MAX CAVALERA Reflects On The Impact Of KORN’s Debut Album

In a recent interview on the Talk Toomey podcast, former Sepultura‘s frontman Max Cavalera reflected on the impact Korn‘s self-titled debut album had on him before the release of Sepultura‘s Roots. Cavalera shared a nostalgic moment involving his late stepson, Dana, who introduced him to Korn and Deftones for the first time.

“Yeah, it’s very nostalgic. I remember my late stepson Dana coming home — Dana was of course Gloria‘s son who was killed in ‘96. And Dana coming home with the promo of both records, Korn, I think he had a one-song promo, and he had Deftones‘ Adrenaline,” Max remembered. “And I listened to both. I had no idea who those bands are. I even joked, with Dana, about the names. Korn, that’s a weird name, man. I don’t think that’s gonna fly. How wrong was I? But, yeah, I loved the music for real.”

Cavalera then explained how both Korn and Deftones influenced his work, especially while recording Roots and Soulfly‘s debut album.

“Especially recording Roots and Soulfly‘s debut album Soulfly, a lot of times, in the car, going in the studio, going up in Malibu, I was blasting, yeah, first Korn a lot, Deftones‘ Adrenaline, and I got to be part of the second Deftones album, Around The Fur, which is one of my favorite records of all time. That record is so good, man. It’s so killer. I still today, I listen to that and just go, ‘Whoa, what a banger of an album.’ But, yeah, the first Korn is the same. It’s an incredible record. It has a lot of emotion, but it’s balls-heavy too. The grooves are fucking great — great grooves on that record.”

Cavalera also highlighted how Korn drew inspiration from Sepultura‘s earlier work: “It’s so fun to know from them, talking to Jonathan Davis, and talking to Fieldy, they let me know that they were totally into Sepultura‘s Chaos A.D. when they made the first Korn record. And they listened to Chaos A.D. a lot. That’s a beautiful thing, man. It’s a beautiful thing. The music, the exchange of influences, and you’re feeding off each other to create music. And that’s how it should be, man.”

“And you should never shy away from being inspired or inspiring people. I think, forever, it always will be cool. I’m inspired by stuff all the time. And I love the fact that my stuff has inspired a lot of other people as well. So it’s definitely a great record. If people watching this have not checked out the record, go check that out. Check out that, check out Soulfly, and check out Deftones‘ Around The Fur. That’s a great way to start.”