MAX CAVALERA has been performing SEPULTURA's landmark 1993 album Chaos A.D. in its entirety on his current European and North American tours, reuniting with his brother IGOR CAVALERA and joined by bandmates Travis Stone and Igor Amadeus Cavalera.
For Max, the full-album shows are about passing the torch. "There's a whole new generation of fans — they never got the chance to see the original playing that," he said. He praised the chemistry of the current lineup, highlighting how the younger musicians bring fresh energy while he and Igor supply the experience and authenticity of the songs' creators.
Reflecting on the album's creative direction, Cavalera recalled that the band deliberately chose a different path after 1991's blistering Arise. Rather than chase more speed, they slowed things down and embraced stripped-down, more primal compositions. The result was a record built on semi-instrumental passages, moody tribal-tinged riffs, industrial textures and hardcore punk influences — a dramatic departure from SEPULTURA's earlier thrash-death attack.
Chaos A.D. also leaned heavily into politically charged protest songs and featured an unexpected cover of NEW MODEL ARMY's "The Hunt," a choice Cavalera described as part of the band's refusal to limit their creative boundaries at the time.
The album proved to be a commercial breakthrough, earning gold certification in the United States, with its striking cover artwork commissioned specifically from acclaimed artist Michael Whelan. Tracks like "Refuse/Resist," "Territory" and "Slave New World" remain staples of the brothers' live sets to this day.
Max and Igor Cavalera famously departed SEPULTURA — Max in 1996 and Igor in 2006 — and in recent years have revisited their classic catalogue under the CAVALERA banner, re-recording early material and performing seminal albums front to back. The Chaos A.D. run continues their mission to keep one of Brazilian metal's most important legacies alive for audiences old and new.