MUEN: HI MAX! SO YOU AND YOUR BROTHER IGGOR SPENT LIKE WHAT ... 12 YEARS APART?
MAX: Um yeah..

MUEN: BEFORE REUNITING AND MAKING MUSIC AGAIN TOGETHER, WHY DID YOU SPEND SO LONG APART?
MAX: I don't know really.. we went our separate ways, and he went back to Brazil.. I stayed here in Arizona and was doing SOULFLY and he continued with SEPULTURA, and other things. I don't know why it took that long.. he called me one day, we fixed our friendship and brotherhood.. I mean him as a brother and music in my life means everything to me, so to play with him again is a huge thing in my life, and it's a new chapter and this new album means alot to me. I feel like the fans are really starting to get behind the record, so I'm very excited about it..

MUEN: WHAT DO YOU THINK MADE IGGOR CALL YOU?
MAX: I think it was a collection of things.. for one, our dad died when we were real young.. and his spirit has always been really close to me and Iggor.. And I think maybe he realized that us being apart is not really what our dad would have wanted, because we were real close when we were kids. So things like that... plus I think Dimebag's death had a huge impact too.. because of him and Vinnie being brothers in a band. I think that had some psychological effect on us too.. as brothers playing in a band again.

MUEN: SO IT MUST FEEL GREAT PLAYING TOGETHER AGAIN..
MAX: Yeah it's one of those things. I mean I was happy with SOULFLY, but my brother and I, we played in bands together at a very young age.. it's pretty amazing how young we were, and we were really tight together. It's even better now, 'cause we've learned from our mistakes, not to do the same things that eventually separated us. We do somethings different now.. I mean for example like going on the road, and being forced when you don't want to.. or like making an album when you don't feel like making an album.. those things really count in the end, in bands, and that can eventually break alot of bands up. Like when you don't want to do it, but you are obligated to.. and this album that we did together this time was no obligation at all.. we wanted to do it... and this tour coming up.. we love this tour, we really want to do it! So it's very different these days.

MUEN: SO IT COMES FROM THE HEART THIS TIME..
MAX: Exactly.. we are closer now, as friends and brothers. Iggor is a very talented and funny guy ..he gets along with my kids very well too, haha! Draws them funny pictures... he's always been creative and a real psycho.. I remember once when we were kids, .. I don't know why, but he spray painted a huge naked rat with huge balls .. on this guys wall in Brazil - I'll never forget that.. haha.. I ran, but he got caught. But anyway, alot of crazy times we had as kids.

MUEN: SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THE LATEST RECORD "INFLIKTED" THAT YOU JUST RELEASED YESTERDAY ON MARCH 25TH.. DO YOU FEEL IT IS ALOT DIFFERENT FROM THE PAST ALBUMS WITH SOULFLY ETC.?
MAX: Yeah it is, because even if I would have tried not to make it different, it would still be different with the circumstances. The fact that Iggor and I are playing again after being 12 years apart, makes it different, and I believe I chose different songs for this record than what I would have chosen for say like a Soulfly record. Soulfly is a different vibe. So yeah I think it is alot different.. and I think the fans really like what they've heard because it is alot of aggression and thrash like what we had with Sepultura. It's alot of the same inspirations, but with a new sound on top of it.

MUEN: SO WHO PRODUCED IT, AND HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO MAKE?
MAX: Well I produced it.. it was pretty quick, considering all the songs we were working with etc.. only took about a month to record.

MUEN: WHO DID THE DESIGN FOR THE COVER?
MAX: That was Iggor! There are two things I really like about the cover.. the logo is inspired by Black Flag.. and Iggor totally admits that. And he also explained to me .. that like in one day you can spray paint, or right down an idea in a book or whatever, unlike the Sepultura logo, which is very difficult to draw.. I picked the colors on the album, and we used black and red because those are the Brazilian voodoo colors for war. Which I thought really goes together with the aggression in the album.. Alot of the past albums with like Sepultura had more detail in the artwork, so this is different, but I like the simplicity of it with the black and red. To me it's really simple, but powerful at the same time.

MUEN: YOU'VE BEEN IN METAL BANDS FOR QUITE SOME TIME NOW.. IN YOUR OPINION, DO YOU THINK METAL HAS REALLY CHANGED THAT MUCH OVER THE YEARS?
MAX: I don't think so.. I mean people keep saying it has.. but the spirit is the same.. the music is somewhat different with alot of bands using more technology, but the very essence of metal music, I think is the same. To me, metal music has always been the "bastard son" of rock and roll. It is sort of the "black sheep" of the family of rock.. and that is why we like it. But with all the changes.. it's really still the same.. it's always been about releasing the energy and frustration. I mean I'm 38, and it's not something that goes away.. it stays with you forever. I love the metal concept.. I really really dig it. It's too bad that it is misunderstood by alot of people, but the ones who know what it is, really love it... because we know what it represents.

MUEN: I, SHAUNA, GO TO ALOT OF METAL SHOWS, AND I'LL TELL YOU I JUST ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE METAL "FANS".. THEY ARE AMAZING PEOPLE!
MAX: I know it.. it's so frustrating to be so misunderstood by society in general, because they put a tag on us and our fans as you know like "trouble makers and drug users" .. when they are usually much more cooler than most people you meet, because the difference is these people will hide behind their ties and suits and good looks, you know... but they'll have a fucked up personality. We may look more strange, but actually our heads are more together than these people. We had a fan who had brought a box of ashes of his friend who had passed away to one of the Soulfly shows.. brought them because this friend had always wanted to see Soulfly live... we also had a fan who had given us dog tags of his friend who had been killed in Bosnia, he actually gave us the dog tags. I doubt these sort of things go on at a pop concert.

MUEN: I SAW THE VIDEO "CONSPIRACY MOBSTER" ON MTV2'S HEADBANGERS BALL NOT LONG AGO, ... WHAT IS THE MEANING BEHIND THAT VIDEO?
MAX: Well for me, I like the fact that everyone was expecting a "high-tech" video with a super budget, expensive looking video, and we did the complete opposite of that. And we were actually working with a big company, but they did not want to portray us like that, because the guy was a huge fan, and they wanted to portray me and Iggor as they way he sees us... without super production - and to me, that was one of the coolest things about the video.

MUEN: OK ONE MORE QUESTION.. PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW, WHEN ARE YOU COMING TO CALIFORNIA?
MAX: We don't have anything scheduled yet, but sometime after Europe, is usually when we tour the U.S., so I'm sure it will happen soon.

MUEN: WELL WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOU COMING HERE, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE INTERVIEW!
MAX: Well thanks for the support!

Interview by Shauna O'Donnell