Soulfly
have parted ways with guitarist
Marc Rizzo
after 18 years. According to
Max Cavalera
, Soulfly let Rizzo go from the band for “personal reasons.”
Last week, it was announced that
Fear Factory
’s
Dino Cazares
would be
playing guitar for Soulfly
on their upcoming U.S. tour. An official statement regarding Rizzo’s role in the band wasn’t made until yesterday (Aug. 8) when Max Cavalera spoke about his longtime guitarist on a Facebook livestream.
"Right now, for the tribe, I wanna address something that is going on with Soulfly,” Cavalera began. “Of course, it's about Marc Rizzo. He did not leave the band. We decided to part ways with him due to personal reasons. I wish Marc the best on his career. I wanna thank Marc for the 18 years with Soulfly."
On Aug. 6, Rizzo spoke about his future plans in music. “I’m just going full forward with my solo project. It's just better for me. It's more of a healthier environment for me and my family. And being home more, and do my solo project, which I'm super stoked about. I've also got [my new band] Hail the Horns. We're releasing the video that we did for a KISS cover today. I've got Revenge Beast. I've got Acoustic Vendetta. Things are good. And I'm doing a lot of good shit. I'm going full forward with my solo project. That's really where my heart is at, where I get my writing credit, where I get credit for my work and all my hard work gets proper credit. It's a healthier environment." [
via Blabbermouth
]
On Aug. 9, Rizzo went deeper into the issues he had with Soulfly. "This has been a very difficult year," Rizzo told
Rock Talks
. "I got no support from Soulfly. There was no sort of loans that were taken out for the band members or the crew. This is just the honest thing of what happened. I had to go back and get a day job. I was doing home renovations, working very hard, 10 hours a day. A [Soulfly] live record came out [last year]. I never saw a dime off that. So, basically, within the [first] six months, seven months of COVID, I just said, 'You know, man, I don't want this anymore. I gave you guys 18 years of my life.' And it was a great time. Back in the good years, it was great. But the last I'd say eight to 10 years have not been very good. [I was] away from my family. Scheduling is crazy. It was impossible to have a personal life, see my family, make plans with my family. So, basically, six months into COVID, it was just, like, I don't even wanna do this anymore. I'd rather just concentrate on my solo project and spend time with my family where I'm happy, where I get my credit for everything I do."
"I put 18 years in," he continued. "It's a long, long time to be in the band. When COVID hit, I felt like, what have I been doing these last 18 years? Normally, you work a day job, you get support during a pandemic like COVID. And I was working very hard. I was doing plumbing, electric. Finally, my very good friend Nic Bell at Godsize Booking, he was, like, 'Listen, dude, I can get you back on the road to the states in America that are open.' So he got me to Montana, Texas, Florida, doing my solo project. And I was able to quit my job and get back on track playing music for a living and making money. Big props to Nic Bell, 'cause he was one of the few people that supported me during the pandemic and helped me to get back on the road. Again, I got no support whatsoever from anyone else. So, it's a good thing. Again, I'm very excited about the future." [
via Blabbermouth
]
Soulfly’s 2021 tour is currently scheduled to begin Aug. 20 in Albuquerque, N.M. Due to a spike in COVID-19 delta variant cases in the United States, various tours have been canceled. Stay tuned for updates as concert news continues to get announced.
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