Interview: Incite vocalist Richie Cavalera on new album, state of metal, longevity, performing live and much more
On the heels of their seventh full-length album releasing this Friday, Aug. 15, Phoenix, Arizona metal band Incite vocalist Richie Cavalera took time out for this extensive interview with OOTB to detail the new record and to discuss album art, welcoming guitarist Layne Richardson, maintaining longevity, the current state of metal music, live performances and more.
How would you describe the overall sound, and even the lyrical approach, of Savage New Times compared to the band’s earlier releases?
I think musically it’s a lot more where we wanna be as a band compared to previous releases.
I think on the first few records, it was about trying to find a stable lineup and the guys that matched my vision for what Incite should be, as well as me resonating with the vibe that these guys brought.
I think with this record the stability has grown, even more so by adding Layne as our first ever really solid guitar player who 100 percent matches me, Lennon (drums) and EL (bass), in every single aspect of music—that truly helped us get to where we wanted to be on this record, and I think lyrically it’s a huge expansion from where I was in the past.
I really let all of my own pressures fade away and wrote exactly how I felt during the time of writing this record. I believe this is the most Incite record to date, and that’s hella exciting.
What’s your favorite track in the new album and what makes that one stand out to you?
I would have to say my favorite song on this record is the track "Dolores.” It’s just such a boundary pushing song for us musically and I think the topic of the song is definitely different from subjects we would have approached in the past.
This has to do with us just being who we want to be fully, as a band, and it makes it really cool to see how this song came out to see the different avenues we can touch upon while still maintaining our core of heavy and aggressive and energy-driven music.
The album’s artwork is very cool. How did you collaborate with Marcelo Vasco for the art and how does the image coincide with the album itself?
Oh, it’s an absolute honor to get to work with someone like Marcelo.
Our record label had Gerardo actually approach us with the idea of using him and I loved it because he’s done bands like Slayer and DSI and Kerry King, and so many others that have inspired us as a band musically and artistically, as far as the cover work goes.
We’ve taken great pride in our album covers as a band since our first release, and with this one we really wanted to make a statement; you know, it’s such a cool cover, it reminds me of Hellraiser meets Aliens: Prometheus, you know, it has this dark hellish baron kind of landscape feel to it that’s portrayed in the image.
Also, this kind of sterile humanoid that kind of like represents us as a whole as people entering this savage new time of like uncertainty with machines, politics, the Earth.
You know, there’s so many things happening at the same time and I think that’s why Savage New Times is a perfect description of this record and a lot of it being relatable to what is happening in the world in every aspect.
Having yourself, EL and Lennon as members together for more than a decade, what would you say is the key to longevity and working together for so long?
I’m very grateful to them. You know, they finally provided the stability in this band that I’ve been looking for since day one. I just kind of look at those early years like a training lesson trying to find the people and the vibe that I want in my band.
Lennon and EL were the perfect brothers in every way—from the stage, to being humble, to appreciating everything, to loving it, to working hard, and on top of that, sharing, you know, a very similar musical influence.
It took us time to really find that fourth guy that met who we were in all of those ways; and finally, with Layne, I think that’s really what came about. It’s the first time we’ve ever felt like a four piece.
Lennon, me and EL have gone through some really hard times—a lot of times where it looked like the band might end, but we stayed resilient.
We love what we do, we’re like best friends in terms of music and a lot of life now and I think that’s really just been something we’ve been able to harness and keep us going forward.
What’s your thoughts on the state of today’s metal?
I think it’s heading in a very good direction. It’s great to see new, younger bands getting opportunities. I think that was something that really hurt the metal community for a long time.
Everybody tried to be a sub genre. Everybody tried to really separate themselves, when at the end of the day, we’re all just playing heavy music.
The more and more people that get open-minded, I think the stronger the metal community becomes.
Also, it’s great to see big festivals returning to America—that’s a huge part of that and I hope they continue to use new bands and continue to just build on the future of metal, because, at the end of the day, the more new bands that get big, the better it is for all of us.
It’s been quite awhile, but I’ve seen you live and it was fierce! How do you transform the passion in a studio to the live energy on stage in front of an audience?
I think that’s something as a band. We’ve always been great at performing our studio music live; it was always the problem of bringing our live performance to the studio. I think that’s what makes this album so great.
It’s the first record where we were fully able to capture our live performance energy to our record energy and I believe that’s what is going to change everybody’s view of this band, not as just being a live band, but also being a band that can create a kick ass, high energetic record.
We’re going to have a lot of tours, so I hope you get to see us again and refresh your vibe of an Incite show.
What’s your next plans before and after the album release?
Yeah, actually, [last month] we [toured] with Hatebreed and Fugitive and a bunch of other killer bands on Summer Slaughter 2025; which for us is a great honor to be a part of a tour that’s been around for so long and has produced so many great bands.
I think [it was] a killer lineup to re-build the festival and I [was] just honored to be “The Band” that open[ed] the shows and set the bar for the night.
August 15th our record will come out and then I believe after that, it’s off to tour America with Six Feet Under; which I’m completely stoked about, considering Chris Barnes is a good friend of the band and has been a guest on our record, and we’ve toured with them before in Europe, so I think that’s gonna be awesome man.
I think the future for this band is extremely bright, probably brighter than it’s ever been. We’re in the right direction—we have the right team around us and I think that’s really what it takes to take a band to the next level when everything’s kind of just running in motion, and that’s finally happening for this band and I’m really excited.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I just wanna say thank you so much. Keep spreading the word—Savage New Times, our new album out August 15 via Reigning Phoenix Music… don’t miss out, this shit slaps.
Pre-Order Album
https://incite.rpm.link/savagenewtimesWE
Tour Dates
https://reigningphoenixmusic.com/
Follow Incite
https://m.facebook.com/inciteheavymetal/
https://www.instagram.com/incite_heavymetal/
https://m.youtube.com/user/INCITEband
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