In the middle of a song, Max Cavalera walked toward the drum riser and gave a nod to his brother Iggor. It’s a small thing, but sometimes those little things are the most important.
For the Texas metal community, it’s a reminder of what might have been. What could have been.
Max and Iggor Cavalera grew up in Brazil, sons of an Italian diplomat. They were still young children when their father died unexpectedly, throwing the family into emotional and economic chaos. By age 12, Max had dropped out of school. A few years later, he formed the band Sepultura with his little brother on drums.
Just a year earlier, another pair of teenage brothers, Darrell and Vinnie, were walking a similar path in Arlington in Texas, releasing an album under the name Pantera. Tragically, Dime Bag and Vinnie Paul never got to finish that path. But after nearly a decade of frosty relations, Max and Iggor are back on stage together, sharing those little moments built on a life as brothers. Theirs is a success story that perhaps your teenage metal head doesn’t need to know: Max Cavalera dropped out of school at 12 and learned English by translating his favorite rock and roll songs. He went on to become a multimillionaire. You probably don't want your children to believe this is a viable career path. With severe thunderstorms rolling in, the sold-out show was moved to the inside stage at Amplified Live, and it was packed. The show offered cuts from Sepultura’s early high watermark albums Beneath the Remains and Arise. Filling out the touring band are bassist Mike Leon and flashy lead guitarist Daniel Gonzalez. Venues may need to keep people at the bar for as long as possible in order to make money, but a lineup of five bands on a Tuesday night was two or three too many. Especially as they raced through 25-minute sets and then spent another 15 or 20 changing out the drum kit for the next act.
The openers were excellent; there were just too many. Warbringer looked happy to be back on stage after a two-year hiatus, and Arizona two-piece Healing Magic was a nice surprise. Milezero and Within Chaos are Fort Worth bands that got a chance to make some new fans, so good on them.
In the end, the real thunder was indoors on Tuesday.