Soulfly

Max Cavalera is a name that is synonymous with metal music. Name basically any type of metal and Cavalera has not only done work in that type of metal, but perfected it. His music has transcended decades of an ever changing music industry, where it seems like what is deemed as metal changes each and every day. And here we are, in his third decade of being in the metal business, and Cavalera and Soulfly are about to release their heaviest metal ever. “Enslaved” is about all the crazy shit that has happened in our world in the past century. Maximum Ink’s Aaron Manogue sat down with Max Cavalera to talk about Soulfly’s new record “Enslaved”, having his son tour South America with him, and what it was like having Dez Ferrara of Devildriver do some guest vocals on the record.

Maximum Ink: Tell me about your first single and the song you just released “World Scum.” When I first heard it, it hit me like a ton of bricks. It’s so dark and just musically raw but it’s weaved together so perfectly it works great.
Max Cavalera: It all started with a death metal riff that I wrote that and it’s really cool. It’s kind of a Possessed and Dark Angel kind of style which really grew into a great song with the lyrics that talk about the last hundred years. All the fucked up shit that’s happened in the world like Auschwitz and the gas chambers, J.F.K. getting shot and that conspiracy, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, assassination of Czar Alexander II, all of that. Then the last scene is the final battle between Jesus and the anti-Christ in Israel. It’s kind of a concept song about the history of the last hundred years, the Bloody Century as I call it in the song.

Lacuna Coil

Italy is known around the world as the origin for some of the finest art ever created. It was the center of art during the Roman Republic and Empire as well as during the Renaissance. With such an incredibly rich history in fine art and some of the most recognizable works of art including the Mona Lisa, one wouldn’t immediately assume that one of today’s best rock bands is also from Italy; Milan to be exact. The band is Lacuna Coil and their music is their masterpiece and Dark Adrenaline is their latest work of art. Maximum Ink’s Aaron Manogue had a chance to chat with vocalist Andrea Ferro about the new record, their first single “Trip the Darkness” and the passing of their close friend and singer of Type O Negative, Peter Steele.

Maximum Ink: Your latest album Dark Adrenaline has been postponed a few times. How has the album changed over the time that it’s had to mature before its release?
Andrea Ferro: It’s been terrible. The album has been ready and it was meant to come out in October. Then the record label asked us if we could postpone until January because they weren’t ready or set up for the release. So we agreed with them because we didn’t want the album to come out without full support from the label so it was just a very simple logistic problem that we had to agree with. It made no sense to put out an album without the full support so we just had to wait and now finally the days coming close.

Dark New Day

Since 1994, his music has pierced the impervious veil of hard rock and created a sound all its own that’s as recognizable as zebra at a horse farm. If you are a fan of rock n’ roll or even simply a fan of musicianship, you can’t help but admire the body of work he’s put together over his long career. His musical portfolio is so diverse that you would think there’s no way the same person created it. From the soul searching lyrics and soft guitar riffs of Hello Demons Meet Skeletons, to the undeniable ass kicking each Sevendust record brings, Clint Lowery has been part of it all. Clint’s incredible talent coupled with other amazing musicians such as Will Hunt (Evanescence), his brother Corey Lowery (Eye Empire), Brett Hestla (Virgos Merlot) and Troy McLawhorn (Evanescence) has created yet another monster, with Dark New Day’s release of New Tradition. Maximum Ink’s Aaron Manogue talked with Clint about the new record, his upcoming project with Morgan Rose titled Call Me No One and what it’s like to work with his brother Corey again.

Maximum Ink: Talk to me about the new record.
Clint Lowery: Oh man, it was great. This is a lot of B-Side stuff and stuff that we worked on at the end of the first Dark New Day cycle, for Twelve Year Silence. These are songs that we were actually writing years ago so we haven’t been back in the studio recording in years. This is kind of just something we wanted to release to the fans that we thought were pretty legitimate songs. We just remastered them and tweaked them up a bit in the studio.

Five Finger Death Punch

Five Finger Death Punch has exploded onto the metal scene with a power and vengeance that has not been seen since the likes of Pantera when they kicked the “Grunge Scene” in the teeth in the 90’s.  Recently I was given the opportunity to sit down with Ivan Moody (vocals), Chris Kael (bass), Jeremy Spencer (drums) and Jason Hook (guitar) and pick their brains about the new album and random thoughts. 5FDP sat down with Mike Smith of Maximum Ink Magazine to discuss their new album, what makes them tick and what pisses them off!

Maximum Ink:  Who wants to tell me about the new album?
Ivan Moody:  American Capitalist out Oct 11th of this year.  For me lyrically it was probably the most painful and personal album I have done yet and I know the guys put their heart and souls into this. I am sincerely proud of this one and I know a lot of musicians say that, but I truly believe this was our best work of art up to this point.
Jason Hook: You know we work really hard on these records and all I can say is that, to me it sounds like an extension of “War Is the Answer”. It seems like a logical side 3 and 4 if you were to put them together.  It has only been since October of 09 and we started recording this December 2010 and we are pretty much the same people and not a lot has changed, so we just pounded another one out.

Guns n’ Roses

Richard Fortus has graced the stage with artists like Rihanna,The Psychedelic Furs, Nena, Love Spit Love, Honky Toast, The Compulsions, Thin Lizzy, and most recently Guns N’ Roses, with a stage presence that is nothing short of amazing. His work with the music production company Compound has seen his work featured in various tv, film, advertising and videogame projects. Fans of the former television show Charmed have enjoyed his work on the theme song as well. His work ethic and drive led to his being one of the most sought after first call sessions artists in NYC.

Maximum Ink: Who were some of your earliest influences?
Richard Fortus: The Beach Boys, Beatles, Stones, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, T Rex, Neil Young.

MI: As someone who has studied music professionally do you recommend formal training to others? What advice would you offer the musicians of tomorrow?
RF: It really depends on what you want to do. It’s definitely not necessary, but I always wanted to gain all the skills possible to be as good of a musician as possible. I always wanted to learn everything I could about music. You never stop learning.

MI: You started playing the violin and drums as a child. What made you want to become a guitarist?
RF: There were always guitars around the house when I was growing up. I was always pretty intimidated by them because they had 6 strings and I had my hands full with 4! I always loved guitar though. Guitars are just so sexy! 

When I was about 12, I used to jam with other kids and they started showing me stuff. I became fairly adept very quickly. I always hung around older kids that were much more advanced. They hung out with me because at a very young age, I was a pretty solid drummer and they all played guitar.

Whisky Pig

Is it just me or does it seem like every single band that experiences any type of success always seems to sellout one way or another throughout their career. Now granted there are the Slipknots and Korns of the world that have really always done it their own way, but they’re so successful that they can do just about anything they’d like. When it comes to small or local bands, even the slightest smell of success can make the best bands sellout into mainstream lyrics, sounds and music. When it comes to the Madison band Whisky Pig, this is quite the contrary. In fact, just about everything this hardcore groove metal band does is out of the ordinary, and we love it. The self-proclaimed “sluttiest band on the block” plays music that makes you bang your head, then laugh your ass off when you truly listen to the dirty lyrics.