Former Sepultura frontman and current Soulfly leader Max Cavalera recently shared his perspective on building a long-lasting career in heavy metal while avoiding the pitfalls of rockstar ego.
During a conversation with Irina Marinescu of “Rock FM România“, the veteran musician was asked to identify the fundamental difference between an artist who achieves legendary status and one who simply plays music casually. In response, Max Cavalera explained that survival in the music industry requires weathering severe personal struggles while keeping one’s ego in check.
“That’s a good [question]. Longevity has a lot to do with it. The amount of years you put into this helps. But also — yeah, a little bit of everything. It’s never been all easy either. It’s been a lot of hardships, a lot of heartbreaks, even tragedy — losing real close people to you that had a huge effect in my career. All of that. You can’t really separate the bad — the bad comes with the good, and you have to deal with that. And, yeah, I think that’s what makes people look at me a certain way. But what I try to do that’s very important, I think, is not having a big-headed attitude like a big rock star. I don’t like that. I like to stay level-headed. And I think it’s good that I can, with having our crew, with my son in the band and my wife in the band, the minute I try to get a big head, they slap me and I’m right back down to earth. Which is great. I love that, because then you’re not…” Max explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
Expanding on the importance of maintaining perspective, the guitarist noted that while music plays a meaningful role in helping fans through difficult times, musicians should recognize their place relative to essential real-world professions.
“In this business, it’s very easy to think that what you do is the most important thing in the world, and it’s not,” he added. “There’s a lot of other people curing cancer and stuff like that — much more important — [or] on the war or something. But I also like to believe that music is magic and we help people through music. So what we do is also very important. So we do it in our own way, help the world somehow through the metal, through the music. And it’s great.”
Fans will soon have the opportunity to see Max Cavalera live on stage as Soulfly prepares to embark on a 25-date U.S. tour this autumn.
The upcoming headline trek will kick off with a featured festival appearance at Louder Than Life before making stops in major markets including Dallas, Salt Lake City, and West Hollywood. The tour will officially conclude on October 15 with a homecoming show in Tempe, Arizona.
Joining Soulfly on the road is Nailbomb, the industrial sludge and crust punk side project originally formed in 1993 by Max Cavalera alongside Alex Newport. Rounding out the touring bill is Incite, fronted by Richie Cavalera.
Soulfly, Nailbomb, And Incite Fall 2026 US Tour Dates:
- Sep 18 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life (Soulfly only)
- Sep 19 – Columbia, MO – The Blue Note
- Sep 20 – Tulsa, OK – Boman Twin
- Sep 21 – Austin, TX – Come and Take It Live
- Sep 22 – San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger
- Sep 23 – Dallas, TX – Trees
- Sep 24 – Kansas City, MO – Warehouse on Broadway
- Sep 25 – Iowa City, IA – Wildwood
- Sep 26 – McHenry, IL – The Vixen
- Sep 27 – Sioux Falls, SD – BIGs
- Sep 29 – Casper, WY – Oil City Beer Company
- Sep 30 – Cheyenne, WY – The Lincoln
- Oct 01 – Denver, CO – Levitt Pavilion
- Oct 02 – Salt Lake City, UT – Aces High
- Oct 04 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock (Soulfly only)
- Oct 05 – San Jose, CA – The Ritz
- Oct 06 – San Luis Obispo, CA – SLO Brew
- Oct 07 – Palmdale, CA – Transplants Brewery
- Oct 08 – West Hollywood, CA – Whisky A Go-Go
- Oct 09 – Las Vegas, NV – Swan Dive
- Oct 10 – Costa Mesa, CA – The Wayfarer
- Oct 11 – Pomona, CA – The Glass House Concert Hall
- Oct 12 – San Diego, CA – Soda Bar
- Oct 14 – Yuma, AZ – Arizona Marketplace
- Oct 15 – Tempe, AZ – The Marquee
