Igor Cavalera | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Igor Graziano Cavalera |
Also known as |
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Born | Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil | 4 September 1970
Genres | |
Occupation | Musician |
Instrument | Drums |
Years active | 1984–present |
Member of | |
Formerly of | Sepultura |
Igor Graziano Cavalera (born 4 September 1970) is a Brazilian musician, best known as the former drummer for the heavy metal band Sepultura, which he co-founded with his brother Max in 1984. Max left the band in 1996, and Igor himself would depart ten years later, making him the last original member of Sepultura to leave the band. The brothers have since reunited in the band Cavalera Conspiracy.
He has played in the bands Nailbomb and Strife. As his hip-hop influences grew stronger, he began to DJ. Cavalera is one half of DJ duo Mixhell, a project he founded with his wife Laima Leyton.
In 2016, Soulwax introduced a new live show entitled "Soulwax Transient Program For Drums And Machinery", for which the new line up included Cavalera as one of three drummers (along with Victoria Smith and Blake Davies) as well as Igor's wife Laima Leyton (of Mixhell) on synths and backing vocals. [1] This live show was the basis for their album From Deewee , released March 24. [2] Cavalera has remained an official member of Soulwax since then.
Cavalera started playing drums around seven years old. He was into samba music as a child but, after seeing Queen live in 1981 along with his older brother Max, he started listening to rock music. [3] When Sepultura was formed, Cavalera was the youngest member at the age of 13, his brother Max was 14 at the time. Sepultura was a big success and gave Cavalera an early start. On 21 April 1984, Cavalera played, for the first time, on a real drum kit, which was borrowed from Helinho of the band Overdose, that also played that night.
After the band split with his brother Max (lead vocals/rhythm guitar) in 1996, their relationship underwent a crisis. In recent times their relationship has improved. Cavalera joined Max's current band Soulfly on stage at the 2006 tenth annual D-Low Memorial Show, to play the Sepultura songs "Roots Bloody Roots" and "Attitude". It was the first time the brothers had played together in ten years.
Cavalera is credited as having made a guest appearance on Biohazard's 2001 release Uncivilization on the track "Gone". He also served as a live musician for parodic heavy metal band Massacration under the pseudonym "El Covero" throughout 2004. [4]
In 2006, with the release of Dante XXI , he began spelling his name "Iggor", preferring the way it looks. On 13 January 2006, it was announced that he was taking a break from the band due to the birth of his fourth child, initially leaving Sepultura temporarily. He later announced that he was quitting Sepultura due to "artistic incompatibility". Sepultura replaced him with Jean Dolabella.
Cavalera was scheduled to collaborate with underground hip hop artist Necro on a project described by Necro as in the style of "old-school '80s thrash/death metal". [5] However, Necro mentioned later that the project will not go ahead.
In 2008 Cavalera released the album Inflikted together with his brother Max in a project named Cavalera Conspiracy.
In 2012, Cavalera performed drums for the entire Strife album Witness a Rebirth, released via 6131 Records. In 2017, he played drums for Soulwax on their album From Deewee and in their live tour, along with two other live drummers.
In 2018, he formed the noise music duo Pet Brick with Wayne Adams of Big Lad and Death Pedals.
Cavalera cites drummers Roger Taylor, Bill Ward, Dave Lombardo, Stewart Copeland and Mike Bordin among his major influences. [3] [6]
In the early Sepultura albums his drumming was loud and fast, following the thrash metal style of the 1980s. He mastered this style by 1987–1991 (with Schizophrenia , Beneath the Remains and Arise ). His innovative style in the album Chaos A.D. brought tribal elements into the songs. One example of his contribution is the introduction of the song "Territory" (1993, Chaos A.D.). He further developed this style in the 1996 Roots album, adding more tribal elements to Sepultura's music.
Throughout his career, Cavalera has been widely recognized as a hard-hitting drummer (acknowledged by producer Scott Burns during the recording of Beneath the Remains). In later years, Cavalera adopted a drumset conformation with upright toms and fewer cymbals, as seen in Live in São Paulo . In reference to his work on the Sepultura album Nation , AllMusic wrote "Drummer Igor Cavalera's timing and tempo couldn't be more perfect as the adrenaline heightens until the album's intensity burns right through the speakers." [7]
Cavalera has four children, born in 1996, 2000, 2002 and 2006. He has lived in London since 2013. [8]
Cavalera collects toys and football shirts and has many hobbies, including Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, snowboarding, surfing, drawing and supporting Brazilian football club Palmeiras. He admires his father Graziano Cavalera as his role model. In 1996, he started the fashion label "Cavalera". His fashion label has faced controversy of its use of the Albanian flag as its logo. In 2020, a petition called for "Cavalera" to change it.
On July 5, 2023, Cavalera’s brother Max announced that their mother Vania had died. [9]
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band formed in Belo Horizonte in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera. Initially a black metal band, they were a major force in the groove metal, thrash metal and death metal genres during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments drawing influence from alternative metal, world music, nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial metal. Sepultura is also considered part of the second wave of thrash metal acts from the late 1980s to early-to-mid-1990s.
Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1997. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 1996. To date the band has released twelve studio albums, one tour EP, twenty-three singles, one video album, and twelve music videos. Their debut album, Soulfly, was released on April 21, 1998, while their most recent album, Totem, was released on August 5, 2022.
Roots is the sixth studio album by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura. It was released in Europe on February 20, 1996 and in the U.S. three weeks later on March 12 by Roadrunner Records. It is the band's last studio album to feature founding member and vocalist/rhythm guitarist Max Cavalera, who left the band in late 1996 while the band was on tour to promote the album.
Morbid Visions is the debut studio album by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura, released on November 10, 1986, by Cogumelo Records. While later albums have a more political edge, Morbid Visions is notable for Satanic themes and imagery. The band said many lyrics were fashioned after those of early extreme metal bands such as Venom and Celtic Frost.
Schizophrenia is the second studio album by Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura, released on October 30, 1987 by Cogumelo Records. It is the first album for the band with Andreas Kisser. The album's sound leans more towards the death/thrash metal genre than the previous album Morbid Visions, which is stylistically closer to black metal. All songs were recorded during August 1987. The reissue of 1990 has a bonus track "Troops of Doom" which was recorded during August 26–27, 1990.
Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera is a Brazilian musician. He co-founded the heavy metal band Sepultura in 1984 with his brother Igor Cavalera, and was the band's lead singer and rhythm guitarist until his departure in 1996. He currently plays in the heavy metal bands Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, Killer Be Killed and Go Ahead and Die. Cavalera was also involved in a short-lived side project called Nailbomb.
Nailbomb is a heavy metal band formed in 1993 as a side project by Brazilian musician Max Cavalera and British musician Alex Newport of Fudge Tunnel. They played a combination of primarily industrial metal and thrash metal. The band recorded one studio album, Point Blank, and played a warmup live performance and their only official gig for 29 years at the 1995 Dynamo Open Air Festival two days later, after which the band disbanded. The band reunited for the first time in 29 years in Tempe, Arizona in November 2024.
Soulwax are a Belgian electronic band and DJ/production collective from Ghent, who formed in 1995. Centred around brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, other current members include Igor and Laima Cavalera, and Stefaan Van Leuven. The group first rose to prominence following the release of their album Much Against Everyone's Advice, and have released five studio albums to date. Outside of Soulwax, the Dewaeles also perform DJ sets under the moniker 2manydjs.
Bestial Devastation is an EP by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura, released in 1985 through Cogumelo Records. It is their first official release, and originally appeared alongside Overdose's Século XX as a split album. The EP's songs were later released as bonus tracks on the CD version of Morbid Visions.
Jairo Guedes Braga, known professionally as Jairo Guedz, is a Brazilian guitarist and bassist, currently playing guitar for The Troops of Doom and The Southern Blacklist, and bass in a Metallica tribute band called Metallica Cover Brazil.
"Ratamahatta" is a song by Brazilian metal band Sepultura. It was the third and final single from the band's 1996 album Roots. It is also the last Sepultura single to feature founding frontman Max Cavalera. The song is amongst the band's best-known and remains a concert staple to this day. A music video was created for the song using stop-motion animation which explores the themes of the song. This video can be found on the VHS Sepultura: We Are What We Are, which was later released on DVD as part of Chaos DVD.
The Best of Sepultura is a compilation album from Roadrunner Records, featuring a best of collection of Sepultura's music with the label. Although the track-listing after "Inner Self" is mostly a collection of the band's singles from 1991 to 1996, in its representation of the album Arise the compilation substitutes the single "Under Siege " for the album track "Desperate Cry".
Arise is the fourth studio album by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura, released in 1991 by Roadrunner Records. Upon its release, the album received top reviews from heavy metal magazines such as Rock Hard, Kerrang! and Metal Forces. Arise is considered Sepultura's finest hour among longtime fans.
Cavalera Conspiracy is a Brazilian-American heavy metal supergroup from Phoenix, Arizona, founded by Brazilian brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, who are widely known as former members of Sepultura, and the only two constant members of the band. The band originally formed in 2007 as Inflikted but changed its name for legal reasons. The group's creation marked the end of a 10-year feud between the Cavalera brothers who founded Sepultura in the early 1980s. In 2022, they adopted the name Cavalera in order to release re-recorded editions of classic Sepultura albums, which were released in 2023.
Inflikted is the debut studio album from Cavalera Conspiracy, the Cavalera brothers' first record together in 12 years - since the release of Roots by Sepultura in 1996.
"Attitude" is a song by Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura. It is the second single from their 1996 album Roots. The song remains a concert staple to this day. A music video was filmed for the single which features the band performing beside a mixed martial arts cage, in which various people are fighting whilst being filmed. The Gracie family also appear in the video. At the end of the video, the crowd goes crazy and destroys the cage and Max Cavalera destroys his guitar. At the very end, the band and the Gracie family are seen taking photos. This video can be found on the VHS We Are What We Are, which was later released on DVD as part of Chaos DVD.
Zyon Cavalera is an American musician who is the current drummer for metal bands Soulfly and Lody Kong. He is the son of ex-Sepultura and current Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera.
From Deewee is the fourth studio album by Belgian electronic music duo Soulwax, released on 24 March 2017. With a length of 48 minutes, the album was recorded in one take by the Dewaele brothers along with three drummers. Besides the normal members of Soulwax, there is Laima Leyton on keys, Igor Cavalera, Blake Davies and Victoria Smith on drums. The first single from the album was "Transient Program for Drums and Machinery".
Psychosis is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Cavalera Conspiracy. Released on November 17, 2017, it was released through Napalm Records. It is their last record with guitarist Marc Rizzo. Insane and Spectral War have both been released as singles from the album. The album was produced by Arthur Rizk, who also performed bass and synth on the record. As of 2023, 6 years after the album was released, none of the album’s tracks have yet been aired live, for unknown reasons.