Review by Val Tapia
Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Lucky Man (https://www.luckymanonline.com/ )
Venue: Marquee Theater, Tempe, AZ (https://www.marqueetheatreaz.com/ )
Date: October 11th, 2025
Tour: Chaos A.D.
Note: The review of the concert is being broken into 2 parts. This review & photos is only for Cavalera and Fear Factory. The other review will cover all of the other bands that performed at the concert.
I’m sure many of you reading this have heard the phrase “less is more”. I suppose that could apply to extreme metal quartet Cavalera. Yes, I’m talking about the band formed by former Sepultura members (and brothers) Max and Igor Cavalera. Rounding out the lineup are bassist Igor Amadeus Cavalera and lead guitarist Travis Stone.
The Cavalera brothers are continuing to reclaim, if you will, that influential band’s legacy in 2025. Performing the 1993 classic (some would contend landmark) Chaos A.D. in its entirety, Cavalera really does justice to the original recording on its current tour.
Playing to a crowd of roughly 1000 people on Saturday October. 11th at Tempe’s Marquee Theatre, things got started with a brief video testimonial about the impact that Chaos A.D. had on an entire generation of metal bands. Problem was, the video was shown on two home TVs (!), so it was hard to see who the bands were from my vantage point. No, I’m not kidding about that either.
Commencing the paltry 14-song, 75-minute set with “Refuse/Resist”, it was pretty much unrelenting from that point on. Songs like “Slave New World” and “Nomad” still pack a lot of punch onstage. Cavalera’s vocals remain surprisingly strong after three decades. Or put another way, all the years of growling vocals haven’t stopped him one bit.
In fact, he seems like he’s still having the time of his life at 56 years of age. Cavalera fed off the intensity of the crowd, especially the fans in the mosh pit. Yes, the band has its musical influences, but there’s no doubt that the Cavalera brothers have a sound that is uniquely theirs.
“Biotech Is Godzilla” certainly got the pit going in full force. Mind you, the Marquee isn’t exactly the biggest venue. As a result, it’s not hard to find yourself inadvertently moshing.
Interestingly, while Chaos A.D. was indeed played in full as promised, it wasn’t played in the original album’s running order. Personally, I found that refreshing. More importantly, the set flowed just as well–if not better– precisely for that reason. Kudos to them for bending the rules on that.
The main reason why the album holds up so well in 2025 is the subject matter. To say that it’s still eerily relevant today is an understatement. “Territory” addresses the decades-long conflict between Palestine and Israel. Talk about timely.
Even Cavalera’s 2025 version of “Refuse/Resist”, which was essentially Sepultura’s answer to N.W.A.’s “Fuck Tha Police”. Needless to say, plenty of fists were in the air for that one. It perfectly blended anthemic and defiant in equal measure.
Of course, I can’t forget to mention the band’s tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne with a killer (and unfortunately, condensed) version of Black Sabbath’s “Symptom Of The Universe”. Still, it was cool to see them pay respect to the architects of heavy metal.
By the way, I hate to break this to metal fans, but the four original members of Black Sabbath never liked that term for their music. Just saying.
Opening act Fear Factory went over pretty well with Cavalera’s audience. They played a 12-song, hour long set that began with the title track from their 1995 album Demanufacture, the band’s second album. In fact, they played no less than seven songs from it.
The current incarnation of the band consists of sole original member Dino Cazares on guitar, bassist Tony Campos, drummer Pete Webber and “new” lead vocalist Milo Silvestro. I do remember seeing the definitive Fear Factory lineup open for Ozzy Osbourne (on the Ozzmosis tour) in October 1995 at the Mesa Amphitheatre. But I haven’t followed their music very much, truth be told.
Overall, I’ll give this tour 3.5 out of five stars. Cavalera is definitely a solid live act, and one I think most metal fans would enjoy. Go see them when they play your area.
Cavalera
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
Fear Factory
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
