We caught Richie Cavalera as Incite finished their tour with Cancer Bats and embarked on their stretch of dates with Soulfly. He gave us an insight into the current mindset within a band who are looking to make 2016 their biggest year yet.
R13: You just wrapped up a stretch of dates across the UK with Cancer Bats, how was the tour for you guys?
RC: It was insane! Almost every show was sold out. Being a metal band it was killer for us to get in front of a whole new audience that had never heard us before. The Bats are some of the coolest dudes you could ever tour with. They helped load-in all the bands everyday, they hang with all the fans, and really take care of all the support bands. It was a great experience for us to learn how bigger bands are touring these days. I really hope to hit the road with them again real soon.
R13: You’ve immediately jumped straight into this European tour, how good does it feel being able to tour as part of a family with Soulfly and Lody Kong?
RC:It's cool, we have a good time together, and it makes for friendly competition between the bands each night. It's definitely not like Thanksgiving, it's madness and chaos because it's family. So you have to try and find your balance of privacy and alone time just like at home. It's definitely nice considering we don't see each other that often due to all our crazy schedules. It's also killer for the fans to see a tour like this cause it's a one of a kind deal for metal that's for sure.
R13: You’re heading towards releasing your fourth album and the follow up to 2014’s Up In Hell. Tell us a bit more about the record.
RC: It's a very exciting time for the band. We feel this new album is going to put Incite up there with the bigger acts in metal. 'Oppression' is the album the world has been waiting for! A fresh metal that is pure, but inspired by old classics. We couldn't be happier with how it turned out. It has the live show aggression and energy that we have always missed on our previous works. This album just feels more organic and not so computerized like our previous releases. The vocals, the guitars, drums, and bass all have grown to a whole new level. Having the same members this time has established a vibe and consistency that the previous works have missed. Each song has its own powerful message and vibe to it. Incite fans old and new will definitely get fired up when they hear it.
R13: On previous records you’ve had Logan Mader producing, but for this you’ve switched to Steve Evetts. Explain the change and what it was like working with Steve.
RC: Yes, Logan was awesome to get us started. He worked on our first 2 releases. Both were killer records and a blast to make. On 'Up in Hell' we wanted to try a new direction, so we went with Matt Hyde who definitely grew the band and took us to a whole new level as far as the recording process was concerned. That album was a huge step for us all. On this new record, we wanted to go with someone that would change our sound a bit and hone it to the way we wanted to sound. Raw and dirty and heavy as fuck! Steve Evetts was that man, from the start he felt like a 5th member to us. The vibe was so kick ass. We got to spend time doing pre production which we had never done before, so that made us so much more prepared for the studio than ever before. We tried a lot of new vocal sounds, and guitar solos, and new drum ideas. He just totally brought us to where we needed to be as far as sound and balls go. Hahaha! He definitely is a master at what he does and makes the process fun, as it's supposed to be! Fans will definitely hear the evolution of our sound on this CD compared to our first record. I think it's very important to try different producers and always go outside your comfort zone to find the right person for the task.
R13: Are you planning on hitting the European Festival circuit this summer in support of the new record?
RC: That is a huge goal for this band but not our choice as we have submitted to many of them countless times. I just believe we weren't ready. But now we ARE ready to destroy any place, any show, any festival. We have never been so focused and determined to make this band a force to reckoned with, so festivals have to be ready for the madness that Incite is going to bring to the pits! We hope this year or next will be our time. Patience is a virtue with being in a band. When the time is right, they will come and we will be ready to crush.
R13: The other night in London you had both Liam Cormier and Max come up and perform tracks with you, who else would you love to collaborate with on stage in the future?
RC: Yeah, that was killer to have both of them jam with us. Liam was a big thing for us 'cause we recorded the song "Rightful Spot" with him. It took 2 years for it to be played live and it went off!! We definitely have a lot of guest plans for the future. I think it's so cool as a fan to see these special jams that are not done very often. We would like to jam with Kirk from Crowbar - he is such a bad ass, as well as Randy of Lamb of God. I think him doing an Incite jam would be epic.
R13: What would your dream tour line up look like?
RC: Slayer
Lamb of God
Crowbar
Incite
That would be an honour and a dream to jam with bands like them on a nightly basis.
Thanks for the support and spreading the word! Horns high!