Go Ahead And Die’s debut is as massive an achievement for the Cavalera family, as 2020 was a feat of fetid feces piled into one calendar year. The Arizona-based group, featuring father-son duo Max Cavalera and Igor Amadeus Cavalera, feel distinct from the groove metal typically associated with metal’s famous family—and that was totally on purpose.
The band’s Self-Titled, out June 11 via Nuclear Blast, is an ode to old-school death metal’s venom, grindcore’s hostility, Celtic Frost’s ingenuity, with more than a dash of punk attitude. It’s a middle finger to all those who stand in the way of total freedom and equality for all, as well as a rallying call to the furious and disenfranchised. Go Ahead And Die is also a record that should stand the test of time and go down as one of 2021’s crowning musical achievements.
The band’s inception was long overdue and spawned by the events of last year, as Igor notes:
“Basically, it was an idea that my father and I had for a while. I’d say as far back as even a few years ago. We always talked about doing an extreme record. We wanted to do something in the vein of like old death metal, punk, crust, and grind, all mashed up in one thing, and like Nailbomb, just being very unapologetic and no-holds-barred.”
“We never actually got to do it,” he continues. “Because we were both just really busy over the last few years [with other bands]. When the pandemic hit, all of a sudden it was like, ‘Oh man, we’re not going on tour for months, and who knows where this is going to get back to normal?’
“So, I just called up my folks, and I was like, ‘Hey, I’m going to come back home for a month. I haven’t seen you guys in a while. The world is crazy.’ So, we stayed out there with no distractions. We just laid super low and worked on this, almost like a full-time job. Seven, eight hours a day coming up with demos, writing songs, doing it all from scratch.”
All that musical might is backed by some genuinely pissed lyrical content, not shy to call out the racists, the dirty cops, and corrupt politicians: “[The record] does have this sort of political vibe to it, but it’s definitely meant in a positive sense,” Cavalera says. “It’s about focusing it as something. It’s about taking the aggression [we all felt this past year] and creating positivity out of it.
“After last year for Americans, I think a lot of us very nearly lost our minds with everything going on. It was nice to just take a lot of that frustration, that anger, and these views and opinions that we have and instead of just bitching and moaning on Facebook about it or doing something like that, we actually just created something that will hopefully stand the test of time. Then future generations can listen and kind of get an idea of what 2020 was like.”
Check out the music video for “G.A.A.D.” here:
For more from Go Ahead And Die, find them on Facebook and Instagram.
Photo courtesy of Jim Louvau and Go Ahead And Die.
