If you’ve ever browsed the liner notes and artwork for Soulfly‘s gold-selling 1997 debut album and wondered why Deftones vocalist/guitarist Chino Moreno was pictured holding a pickaxe, today’s your lucky day. That album, was recorded under producer Ross Robinson (Slipknot, Korn) at Indigo Ranch Studios in Malibu, CA.
That remote studio setting was veritable holy ground to the nü-metal genres, serving as the backdrop for the recording sessions for pivotal early releases from Slipknot, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Machine Head and more. Sadly that studio burned down in a wildfire that ravaged the Malibu Creek State Park back in 2007. However, according to Soulfly vocalist/guitarist Max Cavalera, the grounds near the studio may have been sacred for another reason.
In a recent interview with Alternative Nation, Cavalera added some context to the above picture of Moreno. As Cavalera explained, he and Moreno buried the apparent master recordings from the self-titled album sessions overnight in a bid to give them “indigenous power”. Tribal themes of course were prevalent in Cavalera‘s musical output with Sepultura, and he brought that fascination and cultural admiration into the then fledgling Soulfly, where it remains in place.
Here’s what he had to say about the temporarily interring the recordings of Soulfly‘s biggest album to date [transcribed by theprp.com]:
“We buried [the recordings] in Indigo Ranch. We knew there was a burial ground there — like, [an] Indian burial ground [from] 300 years ago. So, I wanted to capture the essence of the land, of the Indigenous power. So, me [and] Chino from the Deftones, we dig big holes, we put the tapes there. We closed it, let it spend the night. The next day, dug them up. It was cool. It was kind of crazy, but fun at the same time.
“That’s why in the album, there’s a picture of Chino with a shovel, and the shovel is from when we were digging the holes — that’s why he has a shovel. People are like, ‘Why is he holding a shovel in a picture?’ That’s why. Because we’re digging holes in Indigo Ranch, in the Malibu hills.”
When asked the thought process behind doing that, Cavalera explained it was an idea that at the time he felt would, “help the record somehow.” He went on to say, “There’s not really an explanation for it. Just fun and the madness of metal.”
Moreno of course wasn’t only at Indigo Ranch for the manual labor. He also guested on the sixth song on the album, “First Commandment“. Moreno had become friends with Max prior through the Max‘s late stepson Dana Wells. That song, as well as the Soulfly album, were dedicated to Wells, who died in a car accident, reportedly while being pursued by gang members, back in 1996.
