Fast forward a few years and the New Jersey native finds himself not only one of the best six-stringers in the land, but also one of the busiest. At the time of our conversation, Rizzo had just completed and released his second solo effort, The Ultimate Devotion, and was hard at work tracking both the upcoming Soulfly album as well as the highly anticipated debut from the reunited Cavalera brothers, The Cavalera Conspiracy.

With several solo tours booked and outings with both Cavalera-fronted bands imminent, it’s amazing that Rizzo has time to breathe, let alone sit down for an interview. But he did and here you go.

RYAN OGLE: You’re in the studio with Soulfly right now, how’s that going?

MARC RIZZO: It’s going great man. It’s a full-blown fuckin’ thrash album man. It’s unbelievable. It’s definitely the next level up from Dark Ages.

RO: We’ll get back to that, but let’s talk about your solo album. What motivated you to sit down and record a ‘shred’ record like The Ultimate Devotion and Colossal Myopia before it?

MR: I grew up listening to a lot of instrumental guys. I’ve always been a huge fan of guitar playing and guitarists in general. When I grew up and was learning to play guitar – I started when I was eight and that was back in ’86 – I was listening to a lot of old Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, but I also really like Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, and Marty Friedman; guys that were putting out instrumental records. I’ve always wanted to do that. I always told myself that at some point, I wanted to get into doing instrumental guitar records because I’ve always listened to that just as much as I did my favorite bands. Towards the end of my time in Ill Nino, I started to record some stuff. I was really getting some good feedback, so I put out my first CD, which was a little more acoustic-based. Mike Varney over at Shrapnel Records got his hands on it and called me. He offered me a record deal and wanted me to go in a more ‘metal’ direction, so that’s when I did Colossal Myopia. That was the first of many I plan to do. I want to put one of these records out every year or two.

RO: You just can’t sit still can you?

MR: No man, this is all I do. I spend all day playing guitar; I’m obsessed with it.

RO: What got you into the instrument in the first place?

MR: I had an older brother that was about seven years older than me and he was always bringing records home. I remember listening to Zeppelin for the first time and it was Jimmy Page that made me want to start playing guitar.

RO: I think he did that to all of us. You also have a real strong flamenco influence. Where did that come from?

MR: I found flamenco a couple of years back. To me, it’s another very technical form of guitar playing to practice. I found it about ten years ago and have been playing and listening to it since. I’m really influenced by guys like Paco De Lucia and all these older flamenco guys. It’s something that I got into and started incorporating it into metal.

RO: That fusion makes for a very unique and cool sound.

MR: Thanks man, I figure I would just try to mix styles together; some of my favorite bands did that.

RO: When you’re writing your solo stuff, where do the ideas come from? Do you build off a melody and work around it or do you go from the ground up?

MR: Usually I’ll write all the rhythms first. Everything starts with a riff. When I’m writing at home, I usually use just a little handheld cassette player; it’s quick, easy and right to the point. I’ll sit there and write rhythm guitars, whether it’s flamenco or metal or whatever. I’ll get the riffs down and then I’ll go to the studio and put the drums on them. Then comes the solos and that’s what I always spend the most time on; getting all the solos tight and the harmonies sounding good.

RO: So are you pretty particular about your solos in the studio? Are there any one-take improvised leads?

MR: Sometimes there are. There is a lot of stuff, especially on the new record, where the solos are completely improvised. I like to mix it up. I’d say about 30% of the solos are right off the top of my head, because sometimes you get a really good take and you want to keep it.

RO: When you take the solo act out on the road, do you stay pretty faithful to the record as far as soloing goes, or do you just play to suit your mood?

MR: I try to stay pretty close to the record. That’s the hardest thing to do is, once I’m done with the record, is to go back and relearn the solos. Even if I do work them out in the studio and spend a lot of time with them, sometimes I forget them. I try my hardest to play everything just like the record, but also do a lot of improvising. I like to give the audience a little bit more. I know, when I see a band, I like to see a few spots where they give me something new.

RO: When you’re on the road, do you get more Soulfly fans are coming out to see you or do you get a large number of people who are more into the instrumental guitar side of your persona?

MR: It’s funny because I always get a mixed crowd. You have all the guitar fans, and I know who they are because they’re always right up front with their arms crossed, just watching me; they don’t move at all, they study every move I make. Then we get the Soulfly fans behind them who are just moshing and tearing shit up to the heavier stuff. It’s a really cool mix of people that come out to the shows. It was really cool when we did the Flaw tour, because they had their fans and we had ours, and everyone was digging everything. It was our first US tour and it really showed me that I could get out there and do well with this type of music. There is a fanbase for it, which is exciting.

RO: Your newest disc has a couple of songs where you’re doing vocals.

MR: Yeah, the new one does have a couple of songs with vocals, which I do in the live show too. I’m trying to break into that sound a little more. How that all happened was, when I was doing shows around home, and before the tour, I was throwing some Soulfly and Sepultura songs into the set; which I did the vocals for. I figured that I might as well start writing my own stuff too. People were digging my vocals enough, I decided, “Why not?”

RO: I’ve noticed that when you’re on the road, you’ll try to do in-store clinics from time to time. Do you give private lessons as well?

MR: I have in the past, but I’m so busy right now it’s kind of hard. It’s not something that I’m really into either. I’m more into playing live and recording right now. People have asked me before and I don’t mind sitting down and giving a lesson, but I just have time right now.

RO: If you were to give a lesson, what are some of the most important bits of knowledge you would pass to the student?

MR: I would definitely go over using a metronome, learning your scales, chords and theory. Other than that, my biggest piece of advice would be to learn your favorite song note-for-note and try to play along with your favorite records. That goes along way. Just pick up a tablature book of your favorite record and learn the songs. That will do wonders for your playing.

RO: What were some of the first songs you learned to play?

MR: I think the first one I ever learned would be “Black Dog” by Led Zeppelin. After that, I got really into thrash metal; Metallica’s “Blackened,” Slayer songs and stuff like that.

RO: On the topic of lessons, you have a couple of instructional DVDs out.

MR: Yeah, through Rockhouse Method [www.rockhousemethod.com]. One is intermediate and the other is advanced, so I go over quite a bit of stuff there. There’s technique and scales and everything is based around songs off my first solo album, Colossal Myopia.

RO: How much, writing-wise, did you contribute to the new Soulfly?

MR: Max and I do a lot of collaborating on this one, just as we did on Dark Ages. It seems like every record I’m a part of, I can contribute more input. It’s going great, man. I was just thinking yesterday, "This is a full-blown thrash metal record." There are a lot of fast beats, fast guitar playing, and lots of solos; definitely the type of music I like.

RO: You’re also part of what is arguably one the most anticipated metal band ever, Cavalera Conspiracy.

MR: That’s another great project. That’s a funny story too; I was on tour with Flaw and had to jump off the tour early and fly out to LA from Michigan because we were starting the record. It was just kind of a last minute thing. To be in the studio with Max and Igor…Damn, it was like a dream come true for me. It was so weird, because I was such a huge fan of Sepultura and grew up listening to them and playing their songs in cover bands. To be in the studio with Igor and Max and to be a part of the writing process; it was unbelievable. It definitely sounds like old Sepultura – Arise, Chaos A.D – but it’s got its own vibe to it. It’s hard to say. When you hear it, you’re gonna say "Okay, this is Igor and Max." But it has its own vibe too.

RO: Awhile back, you started a record label with your brother. Are you guys still doing that?

MR: Yeah, we’re still doing, but we’ve both been so busy with other stuff, we’ve kind of had to step back from it a little bit. We’re going to get back in it soon, hopefully. I’m really into doing compilation CDs because I really like taking bands that I’m a fan of who aren’t signed and putting them all together on one disc. I hope to do another one of those soon, but with everything going on, I haven’t had time to concentrate on anything extra.

RO: What kind of bands would you look for to put on one of your comps?

MR: The last batch of bands I put on a disc was a big mix of styles. There were metal bands, but also a bunch of different, experimental type bands too. There was a guy that I’m a huge fan of from San Francisco named Ben Woods. His band is called Flametal, which is pretty similar to what I do (fusing flamenco and metal), but he’s better. He’s a full-blown flamenco guitar player, but he mixes it with metal. I put him on the last sampler CD I had put out. He’s unbelievable, that dude. They’re all definitely more guitar-oriented bands. They all play solos and they all have some unique way of shredding. I definitely want to do another disc that will feature more instrumental guitar players because there aren’t too many labels out there that will support players like that.

RO: I hate to ask because you haven’t worn it in awhile, but I had a friend make me promise to ask you. The backpack, what was in it?

MR: Ha, nothing man. It was empty the whole time.

RO: Before we wrap this up, I want to do a little name association with a few guitar players:
Max Cavalera.

MR: He’s the man. In my opinion, he’s a visionary. Before him, I can’t think of anyone who was mixing Latin rhythms with metal. All the bands out right now, including my solo stuff, Puya, my old band Ill Nino, Ankla; there’s a whole Latin metal scene out there, and I think Max and Sepultura were the first to really play metal music while mixing it with some type of Latin rhythms and percussion. The guy invented a whole new style of music.

RO: Steve Vai.

MR: Ha! Again, he’s the man. There’s another guy who was a huge influence of me growing up as a kid. Vai, along with Joe Satriani are two guys who I really strive to be like as far as the command they have over their instrument. That’s one of my heroes.

RO: One more that I want to ask you because the speed you have on an acoustic guitar really reminds me of him; Al Di Meola.

MR: There’s a guy, if I sound close…I’ll say if I try to sound close to someone; it’s Al Di Meola. He’s one of my biggest influences. What I do is kind of similar to what he does, except that he’s way more talented that I am. In the 70’s, he was mixing rock fusion with Latin rhythms. That’s sort of what I do, but that guy is a genius. I could go on forever about him. I think he’s one of the greatest guitar players ever.

RO: In a sense, you’re putting yourself right up there with those guys because you’re influencing a new generation of players just like the three we discussed. For those Marc Rizzo fans and followers, tell me your practice routine.

MR: I try to practice as much as much as I can. I always start with the acoustic because that’s something I feel I need the most work on. I’ll start with my scales and then work on my picado, which is a technique that they use in flamenco where you use two fingers instead of a pick. I’ll go through the tremolo technique and the rasgueado technique (another flamenco technique which involves strumming done with outward flicks of the right hand fingers). I do all these things to a metronome and then I’ll spend some time playing old flamenco songs that I memorized from a book. That takes about two hours. From there, I’ll move on to the electric where I’ll play my scales to a metronome and try to speed up as I go and make sure my picking is clean. I’ll go through all the songs I have memorized. I’ll go through Yngwie solos and Marty Friedman solos I have memorized. Then I’ll practice on my clinic stuff, which I play to a backing track so I can work on improvising.

RO: Is there anything you’ve come across that you haven’t been able to master yet?

MR: [laughs] Oh there’s so much man, so much. There are so many things that I want to do. There are so many things I haven’t touched yet. I’d like to get into more jazz sometime down the road, I’d like become more knowledgeable. It would take a hundred lifetimes to really master the instrument. At least for me, you know?