The Helpful Advice Ozzy Gave Max Cavalera When He Left Sepultura in 1997

One of the founding members of Sepultura has revealed the advice Ozzy Osbourne gave him when departing the band in 1997.

Ozzy's Advice for Max Cavalera

Max Cavalera has never been shy when it comes to sharing how Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne helped inspire the start of Sepultura in 1984. But listeners could probably figure that out without any mentions.

The title of the single "Roots Bloody Roots" from Sepultura's celebrated 1996 album Roots is a homage to the legendary metal band and its own song, "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath."

Cavalera co-founded Sepultura along with his brother, Igor, but left the band in 1997 following a dispute with his bandmates over their management. Sepultura was managed by Cavalera's wife, Gloria, at the time.

In a recent interview with Louisville's LEO Weekly ahead of this weekend's Louder Than Life festival, where the Cavalera brothers will perform Sepultura's Chaos A.D. album, Max discussed the advice he got from Ozzy in 1997.

Cavalera felt Ozzy knew what he was going through at the time since he, too, had left a band he once started in Sabbath.

"Of course, they didn't fire me, I quit on my own. But it's the same thing. I was no longer with them and Ozzy was the first to say, 'Fuck it, man! Get back on the horse. Just dust off and go to war,'" Cavalera said in the interview.

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That was all the former Sepultura member needed to hear to be inspired to do his own thing by starting Soulfly.

"I was like fuck yeah! Ozzy is down for me to go to war! I'm your man! I'm a soldier! Let's go, you know?"

Max Cavalera's Favorite Black Sabbath Riff

A cover of Black Sabbath's "Symptom of the Universe" landed on a 2017 remastered version of Sepultura's Chaos A.D. The Sabbath classic has long been a favorite of Cavalera's, mostly due to Tony Iommi's guitar work.

Cavalera proclaimed to LEO Weekly that "Symptom of the Universe" features his all-time favorite guitar riff.

"It was so crazy because I was terrified to touch that," Cavalera said about the cover. "It's almost like the blood of Christ that's in the altar. Like, don't touch it, you know? You're not allowed to touch that. And we're like, we want to touch it, you know?"

Cavalera are scheduled to play at 3:50 PM Thursday on Main Stage 1 during Louder Than Life. His other project, Soulfly, is set to release its 13th studio album, Chama, on Oct. 24.

The Cavalera brothers will be taking the album on the road after that with a headlining U.S. tour featuring special guest Fear Factory. That run wraps up on Oct. 18 and all dates can be found at the Cavaleras' website.