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He ain't heavy, he's my brother >> The Sepultura soap opera by JOHNSON CUMMINS
It seemed like Sepultura could do no wrong. Right? Wrongemboyo, baby. Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera left the band at the height of their success, after his wife (and then Sepultura manager) was handed her walking papers by the other three members. And what made this heavy metal plot bubble and thicken is that it was Max's own brother and Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera who gave Max the ultimatum: "It's either the girl or the band." Phew! Are you still with me here? Max, being a fool for love, quit the band and formed Soulfly. He released his debut album to tepid reviews while Sepultura got a new singer and released one of last year's best metal albums, Against. But are any of these albums as good as Roots? No freakin' way: neither could come close to the dynamics and straight-up rage that was found on Roots. Meanwhile, the two tribes have been at war in the press and things have gotten downright nasty, from Max saying they have no right to continue under the monicker Sepultura to Sepultura accusing Max of being brow-beaten. It just seems so sad and stupid that these two factions have never been able to put aside their differences, seeing as they have known each other the majority of their lives. Looking back at early pictures of Sepultura as pimply little metal kids, wearing their pants too tight, adorned with handkerchiefs, bullet belts and Iron Maiden shirts, you would think that they could somehow find a way to bury the hatchet. As Max said in the song "Born Stubborn": "I got my tribe/You can't break it apart/Sepultura in our hearts/These roots will always remain." Or maybe not. "We don't see Max," says guitarist Andreas Kisser. "We're still in the middle of this. I think some things have been resolved, but on a personal level we still have a lot to talk about. It's still such a big mess that even his own blood brother Igor has not talked to him in two years." Sepultura now call Phoenix, Arizona, home; can you guess who else lives in Phoenix with his lovely managerial wife, Gloria? That's right, Max Cavaleras. You would think that they would at least bump into each other at a Portuguese bake sale or something, but this just isn't the case. "I agree that the situation is ridiculous--we didn't work so hard together for so many years to end up our relationship like this," says Andreas. "I felt like family to him as well. The whole thing is fucked up. We saw Soulfly in L.A. and it felt really strange to see Max from that end of the stage. "But that's the reality that I have to deal with. I think we still really need more time away from each other, until we can put our feelings into place and talk to each other like friends again. I'm sure it will eventually happen." The saga continues. Sepultura play Metropolis, Saturday, March 6, 7:30pm, $24.50+s
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In 1996, Brazil's Sepultura released what many critics considered the heavy metal Sgt. Peppers. The monumental Roots album easily broke free of metal confines, pairing tried and true death metal riffage with traditional Brazilian percussion instruments, as played by the Xavantes tribe located in the barren land of Mato Grosso, Brazil.