With the follow-up to Totem in the works, Max Cavalera seems to be taking a reflective yet revitalized approach to crafting the next Soulfly album. Speaking to MetalUnderground.com (via Blabbermouth), he shared an optimistic progress update.
"We're working on the new record right now. It's going good, man. We're taking our time to do it right. We are in the process of finishing the recordings right now, and then we're gonna start getting stuff mixed and finding the songs that are gonna go on all the socials, Spotify, and all that jive. But, yeah, I'm very proud of the record."
According to Cavalera, the direction of this new material marks a conscious step back to the band’s beginnings: "The record, it's cool. It feels to me like it has the adventurous spirit of the first record [1998's Soulfly]. Sonically, it's pretty different from the first record — it's more intricate and maybe even heavier, heavier grooves. But in terms of spirit and attitude, it's similar to the first record, which I think is cool that I got to figure out a way to put my mind back at that time and what made me create that record and use it again on a new record. It's pretty fun. It's kind of hard to do, but I think it was an exciting thing to tackle. It was kind of, like, 'Let's try to do this. Let's see if you can use your first album as somehow some kind of inspiration for your thirteenth record. [Laughs] And that was great, man. I love that. I love that kind of vibe that the record has."
While earlier records like Dark Ages, Conquer, and Omen leaned into a more aggressive and thrash-heavy identity, Cavalera sees this album as a spiritual homecoming.
"That's the cool thing about this record. It's kind of, in a way, a return to what me and fans of Soulfly fell in love with Soulfly for. And then throughout the years, many of the other records had a lot of different vibes in them. Some of them went more thrashy with stuff like Dark Ages [2005], Omen [2010], Conquer [2008]. So, to me, making a record that sonically is inspired by the first thing that you did as a band, it was a challenge — there's a challenge in that — 'cause it's easier said than done. Because I don't wanna just copy that first record either. There's no point in doing that. I'm just using it as inspiration. It's really just full-on for metal inspiration. The songs [themselves], they're gonna have their own personality and their own vibe. But, yeah, it's coming out quite interesting. I'm excited to hear what the fans are gonna think about this one."
As for timing, Cavalera hinted at an October release, with live previews of new material planned for Soulfly’s European tour this summer.
"Right now, I think we're looking at October. That's what they're talking about. And we do have a European tour that starts in June. It goes from June to late July. We are gonna be playing one or two songs from the new record on that tour, which I think is great. Anytime I had a chance to do that, it's been great. I remember playing Primitive [the title track of Soulfly's second album, which came out in 2000] on the first record tour, because I wrote Primitive at the same time I wrote the first Soulfly record. I just couldn't fit in. There were too many songs, and I was, like, 'All right. Fuck it. I don't need another song on this record.' But then we went on tour, and I got a chance to play the song Primitive live before the Primitive record came out, so that people got a taste of the second record coming up. So it's of similar kind of thing — people get a taste of this album a little bit before. Especially this day and age with the Internet, people are gonna get it on YouTube, they're gonna watch it, and they're gonna feel the record before October, at least."
Notably, this next chapter will also be the band’s first since parting ways with longtime bassist Mike Leon this past April. What impact his absence may have on the band’s chemistry remains to be seen, but if Cavalera’s words are any indication, Soulfly’s thirteenth album could very well be one of their most introspective releases yet.
