Max Cavalera Reveals He And Chino Moreno Buried Soulfly’s Debut Album Tapes To Channel “Indigenous Power”

If you’ve ever wondered why Chino Moreno (Deftones) was pictured holding a shovel in the liner notes for Soulfly’s gold-certified 1997 debut, Max Cavalera has finally shed some light on the mystery. Recorded with producer Ross Robinson (Slipknot, Korn) at the legendary Indigo Ranch Studios in Malibu, CA, the album was born in one of nü-metal’s most sacred spaces — a studio that hosted sessions for genre-defining acts like Korn, Slipknot, Machine Head, and Limp Bizkit before tragically burning down in 2007.

In a new interview with Alternative Nation, Cavalera revealed that he and Moreno actually buried the master tapes overnight on the property to imbue them with what he called “Indigenous power.” Drawing on the tribal themes that defined his work in Sepultura and continued through Soulfly, Cavalera said the gesture was symbolic — an attempt to spiritually charge the music through the energy of the land itself.

“We buried [the recordings] in Indigo Ranch,” Cavalera recalled. “We knew there was a burial ground there — like an Indian burial ground from 300 years ago. So, I wanted to capture the essence of the land, of the Indigenous power. So, me and Chino from the Deftones, we dig big holes, we put the tapes there. We closed it, let it spend the night. The next day, dug them up. It was cool. It was kind of crazy, but fun at the same time.”

That story also explains why Moreno appears in the album’s artwork holding a shovel. Cavalera said:

“People are like, ‘Why is he holding a shovel in a picture?’ That’s why, because we’re digging holes in Indigo Ranch, in the Malibu hills.”

When asked why they did it, Cavalera admitted there wasn’t a deeper reason beyond instinct and energy. He added:

“There’s not really an explanation for it, just fun and the madness of metal.”

Moreno didn’t just lend a hand in the burial, either — he also appeared on “First Commandment,” the sixth track from Soulfly. The collaboration stemmed from Moreno’s friendship with Cavalera’s late stepson Dana Wells, to whom both the song and the entire album were dedicated following his tragic death in 1996.

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