Nate Newton (Converge, Doomriders) playing bass on new Cavalera Conspiracy album

by Doug Moore

Nate Newton w/ Converge at MHoW, 2012 (more by Jonathan McPhail)

Converge bassist and Doomriders frontman Nate Newton is already a pretty busy guy — Converge is one of hardcore’s preeminent existing bands, and Doomriders are rarely off the road for more than a few months at a time. He’ll be even busier in 2014 — he’s evidently going to play bass on the new album by Cavalera Conspiracy, which is the current pursuit of former Sepultura members Max and Igor Cavalera.

Newton’s AmRep-channeling bass work seems like a bit of an odd match for Cavalera Conspiracy’s straight-ahead thrash metal, but he’s a great player, so he’ll likely adapt to their approach smoothly. He also issued a short statement on the subject via Converge’s FB page in response to (incredulous, one assumes) fan inquiries:

Hello friends! Just wanted to get some info to everyone since I’ve been getting so many messages…. Yes I am playing bass on the new Cavalera Conspiracy record. No…I am not going to leave Converge. I thought it would be fun to play with the guys who wrote some of my favorite metal records. That’s all…no big story here other than it’s pretty awesome when people who’s music you’ve admired for years ask you to be a part of it with them. I’m honored!

The better question is whether Newton will tour with Cavalera Conspiracy behind the album. It seems pretty likely that CC’s schedule will conflict with Converge or Doomriders’ tour plans at some juncture; it’ll be interesting to see whom he ends up on the road with once the CC record comes out. (It’s currently slated for a 2014 TBD release via Napalm Records.)

You can stream the December 30 Rock Mania interview in which Max Cavalera announced the Newton collaboration below, though you’ll need Spanish skills to understand it. For everyone else, check out Cavalera Conspiracy’s 2011 album in full and see if you can imagine Newton playing its bass parts. Stream that below…

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