Live music review: Soulfly, Nailbomb and Incite took over Come and Take It Live
The Cavalera name is heavy metal royalty. Brothers Max and Igor dragged Sepultura out of Belo Horizonte and turned it into one of the most feared bands on the planet, then walked away. Whatever Sepultura did without them is a footnote. What the brothers did next is a sprawl of bands and records that hasn’t let up, and the bloodline didn’t stop with them. Max’s sons and stepson fill out his lineups and run outfits of their own. The family business is metal violence set to a downtuned riff, and business is good. On Monday, September 21, the Cavalera clan took over Come and Take It Live on Riverside for a full night of musical brutality with Soulfly, Nailbomb and Incite. Nobody in the building showed any sign of slowing down.
Richie Cavalera, Max’s stepson, kicked off the Cavalera onslaught with Incite and a set built on groove. The band has spent over 20 years working the seam between Pantera and Machine Head, with enough Lamb of God in the mix to keep it from sounding like a museum piece. Richie barked through it with Anselmo-grade menace, flannel and all, and didn’t let up until the room caved into a circle pit.
The most anticipated set of the night belonged to Nailbomb, Max’s short-lived but legendary side project. Formed in 1993 while he was still fronting Sepultura, the group released one studio album, played one festival set, and disbanded soon after.
This time around, Max’s son Igor Amadeus took over vocals from OG member Alex Newport, backed by a lineup assembled in 2025. The set fused groove, industrial, and thrash metal. The performance kicked ass and played like the evening’s main event. At one point Max even called Igor “the boss.” Father-son bonding. You love to see it.
Soulfly closed the night. Max formed the band in 1997, less than a year after walking out on Sepultura, and it’s been his main outlet ever since. Zyon Cavalera, another of Max’s sons, held down the drums, and the band came in locked and loaded for the last round of the family reunion. Three bands, one bloodline, and no sign it’s running dry. At this rate, the Cavaleras will be putting out records for generations.
Soulfly is on the road through the fall. Tickets are available on the band’s website.
All photos by Justin Clark
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