Marc Rizzo has opened up on his recent departure from metal juggernauts Soulfly, saying he's received “no support” from the band in the past year.
In a new conversation with Pierre Gutiérrez of Rock Talks, the guitarist details how the past year has been “very difficult”, adding that he “had to go back and get a day job” to cope with the financial strain of the pandemic.
“I was doing home renovations, working very hard, 10 hours a day,” he explains. “A Soulfly live record came out [last year, Live Ritual NYC MMXIX]. I never saw a dime of that. So basically, within the [first] six [or] seven months of Covid, I just said, ‘You know, man, I don't want this anymore. I gave you guys 18 years of my life.’
“And it was a great time. Back in the good years, it was great. But the last eight to 10 years have not been very good.
“[I was] away from my family. Scheduling is crazy. It was impossible to have a personal life, see my family, make plans with my family. So basically, six months into Covid, it was just like, I don't even want to do this anymore. I'd rather just concentrate on my solo project and spend time with my family where I'm happy, where I get my credit for everything I do.”
He continued: “I put 18 years in. It's a long, long time to be in the band. When Covid hit, I felt like, ‘What have I been doing these last 18 years?’ Normally, you work a day job, you get support during a pandemic like Covid.”
When questioned on whether his departure from Soulfly was down to financial issues, Rizzo responds: “I would say that was one of [the issues] for this year, yes.”
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“There were years that were good financially,” he explains, “but this year – again, there [were] no loans. There was no, ‘Hey, let's do a live video to make money for the band members or maybe let's do a special merch deal.’
“A lot of my friends [were] there doing special merchandise deals. I mean, if you look online, Soulfly didn't do anything for the band members or the crew. It's just not right to do that to people during a time like this.
“So, whatever, man. They have the right to run their business however they want to, and I have the right to do what I want to do.”
He adds: “[The guys in my side projects, Hail the Horns and Revenge Beast] were the guys that called me. They were like, ‘Hey, what's up, man? How are you? How are you doing?’ I never got a phone call from anybody in the Soulfly camp during Covid. It just opened up my eyes this year about what I should be doing in 2021.”
Concluding, Rizzo says: “I haven't talked to Max [Cavalera] since [March] 2020 when we played the Hell & Heaven festival in Mexico. I had no contact with him. I don't think he has a phone, so it's not like I can call him.”
Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera recently revealed that Fear Factory guitarist Dino Cazares would be joining the band in Rizzo's place on their upcoming US tour.
“I'm very excited to be sharing the stage with Dino,” he says. “He is a true OG riff master. It's going to sound heavier than Soulfly has ever sounded before! Dino's legendary Fear Factory crunch guitar sound mixed with Soulfly is going to sound insane.”
