Soulfly is an American heavy metal band formed in 1997 and based in Phoenix, Arizona. The original lyrical content revolved around spirituality, political and religious themes, with later albums encompassing other themes including war, violence, aggression, slavery, hatred and anger. Soulfly is led by former Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who formed the band after he left the Brazilian group in 1996. To date the band has released ten studio albums, one tour EP, twenty-three singles, one video album, and twelve music videos.

On July 1, 2011, Soulfly has announced that the group has recruited former Static-X and current Asesino, and then Prong, and Ministry bassist Tony Campos into the band, replacing former bassist Bobby Burns, who left the group in July of last year. In August 2011, Joe Nunez was replaced by Borknagar drummer David Kinkade. In September 2011, the band announced they entered the recording studio to make their next album due for an early 2012 release. In late October it was revealed that recording had finished, and Kinkade claimed that the new album is like "Arise on crack". Confirmed guests on the album were Adam Warren of Oceano and Dez Fafara of Coal Chamber and DevilDriver, although Warren pulled out of recording and was replaced by Cattle Decapitation frontman Travis Ryan. In the December 2011 issue of Metal Hammer, Cavalera stated that the main theme of the album will be slavery, with confirmed song titles "Slave", "Chains", "Legions" (a song about the Roman Empire), "Gladiator", "Redemption of Man by God" (featuring Dez Fafara), and "Revengeance" (with Max's 3 sons featuring: Zyon on drums, Richie on vocals and Iggor writing half the guitar riffs). The album was produced by Zeuss with artwork from Marcelo Vasco, who has designed album artwork for bands such as Borknagar, Obituary, and Dimmu Borgir. On December 6, the album title was announced to be Enslaved and has a release date of March 13, 2012. Soulfly performed at the 13th annual Gathering of the Juggalos in Cave-in-Rock, IL August 2012. Throughout 2012, Soulfly have headlined the "Maximum Cavalera Tour", supported by Incite (fronted by Richie Cavalera) and Lody Kong (featuring Igor Cavalera Jr. and Zyon Cavalera). In October 2012 Kinkade announced his retirement from drumming, leaving Soulfly after their show in Bangkok. Max's son Zyon, who performed during the South America tour earlier in the year, will take over drums for the upcoming US tour and for the foreseeable future. In April 2013 Max announced Soulfly's intention to record more material after their tour, with producer Terry Date, and confirmed on May 3 that Zyon would perform drums on the album. In July Max announced that the album would be called Savages. The band released the album on September 30 in the UK, October 1 in the US, and October 4 in Europe. Savages features a number of guest vocalists including Igor Cavalera Jr. of Lody Kong, Jamie Hanks of I Declare War, Neil Fallon of Clutch, and Mitch Harris of Napalm Death.

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