music we hang out in weekends to booze and get stoned. We love cooking food so we do that quite often. Mostly we end up stoned, exploring more music and talking about some random bull shit topics.

Any message to the fans out here??

We are excited to visit Nepal and hope our fans are exited too. We will be serving them some Old school Death Metal with brutality. Also my other project Rip Off is playing so expect some crazy grind too. We will make sure Nepal gets something new this time. At last I want to tell our fans to keep supporting underground music and the local scene. Cheers to all the fans!! See you soon, till then get drunk and high!!

Nilesh thank you for your time

Hey, No issue bro, it was me who delayed it.

Interview with Santa Cruz , U.S.A based death metal band Parasitic Ejaculation's Frontman Jonathan Neel

Formed in 2011,Parasitic Ejaculation is one of the upcoming Slammers from the U.S.A. from 2011 until now the band has played many elite metal bands recently they had a Europe tour. We had a short talk with their frontman Jonathan Neel  lets know more about PxE.

Greeting Jonathan how are you guys (Parasitic Ejaculation) doing these days?

Really good! We've been staying very busy, playing a lot of local shows, practicing a lot, and we're now starting to write new music too. We always try to stay on top of writing and producing new music, and now that we have a second guitarist, Parker, things are starting to sound sicker than ever with both players influences. We have about 2 new songs almost finished. How about you?

Yeah man I am good as well working for the release and universities stuffs you know final years.. so Jonathan tell us how did it all started(Parasitic Ejaculation)?

Well when the band started most of us were just friends from high school. The other 3 original members besides me were already in another band together, but we all really liked slam so they started up a new band with me, and that was pretty much it as far as the origin of the band goes. We've had a few lineup changes since then, but everything has been moving along pretty smoothly in the PxE camp. I'm just grateful I have such talented friends!

OK Jonathan tell us how has the journey of Parasitic ejaculation been so far from 2011 until now?

It's been crazy, I can't believe all the insane shows and successes we've had over the years. I never thought that we'd get to tour Europe, or open for big bands like Decapitated or Suicide Silence. I think if I did, we wouldn't have named ourselves something like Parasitic Ejaculation. I wouldn't say it's been easy though - finding time to write and rehearse every week has always been a struggle since everyone is either working or going to school full time (or both), especially since some of us have since moved away from Santa Cruz (myself included)... we are definitely not going to drop out of school or quit our day jobs any time soon for the band, we're not that big yet! But, that being said we all have a lot of life and creativity left to give, and the PxE train is showing no signs of slowing down soon. I would still say that this is just the beginning of our journey!

For sure lots of stuffs are there. Jonathan tell us how did you guys land on the Bands name?

I remember us brain storming a bunch of gross sounding slam band names with some friends once, before we even had really decided to start the band, and Parasitic Ejaculation was one that stuck with us. Josh's partner was the person who actually came up with the name.

So Jonathan tell us about the bands lineup?

The lineup is the same as it's been since late 2012, except with the addition of our new guitar player, Parker McClellan. So, that is, Josh Schwartz on bass, Donovan Dettle on drums, Michael Mostachetti and Parker McClellan on guitar, and myself on vocals. Mike recently moved to Portland, Oregon, which is about a 12 hour drive from where the rest of the band is. He's still very much involved in the writing process and will go on tour with us, but when he moved, we decided to adopt Parker on second guitar so that we could continue to play local shows with the same kind of frequency as before. So we will basically play as a 4 piece locally and as a 5 piece in recordings and on tour. Mike has come down for a few of our bigger/more important shows, as well. Having Parker join the band couldn't have been an easier transition though - we were all already good friends with him, and Donovan and I had previously played with him in another band, so we knew that his distinctive playing and writing style, energetic stage presence, and charming personality would be a perfect fit for PxE. I don't think any of us thought we really needed 2 guitars before Mike moved, but now that we are starting to write new material for 2 guitars with Josh, Mike and Parker all contributing to the riff cocktails, I think that the lineup is the strongest that it's ever been, and I'm really excited about what we've got in store for the rest of 2015. The stuff we're working on grooves and slaps harder than ever! 

Talking about Parasitic Ejaculation really loved the track Corporeal Nightmares, Rationing The Sacred Human Remains, Splitting Abhorrent Flesh, Visceral Transcendence to call few names.. We hope the new materials have the same intensity..

Thanks, those are some of my favorite tracks of ours as well. Visceral Transcendence is the only one out of those that we haven't gotten the chance to play live yet, but I hope that will change soon. Right now we're trying to slow down playing as many local shows to make time for writing new material, because at this point it's been over a year since we finished writing for Echoes. While those songs are still very new to our listeners, they've been kicking around in our heads for quite some time now and we're itching to do new things as always. And as I've been saying, I'm really excited about the new stuff we've been writing since we have more creative input from our new guitar player. I think right now we have about one song that was penned by Mike, one that was penned by Parker, and one more that was more of a collaborative effort between Parker, Josh and Donovan, all somewhat works in progress at this point. I unfortunately haven't been at any of the writing sessions since I no longer live in the same town as everyone and am always busy with school, but we are always communicating and sharing with each other what's going on, and I'm really happy with how this new stuff is sounding. Mike and Parker both have an incredible creative knack for coming up with riffs that are technically intricate and unconventional rhythmically while still sounding infectious, catchy and brutally heavy. Josh also contributed primarily to some of the heaviest hitters on the last album (Splitting Abhorrent Flesh and Parasitic Spinal Mutation, to name a few), and his strong sense of dynamics and rhythmic intensity is once again at the backbone of this new material thus far. And of course, I never have enough good things to say about Donovan's drumming. Donovan's blasting, creative fills and kicks will always be at the heart of parasitic, and in that regard, I think that this new material is a going in a logical direction from the stuff on Echoes, just as Echoes was a logical progression from Rationing. As for myself, I am always pushing myself vocally, and trying new things live, and while I am for the most part happy with my performance on Echoes, I want to continue to improve on it and display a greater variety of vocal styles and tones on the next album, and I want to spend more time with the lyrics and write some words with a little more substance than before. So, in short, I think that if you've enjoyed our previous offerings, that you can expect to enjoy our new stuff. I can't say for sure what it will be like as it's still in it's infancy, but so far it's looking to be a more advanced iteration of our sound, blending a mix of technical slam, brutal death metal, and goregrind with the energy and aggression of hardcore, full of stops & starts, tempo changes, and constantly rotating bouncy, head bobbing riffs.

Jonathan coming beyond PxE tell us how your journey in metal begun?

When I was 13 or so I started developing my own tastes based on stuff I heard on the radio and through friends, and I liked a lot of nu-metal bands that were popular at the time like Slipknot, System of a Down, etc. And it was more or less all down hill from there, so to speak. I got a guitar when I was 14, and I still remember immediately after picking it up for the first time, trying to learn metallica songs online. By 16 I had met Donovan, our drummer, in high school. He had already been drumming for a long time at that point and we immediately became friends because of a common interest in metal. We would sometimes jam in his garage with friends, and went to a lot of local death metal & deathcore shows together at that time. Donovan is also the person who got me into slam, through bands like Devourment, Vomit the Soul, Abominable Putridity, and Short Bus Pile Up. If it wasn't for Donovan, this band wouldn't exist.

Well that's for sure. Well Jon until now I was not able to interview upcoming U.S based bands out of the 3 interviews I took 3 were renowned in their genre. Tell us how hard is for a upcoming metal band like PxE to sustain via metal even being from a country having a healthy metal scene and some renowned metal festivals..

Being in any kind of band is hard, and metal is no different. When we tour, a lot of nights we're playing to crowds of like 15 people, which is fine because we love what we do no matter how many people we play to, but we're not exactly rolling in dough. However I do feel like we're starting to become somewhat of a recognized name in the slam scene, and I think that's in part because slam is such a niche, supportive scene, and in part because we have always presented ourselves in a professional and consistent manner - we try to put out music at least once a year, we always get professional art done for the band, we get high quality recordings, we always have a variety of merch, we show up on time to shows, etc... most of these factors that have contributed to our success were/are expensive and came out of our own pockets when we were starting out. Writing good music that is catchy and original is obviously the most important thing in getting your band noticed, and certainly our number 1 concern as a band, but without quality recordings, merch, promotion, etc, no one will know it. So I believe that the hardest part about being in a band in the USA is just getting noticed and standing out from the thousands of other bands in your respective scene.

Well that's for sure Jon recently you guys toured Europe. How was the tour??

It was a lot of fun! I know I'm not just speaking for myself when I say it was the highlight of our lives so far. Everyone was super nice, we played some really amazing shows, made a ton of new friends, and got to see some beautiful cities and sites. But we also learned a lot. Having booked the tour entirely ourselves, it was very much a DIY venture and there were definitely things we could have done better. The main downside was being detained for 8 hours at the border of France and the UK. We were prevented from entering the UK for lack of a proper visa - but even that was a blessing in disguise because it gave us 2 days off to party in Bruges, Belgium, which was really fun. I miss all the bands and friends we met there, and I want to go back very badly!

It is said that tours make the band much better how are you guys feeling now after your tour??

Well, playing a set every night is just great practice, and I think that our performances definitely get stronger the longer we are on tour and the more we hit the road. It's also a chance for us to bond and get closer as people, so it's great for the band in that regard too. I wish that we could tour more, but we're pretty much limited to summer, winter and spring break tours while we get through college.

Yeah that's for sure studies for the 1st priority. Jon tell us regarding bands upcoming gigs. Please tell us about it..

We have a few things booked right now, some of which I can't talk about yet unfortunately, but I'll say what I can. On April 18th we are playing a show in our hometown with Continuum (featuring members of Animosity, Decrepit Birth, and Son of Aurelius) for their CD release, which should be dope, those guys are really incredible musicians. Then we're taking some time off to write, but in June, we are playing in San Jose with a dope band that we met in Europe, Placenta Powerfist! Which should be really cool. Dysentery, Stillbirth, and Cognitive are also playing, so it's a really stacked bill. In July we are playing Bay Area death fest which is going to be one of the coolest shows we've ever played. Pretty much all of our favorite local brutal bands are playing, like Aethere, Splattered, Logistic Slaughter, and Scepticemia, along the likes of No Zodiac, Disentomb, Condemned, Epicardiectomy, Party Cannon... The list goes on. Theres too many sick bands to name them all but there's not a bad band on the lineup! After that we're hitting the road on tour with Epicardiectomy and Party Cannon, and while those dates aren't all announced yet, I will say that if you're anywhere between Texas and Oregon in the Western half of the US, chances are we're coming for you! it's going to be a really good summer for us. Lastly, in August we're playing with Defeated Sanity in Ceres. It's been a long time since we've played at the workshop, and Defeated Sanity is one of our biggest influences, so that will definitely be one to remember. If you follow us on facebook, you'll hear all about these shows as they come up!

Well I am pretty sure practices are going on a massive way. So Jon any message to the metal world beyond states?

Be open minded, and don't take yourself too seriously. That's all I got!

So Jonathan a space for you and PxE to ask if we SNRMB team has forgotten to ask. Space all yours..

I can't think of anything. Thanks for anyone reading for taking the time to read this, and thanks to you for talking to me, I look forward to hearing your compilation!

Thank you Jonathan.. Thank you for your time..

Interview with the legendary Brazilian Thrash metal God Max Cavalera

I have no words to explain how happy i feel that we got an opportunity to interview one of the thrash god himself. Yes i am talking about non other than Massimiliano Antonia Cavalera a.k.a Max Cavalera. To be honest he is one of the guy who made me much serious in metal. Words will be less if i start talking about Max.. Special thanks to my buddy Matt  bacon from Two Guys Metal Reviews and Gloria mam for making this possible. Its possible because of these two people that we were able to interview Max.. So without further delay.. Here you go our talk with  MAX CAVALERA..

Greetings Max before I began I will like to thank you for providing us this opportunity to interview you. You are an idol and source of inspiration to many bands as well as metal heads from around the world. Tell us since 1984 until now how has your journey been tell us how hard was it to start SEPULTURA?

IT WAS VERY HARD, BUT NECESSARY.  WE WERE POOR, BROKE, AND PISSED OFF KIDS LIVING IN A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY.  METAL WAS THE PERFECT MUSIC FOR US.  IT FELT GREAT TO RELEASE AND UNLEASH ALL THOSE FEELINGS THROUGH METAL.  ALMOST LIKE A THERAPY SESSION. 

Well Max, I will like to start with SEPULTURA as my intention of this interview is to cover your entire journey from 84 upto now.  You and Igor started the band in 1984 tell us how did the concept of Sepultura arise?

WE SAW A BRAZILIAN BAND CALLED “DORSAL ATLANTICA.”  THEY WERE LIKE THE BRAZILIAN VENOM.  THEY KICKED ASS, AND AFTER WE SAW THEIR SHOW WE DECIDED TO MAKE A BAND OURSELVES.  IT WAS LIKE IF THEY CAN DO IT, WE CAN DO IT TOO.  WE ARE FROM THE SAME COUNTRY AND ARE ALL THE SAME. 

To be honest Sepultura’s 4^th Album (Your last studio release with them) ARISE made me much serious in Metal music and is my 2^nd tape which was gifted to me by my dad on my 13^th birthday around 11 yeas back. In March 1985 after Lamounier (Founder Sarcofago) left the band you served the duty of vocals as well as lead guitars. The bands 1^st release was an Split EP with Overdose named Bestial Devastation and if I am not wrong it was all recorded in 2 days.

WE HAD TWO DAYS TO RECORD THE ENTIRE EP.  THERE WAS NOT MUCH MONEY DURING THOSE DAYS, SO EVERY MINUTE COUNTED.  WE DID A DEMO SONG FIRST FOR THE SONG “NECROMANCER,” AND IT CAME OUT GREAT.  SO WE JUST WENT BACK TO THE STUDIO, J.G. STUDIOS BELO HORIZONTE, AND RECORDED THE WHOLE EP. 

Your journey with Sepultura was from 1984 until 1996 in which 6 albums were Morbid Vision in 1986 which had elements of Death Metal, Schizophrenia in 1987 which was more stylistic change to Thrash Metal yet still keeping Death Metal elements of Morbid Vision. If I am not wrong this album gave Sepultura much response beyond Brazil and signing with Road Runner records. In 1989 Beneath the Remains it was also considered all time Top 20 Best thrash Metal album. In 1991 Arise was released which is considered Sepultura’s Pure Thrash metal album as well as critically praised globally as al time best Thrash metal album, 5^th album Chaos A.D which was released in 1993 considered as the bands evolution from Thrash Metal to industrial hardcore punk, we can even hear the changes in the bands music elements in the 6^th album Roots released in 1996 which is considered as Modern Classical Brazilian Heavy metal album which was your last album with the band. Tell us why with every release the band was experimenting with the sound.

WE NEVER STOP EXPANDING.  WE NEVER WANT TO DO THE SAME RECORD TWICE.  IT WORKS IF YOU ARE ACDC OR SLAYER, BUT NOT SEPULTURA.  WE WERE NOT AFRAID TO TRY DIFFERENT THINGS, AND WE DID NOT CARE WHAT PEOPLE THINK.  WE BELIEVED IN WHAT WE WERE DOING AND THAT’S IT.  WE NEVER REPEAT OURSELVES. 

Can you tell us about the Brazilian metal scene back then when you started with Sepultura how hard it was? Tell us how you feel remembering those days. I really want to know cause I read it in one of your interviews and its quite similar to our Present situation of the Nepalese underground scene. “Travelling on trains, Getting beat up by cops, Sleeping behind the stage. Its part of growing up, Its part of the nature of this stuffs. If you don’t have that kind of background, you can’t be a band like us”.

WE DID IT ALL.  SLEPT UNDER THE STAGE, WENT ON 54 HOUR BUS RIDES TO NORTHERN BRAZIL, DRINKING HOT WHISKEY AND GETTING FUCKED UP.  I STOLE MY FIRST MICROPHONE FROM A NEW WAVE BAND AND WE DID CRAZY SHIT LIKE THAT ALL THE TIME.  IT WAS FUN.  I ALWAYS LOVED BEING A METAL HEAD.

Your last show with Sepultura was in 16^th December 1996 at Brixton Academy in London which was few months later after your Step son Dana Wells died in a road crash you left the band. Can you tell us why you left Sepultura?

I LEFT BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN INTEGRITY.  I’M A LOYAL GUY.  IF YOU’RE MY FRIEND, YOU’RE MY FRINED FOR LIFE.  THERE IS NO BETRAYAL, AND THE OTHER 3 SEPULTURA GUYS HAD OTHER IDEAS IN THEIR MINDS.  THEY DIDN’T CARE TO FUCK PEOPLE OVER, AND I BELIEVE IN KARMA.  WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND KIND OF STUFF.  SO I COULDN’T BE PART OF THE SEPULTURA THING ANYMORE.  IT WAS A HARD DECISION, BUT I STILL STAND BY IT EVEN TODAY.  MY INTEGRITY IS IMPORTANT TO ME. 

Max, can you share us some of your best memories with Sepultura?

SOME OF MY BEST MEMORIES WITH SEPULTURA WAS PLAYING THE 2^ND ROCK IN RIO IN THE MARACANA STADIUM.  OUR FIRST SHOWS IN EUROPE AND AMERICA.  FIRST SHOWS IN INDONESIA AND RUSSIA.  IT WAS CRAZY EXCITING TIME IN MUSIC.  A  LOT OF CHAOS AND FUN DURING THOSE DAYS. 

Well, our talk about Sepultura ends here. Coming to Nailbomb the band was active for 1 year i.e. from 1994 to 1995. Tell us more about it?

NAILBOMB WAS CREATED BY ME AND ALEX NEWPORT OF FUDGE TUNNEL.  I LOVED FUDGE TUNNEL, AND WANTED TO DO A MORE CROSSOVER RECORD OF METAL AND INDUSTRIAL MUSIC.  WE WERE LISTENING TO A LOT OF MINISTRY, GOD FLESH, FEAR FACTORY, ETC.  IT WAS ALL DONE IN MY HOUSE IN PHOENIX, AZ.  IT’S A TRUE DO IT YOURSELF KIND OF PROJECT.  WE DID A LOT OF PROGRAMMING DRUM MACHINES AND WROTE ALL THE RIFFS TOGETHER, MYSELF AND ALEX.  WE ALSO SPLIT ALL THE VOCALS BETWEEN US.  I STILL LOVE POINT BLANK.  IT’S ONE OF MY FAVORITE ALBUMS I EVER DID. 

Coming to Soulfly, one question arises in my mind with every new album there is the change in Soulfly’s lineup. Max can you tell us why?

 SOULFLY IS A DIFFERENT PROJECT.  IT’S SUPPOSED TO CHANGE FROM TIME TO TIME, AGAIN, NOT REPEATING OURSELVES, AND TRYING NEW THINGS WITH THE MUSIC.  FEARLESS!!!

If I am not wrong your son Zyon is serving the duties on Drums from 2012 how and your elder son Richie done vocals for the 3^rd album Prophecy how it feels working with your son.  Cause we rarely hear or see (next to impossible here in Nepal) that a father and son playing together in a same metal band.

IT’S GREAT THAT ZYON PLAYS DRUMS ON SOULFLY’S SAVAGES AND THE NEW ALBUM, AS HE DID A GREAT JOB.  THE WHOLE FAMILY IS INVOLVED WITH METAL AND SOULFLY.  IT’S GREAT!. 

Seriously we rarely get to hear that entire family member’s active in music. Your wife Gloria managing your bands from the times of Sepultura, your kids collaborated in your various project Richie who has done vocals to albums by Cavalera Conspiracy and Soulfly, played occasional guitar on Nailbombs live album. As far as I know he is fronting Incite. Igor (Max’s son) and Zyon are active on Lody Kong. Jason works as Bass technician for Cavalera Conspiracy and Drums technician for Soulfly entire family is active in the music industry which is a really cool thing. I wish to have it the same in my family in future.

WE HAVE A GREAT SYSTEM.  GLORIA MANAGES ALL OF US.  WE HAVE INCITE AND LODY KONG, AND I JAM WITH IGOR AND ZYON FOR THE NEW SOULFLY ALBUM.  IT WAS INSANE.  I LOVE PLAYING METAL WITH MY KIDS..

Coming to Cavalera Conspiracy was formed in 2007 the band is even considered as the reunion of the 2 brothers after 10 years. How does it feels starting of a new band with your young brother?

IT’S AMAZING.  I LOVE MY BROTHER, AND IT WAS VERY HARD TO NOT TALK TO HIM FOR 10 YEARS, BUT IT ALSO BROUGHT US CLOSER.  WE ARE CLOSER NOW THAN EVER BEFORE, AND I LOVE THE WORK WE DO IN CAVALERA CONSPIRACY. 

Tell us how did you come up with starting Cavalera Conspiracy and if I am not wrong the initial name of the band was inflikted?

INFLIKTED WAS THE FIRST NAME OF THE GROUP AND THEN I SUGGESTED TO IGOR THAT WE CHANGE TO CAVALERA CONSPIRACY.  HE LOVED THE NEW NAME, AND WE WROTE THE FIRST ALBUM IN A MONTH, AND CALLED THE ALBUM “INFLIKTED.” 

Max, in 2011 you along with Greg Puciato formed Killer be killed tell us much about this band. As to be honest I haven’t heard about this band I just came to know about it while I was conducting some intense research about your projects.

GREG AND I FORMED KILLER BE KILLED.  IT’S KIND OF LIKE A SUPER GROUP WITH TROY FROM MASTODON IN IT.  I LOVE THE SONGS AND THE VIBE OF THE RECORD.  IT’S VERY DIFFERENT FROM EVERYTHING THAT I DO.  MORE MELODIC, AND A LOT MORE FUN. 

So Max you have been part of the metal scene from almost 31 years and even Collaborate in around 13 projects including Nirvana’s drummers and Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl to produce “Red war” of Grohl’s metal project, Probot. Tell us about it?

DAVE GROHL CALLED ME YEARS AGO AND ASKED ME TO BE IN THIS PROJECT CALLED “PROBOT.”  HE SENT ME THREE SONGS TO CHOOSE FROM AND I CHOSE “RED WAR” BECAUSE IT SOUNDED LIKE TERRITORY, AND I LOVED IT FROM THE BEGINNING.  IT WAS GREAT. 

You have even been featured in the Hollywood movie Scorpion King in an off camera role and also in the popular video game GTA IV: The lost and the Damned. Say us about these two commercial projects?

THOSE ARE OFF THE WALL PROJECTS I DID.  I THINK IT WAS FUN BUT I PREFER TO PLAY METAL AND MAKE METAL ALBUMS. 

If I am mot wrong you are a keen player of eastern instrument Sitar. I was pretty amazed to know that you play it quite well. To be honest man i even started to respect you more after I found out about this.

YEAH, I HAVE A GUITAR/SITAR CREATED BY A COMPANY CALLED JERRY JONES.  I PLAYED ON EVERY SOULFLY INSTRUMENTAL SONG, AND I LOVE EASTERN MUSIC AND EASTERN INSTRUMENTS LIKE SITAR, TABLAS, DUDUK, ETC. 

Max, you are in a country where the metal scene is extensively healthy. How hard is it for a metal band to sustain their livelihood v.i.a music?

WE HAVE TO TOUR ALL THE TIME, AND THE ONLY INCOME IS FROM SHOWS AND MERCHANDISE.  THAT IS HOW WE AND MANY OTHER BANDS SURVIVE. 

Last night when I was having a talk with Gloria she was talking about Soulfly's tour from Wednesday (21^st Jan) tell us about it?

WE’RE GOING ON A CRUISE CALLED 70,000 TONS OF METAL, AND ARE PLAYING WITH CANNIBAL CORPSE, BEHEMOTH AND NAPALM DEATH.  IT’S GONNA BE GREAT.  I WANT TO BE ON TOUR THE WHOLE YEAR OF 2015.  BRINGING MY METAL TO THE MASSES. 

We are almost at the end now any message to the fans and bands from Nepal and this part of the world?

TO ALL THE METAL FANS AND METAL HEADS IN NEPAL, I HOPE TO SEE YOU ONE DAY.  IT WILL BE A DREAM COME TRUE TO PLAY FOR YOU!

Thank you Max for your precious time, it really means a lot to me that I got the opportunity to interview you. Once again thank you Max..