THE FACTS
WHEN MAX CAVALERA abruptly left Sepultura – the band he’d formed in 1984 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil – during their 1996 Roots tour, it was one of the biggest scandals in metal. Sepultura had become global superstars and looked poised to stamp their own unique imprint on the burgeoning nu metal movement, but the singer walked out after a sold-out show at London’s Brixton Academy, much to their fans’ surprise. To Max’s credit, he hadn’t even got off the plane home before he set plans in motion for Soulfly, and in 1998 his new band released one of the best debut records of the 90s with their self-titled effort.