Marc Rizzo: “Soulfly Didn’t Do Anything for the Band Members or the Crew” During the Pandemic

I think it’s fair to say the Max Cavalera/Marc Rizzo split has turned into a full-on feud.

The drama began late last week, when Cavalera’s Soulfly announced that Dino Cazares (Fear Factory) would be playing guitar for them on their upcoming U.S. tour… and made no mention whatsoever of Rizzo, who has been in the band for eighteen years. I don’t really get the thinking there; I know Rizzo isn’t quite John 5, but it’s not as though his absence was gonna go unnoticed. Especially because he’s also been a part of Cavalera Conspiracy — meaning that at this point, Marc Rizzo has worked with Max Cavalera more than even Andreas Kisser.

In any case, Rizzo quickly launched a new project, Hail the Horns… and things have been escalating ever since.

First, Rizzo officially made his departure from Soulfly official, implying that it had something to do with receiving due credit for his work:

“I’m going full forward with my solo project. That’s really where my heart is at, where I get my writing credit, where I get credit for my work and all my hard work gets proper credit. It’s a healthier environment.”

This was the PR equivalent of bumping into someone’s shoulder, hard, as you’re walking past each other, and then asking them if they have a “problem.” It’s bait, but it should be easy enough to ignore.

So naturally Cavalera didn’t ignore it, instead putting out a video clarifying that “[Rizzo] did not leave [Soulfly]. We decided to part ways with him due to personal reasons.”

Still, I’d call that a verbal push. Tensions are now clearly rising, but there’s still time for Rizzo to be the bigger man and walk away. At the very least, Rizzo’s friends should be tugging at him and saying shit like “Let it go, it’s not worth it,” etc. This fight could be over right n-

Aaaaannnnd Rizzo just took a swing.

No going back now.

From Rock Talks‘ new interview with Rizzo:

“This has been a very difficult year. I got no support from Soulfly. There was no sort of loans that were taken out for the bandmembers or the crew. This is just the honest thing of what happened. I had to go back and get a day job. I was doing home renovations, working very hard, 10 hours a day. A [Soulfly] live record came out [last year]. I never saw a dime off that. So, basically, within the [first] six months, seven months of COVID, I just said, ‘You know, man, I don’t want this anymore. I gave you guys 18 years of my life.’ And it was a great time. Back in the good years, it was great. But the last I’d say eight to 10 years have not been very good. [I was] away from my family. Scheduling is crazy. It was impossible to have a personal life, see my family, make plans with my family. So, basically, six months into COVID, it was just, like, I don’t even wanna do this anymore. I’d rather just concentrate on my solo project and spend time with my family where I’m happy, where I get my credit for everything I do.

“I put 18 years in. It’s a long, long time to be in the band. When COVID hit, I felt like, what have I been doing these last 18 years? Normally, you work a day job, you get support during a pandemic like COVID. And I was working very hard. I was doing plumbing, electric. Finally, my very good friend Nic Bell at Godsize Booking, he was, like, ‘Listen, dude, I can get you back on the road to the states in America that are open.’ So he got me to Montana, Texas, Florida, doing my solo project. And I was able to quit my job and get back on track playing music for a living and making money. Big props to Nic Bell, ’cause he was one of the few people that supported me during the pandemic and helped me to get back on the road. Again, I got NO support whatsoever from anyone else. So, it’s a good thing. Again, I’m very excited about the future.”

He elaborated:

“There were years that were good financially, but this year — again, there was no loans, there was no, ‘Hey, let’s do a live video to make money for the bandmembers or maybe let’s do a special merch deal.’ A lot of my friends, they were doing special merchandise deals. I mean, if you look online, Soulfly didn’t do anything for the band members or the crew. It’s just not right to do that to people during a time like this.”

He went on to say that regardless of financial issues, no one from Team Cavalera ever even contacted him just to see how he was doing:

“I never got a phone call from anybody in the Soulfly camp during COVID. It just opened up my eyes this year about what I should be doing in 2021.”

In fact, Rizzo says, he hasn’t spoken to Cavalera at all since before the pandemic:

“I haven’t talked to Max since [March] 2020 when we played the Hell & Heaven festival in Mexico. I had no contact with him. I don’t think he has a phone, so it’s not like I can call him.”

Ignoring, for a moment, the assertion that Max Cavalera doesn’t have a phone: I don’t think anyone is keeping a running list of which bands did what for who during the pandemic [he said as though the pandemic were over], but yeah, Max Cavalera, although by no means James Hetfield or even Kerry King, likely could have afforded to auction off a few autographed guitars and commission a new t-shirt design to raise money for his team. Even Mastodon took unemployment. So this doesn’t look great for Max Cavalera.

Rizzo’s statements also buck up against Cavalera’s narrative, which is that Rizzo was fired.

So here’s what’s gonna happen next: Cavalera is gonna respond, directly or indirectly, with a story that illustrates a) why Soulfly didn’t do any COVID fundraisers for its members and crew and b) how is Rizzo is an asshole who had to be fired. It’s really Cavalera’s only move at this point, save for just dropping the whole thing and letting everyone forget about it, which he won’t do, because we’ve already established that neither of these dudes are willing to just walk away.

So.

I’m gonna go make some popcorn while we wait for that to happen. In the meantime, the full Rizzo interview is below.

Upcoming Rizzoless Soulfly dates:

8/20/2021  Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM ** [tickets]
8/21/2021  Marquis Theater – Denver, CO ** [tickets]
8/22/2021  Sunshine Studios – Colorado Springs, CO ** [tickets]
8/24/2021  Wave Outdoors – Wichita, KS ** [tickets]
8/25/2021  The Bottleneck – Lawrence, KS ** [tickets]
8/26/2021  Red Flag – St. Louis, MO ** [tickets]
8/27/2021  Piere’s – Ft. Wayne, IN ** [tickets]
8/28/2021  Metal In The Mountains @ Pipestem Event Center – Pipestem, WV ** [tickets]
8/29/2021  Skully’s – Columbus, OH ** [tickets]
8/30/2021  Rec Room – Buffalo, NY ** [tickets]
8/31/2021  Crafthouse – Pittsburgh, PA ** [tickets]
9/01/2021  Gramercy Theatre – New York, NY ** [tickets]
9/02/2021  Alchemy – Providence, RI ** [tickets]
9/03/2021  Alchemy – Providence, RI ** [tickets]
9/04/2021  The Lost Horizon – Syracuse, NY ^ [tickets]
9/05/2021  Diesel Concert Lounge – Chesterfield, MI ^ [tickets]
9/06/2021  WC Social Club – West Chicago, IL ^ [tickets]
9/07/2021  Emerson Theater – Indianapolis, IN ^ [tickets]
9/08/2021  Diamond Pub Concert Hall – Louisville, KY ^ [tickets]
9/09/2021  Zydeco – Birmingham, AL ^ [tickets]
9/11/2021  Warlando Festival – Orlando, FL * [tickets]
9/12/2021  The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA ^ [tickets]
9/14/2021  Scout Bar – Houston, TX ^ [tickets]
9/15/2021  Come and Take It Live – Austin, TX ^ [tickets]
9/16/2021  Trees – Dallas, TX ^ [tickets]
9/17/2021  Country River Club – Tyler, TX ^ [tickets]
9/18/2021  Vibes Event Center – San Antonio, TX ^ [tickets]
9/19/2021  Rockhouse Bar & Grill – El Paso, TX^ [tickets]
9/21/2021  Encore – Tucson, AZ * [tickets]
9/22/2021  Brick By Brick – San Diego, CA * [tickets]
9/23/2021  Alex’s Bar – Long Beach, CA * [tickets]
9/24/2021 The Whisky – Los Angeles, CA  * [tickets]
9/25/2021 Marquee Theater – Tempe, AZ+ [tickets]
* = No Support
** – 8/20 – 9/3 – Niviane
^ – 9/4 – 9/19 – Suicide Puppets

[via]