Max Cavalera is known for his work with Nailbomb and Soulfly. He opened up about the elaborate birthday celebration that Tool, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle frontman Maynard James Keenan organized for himself. He admitted he was very jealous of the event, according to Kerrang.
Cavalera’s comments focused on Keenan’s Sessanta tour, which marked his 60th birthday and featured Primus, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle. He described how the celebration turned into a month-long event shared with fans.
“I loved how Maynard James Keenan celebrated his 60th birthday,” Cavalera said. “I’m very jealous of what Maynard did for his birthday [the Sessanta tour, featuring Primus, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle]. I went to the show in Phoenix and it was so fun. Everybody sang Happy Birthday to him, and he made it last a whole month – a month of happy birthdays.”
Cavalera went on to suggest he may take inspiration from Keenan’s approach for his own future celebrations.
“Something like that would be cool to do, so I might borrow the idea when the time comes,” he continued.
Cavalera’s admiration for Keenan’s celebration comes at a moment when he himself remains one of metal’s busiest figures. He continues juggling multiple projects in a career that stretches back more than four decades.
Max Cavalera was born Massimiliano Antonio Cavalera on August 4, 1969, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. He turned 57 earlier this year and shows no signs of slowing down. He currently splits his time across Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, Nailbomb, Killer Be Killed and Go Ahead and Die. That workload leaves little room for the kind of extended birthday festivities Keenan pulled off.
That relentless output has also become central to how Cavalera views his own legacy. He reflected on his career and pointed to the way his music has helped carry Brazilian culture to audiences far beyond his home country.
“I love the fact that I introduced Brazilian culture to Americans and Europeans through my music,” Cavalera said, underscoring the pride he takes in blending his heritage with heavy metal.
Cavalera’s roots in Brazilian metal date back to Sepultura, the band he co-founded with his brother Iggor in Belo Horizonte in 1984 before departing in 1996. Sepultura is now on a farewell tour under a different lineup. Cavalera’s focus remains firmly on his current bands, even as ideas like Keenan’s month-long birthday tribute linger in the back of his mind for whenever his own milestone celebration comes around.
