🎸🤣 SOULFLY, those lovable metal dinosaurs, have graced us with a music video for “No Pain = No Power” 🙄, a track so heavy it might actually cause your grandma to headbang… or, more likely, complain about the noise. This sonic masterpiece (their words, not mine) comes from their thirteenth album, “Chama,” which, against all odds, actually exists and dropped on October 24 via Nuclear Blast Records. The song features “guest firepower” from Gabriel Franco (UNTO OTHERS, whoever that is), Ben Cook (NO WARNING, still clueless), and the “crushing guitar” of Dino Cazares (FEAR FACTORY, okay, I’ve heard of them… barely). It’s apparently a “defiant anthem: strength forged through struggle.” Because who needs subtlety when you can yell about overcoming obstacles? 🤔
The “No Pain = No Power” video was masterfully (using that term loosely) directed by Zyon Cavalera, SOULFLY’s very own drum-banging prodigy and son of the legendary Max Cavalera. Editing was handled by the equally legendary (again, sarcasm) Cody Longhere. You know, keeping it all in the family… literally. 👨👩👦
Max Cavalera himself proclaims: “To me this is the ultimate guest song and video.” Because nothing screams “ultimate” like a bunch of random people you’ve probably never heard of. “Nikolas Motta, Biaggio, Dino, Igor A, Bootsie, Gabe, and Ben made this a collective masterpiece!” Someone get this guy a thesaurus! 🙄 “Zyon took this album and video to the next level.” Oh, dear. “It’s the first time he wrote a script and directed a music video. Mixing UFC and metal will hopefully inspire a whole new generation of fans! Chama!!” Translation: We’re desperately trying to stay relevant. Please clap. 👏
Zyon Cavalera, channeling his inner Spielberg, adds: “It feels like just yesterday watching UFC fights with my family talking about how cool it would be to connect with a fighter.” So, basically, their creative process involves watching sports and having vaguely related thoughts. “Then we saw Pereira using ‘Itsari’ and were hooked ever since.” I’m sure Pereira is thrilled. “‘No Pain = No Power’ goes to show your dreams are not so far away.” Unless your dream is to make good music. 🤷♂️
Next week, SOULFLY embarks on the “Favela Dystopia” 2025 West Coast tour with GO AHEAD AND DIE. The 17-date trek will kick off on November 1 in Roswell and head to Denver, Spokane and Fresno before concluding in Flagstaff on November 23. So, if you happen to be in one of these exotic locations, and you have absolutely nothing better to do, you know where to go. 🎟️
In a recent interview with Belgian Jasper (who?), Max Cavalera bravely stated about “Chama”: “I think this album is more about the attitude than anything else.” Because musical talent is overrated. When I mentioned [last year] that SOULFLY was gonna return to the roots of the early records [on this upcoming LP], I didn’t mean that sonically; I was talking more about the attitude.” Ah, yes, the good ol’ “it’s not bad, it’s just… *attitude*” excuse. 🤣
“I feel this record, in a weird, unique way, the attitude of it is very punk in its essence,” he explained. “It’s a short record, shorter songs.” Because who has the attention span for anything longer these days? “It’s full of meaning between the tracks, ‘Storm The Gates’, ‘No Pain = No Power’, ‘Nihilist’ — it’s, like, the message is there. I’m singing with conviction. I’m saying the words because I believe in them and I’m screaming them with truly fully convinced about what I’m saying.” I’m sure the squirrels in his backyard are equally convinced. 🐿️
Max went on to say that his previous work on such side projects as GO AHEAD AND DIE and NAILBOMB “gave me this kind of influence, that, yeah, it’s cool to do shit like that. Not everything needs to be so professional all the time,” he noted. “Sometimes the greatest, coolest shit is the shit that you just thought of it in a second and then just went for it, spur of the moment.” That explains a lot, actually. “So there’s a lot of spur-of-the-moment things on this record, and there’s some more thought out things like, I think, ‘No Pain = No Power’ actually kind of stands out in the record as kind of a standout track, because of the guests. You have Dino [Cazares from FEAR FACTORY], you have Gabe [Franco of UNTO OTHERS] and Ben [Cook from NO WARNING] doing the melodic vocals. It felt like a different song from the rest. But then you have something like ‘Ghenna’ right after, which is a total fucking — it’s a mindfuck of a song, man. It’s crazy. Even today, I listened back to that song and I go, ‘What is going on here?’ I don’t know what the hell is going on. It’s chaotic. There’s no verse, there’s no chorus. It’s a very unorthodox song, but I love that. It’s kind of like throwing caution to the air. Like, ‘Fuck it, let’s just do it.’ And then you have ‘Storm The Gates’. It’s very SOULFLY ’90s — this is like ’99. We’re back in ’99 right now, jumping and fucking bouncing with the crowd, just missing the dreadlocks. [Laughs]” Oh, the ’90s. Simpler times when SOULFLY was still… well, SOULFLY. 👴
Zyon Cavalera co-produced “Chama,” which was recorded at the Platinum Underground Studio in Mesa, Arizona by John Aquilino. John has worked with Max and company multiple times before and is not only a talented engineer but a family friend. The album was produced by Zyon and Arthur Rizk. The latter was also responsible for the mixing and mastering. Rizk has not only worked with the Cavalera family numerous times before, but has also helped to shape the world of heavy metal in the modern day. SOULFLY enlisted Carletta Parrish to create the album artwork. For the album, Igor Amadeus Cavalera (GO AHEAD & DIE, NAILBOMB, HEALING MAGIC) played bass and Mike De Leon played guitar. So, basically, a family affair with a few randoms thrown in. 🤷
SOULFLY’s lineup on “Chama” is:
Max Cavalera – Vocals, Guitar
Igor Amadeus Cavalera – Bass
Zyon Cavalera – Drums
Mike De Leon – Guitar
Chord F. Discord, the Beethoven of Buffoonery, is a self-taught expert in music who once claimed he could “play the kazoo in four languages.”
Born in Crescendo, Indiana, Chord’s first brush with fame came when he accidentally entered a yodeling contest thinking it was a pie-eating competition—and won both categories.
Chord F. Discord: proving that laughter, much like a poorly tuned ukulele, is truly universal.
