Marc Rizzo began playing guitar when he was 8 years old. Little did he know that choice would lead him into one of the coolest reunions in thrash-metal history — the reconciliation of brothers Max and Iggor Cavalera, founders of pioneering Brazilian metal band Sepultura.
Rizzo, who joined Max Cavalera's band Soulfly during the brothers' 10-year feud, was honored when the brothers — after burying the hatchet — asked him to be a part of their new group, the Cavalera Conspiracy.
"It blows me away that I'm working with both of them," Rizzo said. "I was a huge Sepultura fan growing up. And I was astonished when I was asked to join Soulfly. But now, there's nothing that compares to being able to say that I'm working with both Max and Iggor."
Rizzo, however, isn't one to sit back before going on tour with the Cavalera Conspiracy. So he decided to embark on a solo tour to support his second solo album, "The Ultimate Devotion."
"This is my fourth solo tour and second headlining tour in the United States," he said. "When I first started touring by myself, it was difficult and there were people who didn't think I could do it."
"The Ultimate Devotion" is a balanced mix of the guitar styles Rizzo loves.
"I wanted to fine tune the flamenco tracks," he said. "I wanted to make sure they were authentic and sounded better than what I did for my last solo album ("Colossal Myopia"). I also wanted to bring in the (metal) shredding up to the best of my abilities.
"The album had to be 100 times better than the last album," said Rizzo, who cited artists from Slayer to Al DiMeola as his musical influences. "I did a lot of practicing and took a lot of guitar classes. I listened to all of my influences and tried to find ways to incorporate their styles in the music."
If you go
What: Marc Rizzo, Joey Belladonna, Balance of Power, MAIM Corpse
Where: Club Vegas, 445 S. 400 West
When: Tuesday, 8 p.m.
How much: $10
Phone: 364-8347
Web: www.24tix.com
E-mail: scott@desnews.com