The split between guitarist Marc Rizzo and Soulfly has officially waded into acrimonious territory. The Soulfly camp initially opted to not address the matter, simply announcing that Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares would be handling the lead guitar duties on the band’s 2021 touring, while making no comment on Rizzo‘s status in the group.
Cazares‘ new role in the band however led to interest in what happened to Rizzo and Soulfly vocalist/guitarist Max Cavalera would later briefly state that Rizzo had been fired for “personal reasons”.
This led Rizzo to open the floodgates in an interview, detailing how he felt that Cavalera and Soulfly camp essentially abandoned him both financially and on a personal level amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He also seemingly implied that he was unhappy with the credit he was receiving for his work in Soulfly.
Speaking in a new interview with Metal Kaoz, Cavalera was asked about what he thought led to Rizzo‘s departure and the allegations Rizzo made against him. He responded:
“I don’t know. He had a mental breakdown. I don’t know, man. This is crazy. And I don’t really understand all these accusations too; it’s so out of character for him. I don’t know.
When you’re in a band, the way I am, sometimes you tour for three months, and sometimes you come back from tour and it’s nice to have the space from the [other] musicians. I had that with my brother; sometimes I go six months without talking to Igor, and then we go on tour again. And it’s the same with Mike [Leon, bass], and it’s the same with some of the crew, and it’s the same with Marc.”
“All these accusations — it hurts. It hurts to hear. After everything that we did for him, which was a lot — we put him on all the records and always took really good care of him, always really, really gave good treatment to him. To hear him backstabbing us like that, it’s just not nice. He’s obviously trying to get fans to be against me and make him the victim.
I don’t have bad things to say about Marc myself. He was cool during Soulfly, and we made great records. But I think maybe it just ran its course. I noticed it was a little bit stale; the situation was a little bit stale. The last show we did was in Mexico, and I could tell something felt a little bit different. But I was getting ready to tour, getting ready to go back on tour. And then we started hearing all these crazy accusations from him. He even said in one of the interviews he had a mental breakdown a month ago or something.
I don’t know, man. It just sucks. We’re not supposed to do that to each other, to musicians that we play with. A lot of ex-Soulfly guys are all friends of mine — Roy [Mayorga], Johny Chow, Mikey [Doling], Logan [Mader]. It’s nice. You had your time in Soulfly, and we keep the friendship. He seems just very bitter about everything. It just sucks to hear all that. It definitely hurts me when I hear all these accusations that I know are lies and bullshit; it’s all fabricated by his crazy mind. I don’t know. It’s a strange situation.”
Speaking of making the decision to fire Rizzo, Cavalera offered:
“…I had to do something. So in July, I made the decision to have him no longer be in the band. And it was not an easy decision because we spent 18 years together, but it was a decision. I had to make that. I had to look out for Soulfly. And then I had the idea to invite Dino to be on the tour. ‘Cause we already had the tour booked.”
“I think [Marc and I] grew apart also. Little by little, on every tour I noticed him hanging out less and things like that. Even musically, I don’t think we liked the same stuff. I like a lot of the newer, heavier stuff. I don’t think we even liked the same stuff anymore. So it’s one of those things — you grow apart from each other.”
“I don’t want to turn this into an ugly thing. I don’t wanna talk bad about him; I really don’t. Of course I don’t like those accusations, and it’s bullshit, but he has the right to say whatever. But I think we treated him really good through all those years. We put him on the map pretty much. When he joined the band, not many people knew him. Just a little bit of gratitude would have been nice. Because even on ‘Max Trax‘ when I mentioned that I fired him, I thanked him for the 18 years of Soulfly, and I said good luck on his projects. I’m not bitter. I don’t wanna be a bitter guy.
“It’s a tough business, man. It’s tough. These things happen, and you have to have thick skin. There’s many fans that agree with him or [disagree with him]. Whatever. It is what it is. I tried to make the best of the situation. That’s why I have Dino, a friend, a great riffmaster, a great shredder. And I’m looking forward to the future projects.”
Soulfly‘s touring plans with Dino Cazares on guitar run as follows:
With Niviane:
08/20 Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
08/21 Denver, CO – Marquis Theater
08/22 Colorado Springs, CO – Sunshine Studios
08/24 Wichita, KS – Wave Outdoors
08/25 Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck
08/26 St. Louis, MO – Red Flag
08/27 Ft. Wayne, IN – Piere’s
08/28 Pipestem, WV – Pipestem Event Center (‘Metal In The Mountains‘)
08/29 Columbus, OH – Skully’s
08/30 Buffalo, NY – Rec Room
08/31 Pittsburgh, PA – Crafthouse
09/01 New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre
09/02 Providence, RI – Alchemy
09/03 Providence, RI – Alchemy
With Suicide Puppets:
09/04 Syracuse, NY – The Lost Horizon
09/05 Chesterfield, MI – Diesel Concert Lounge
09/06 West Chicago, IL – WC Social Club
09/07 Indianapolis, IN – Emerson Theater
09/08 Louisville, KY – Diamond Pub Concert Hall
09/09 Birmingham, AL – Zydeco
09/11 Orlando, FL – Warlando Festival (Soulfly only)
09/12 Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
09/14 Houston, TX – Scout Bar
09/15 Austin, TX – Come And Take It Live
09/16 Dallas, TX – Trees
09/17 Tyler, TX – Country River Club
09/18 San Antonio, TX – Vibes Event Center
09/19 El Paso, TX – Rockhouse Bar & Grill
Soulfly only:
09/21 Tucson, AZ – Encore
09/22 San Diego, CA – Brick By Brick
09/23 Long Beach, CA – Alex’s Bar
09/24 Los Angeles, CA – The Whisky
With Incite, Go Ahead & Die & Healing Magic:
09/25 Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theater (D-Low memorial show)
[via Blabbermouth.net]
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