In a recent interview with Modern Drummer Official, former Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera credited Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward as a major influence on his drumming style and the foundation of Sepultura’s iconic sound.
Cavalera, known for fusing tribal rhythms with aggressive metal drumming, shared that Ward was more than just an influence — he was his primary drum inspiration.
“My main drum hero has always been Bill Ward from [Black] Sabbath… He’s my man,” Cavalera said. “I have many drum heroes, but if I have to pick one person that defines for me all those things that I’m talking about — being creative in a studio, performing live with such energy — [it is Bill]… I got to see him many times live, and I have one of his bandanas that he gave me after he performed with Sabbath.”
Cavalera spoke passionately about Ward’s originality and how his work with Sabbath introduced an experimental edge that shaped metal drumming for generations to come.
“So I keep that as a treasure for all my life. I had the pleasure to watch him play towards the end of his career, of course, and he’s just such a creative force,” Cavalera explained. “He was doing things that inspire us as Brazilians, like doing congas, doing overdubs with percussion with Sabbath.”
While Cavalera himself is often credited with pioneering tribal metal percussion, he humbly deferred to Ward’s influence, recognizing the drummer’s legacy in blending diverse musical styles within a heavy metal framework.
“People say, like, ‘Oh, you pretty much created this whole tribal thing [mixed with metal],’ and I’m, like, ‘No, there’s many other people doing things that led me to that path,’ and Bill Ward is definitely one of those guys,” he said. “He was super open-minded. You can hear heavy, you can hear jazz, you can hear Latin things with him. So he’s my man.”
Bill Ward’s pioneering work with Black Sabbath not only redefined rock percussion but laid the groundwork for future generations. His drumming on legendary tracks such as “Iron Man” and “War Pigs” remains iconic. His technical skill and genre-blending rhythms became a blueprint for the modern metal drummer.
Music historians and biographical research highlight Ward’s contribution as being more than just powerful. He incorporated jazz improvisation, Latin undertones, and intricate fills, creating a dynamic range rarely heard in early heavy metal. This experimental nature set him apart and later inspired drummers like Cavalera to explore beyond traditional metal boundaries.
Ward’s legacy is also backed by sources like Kerrang, which documented how his use of different rhythmic structures helped expand heavy metal’s musical vocabulary. These innovations found fertile ground in the emerging Brazilian metal scene, where Igor Cavalera and Sepultura began to make their mark.
Sepultura’s sound, especially during Cavalera’s time, was known for its aggressive rhythms mixed with traditional and tribal percussion, a combination that many fans and critics found groundbreaking. This fusion, Cavalera emphasized, is rooted in Ward’s willingness to push rhythmic limits.
“When the people say we created this style, I always remind them: Bill was doing it decades ago. It was just in a different context, but it opened the door for all of us.”
Cavalera’s admiration for Ward highlights the deep lineage of musical inspiration in the metal world — where one drummer’s creativity in the 1970s could directly influence a new wave of global metal artists decades later.
This cross-generational, cross-cultural influence not only honors Ward’s contributions but also illustrates how creativity can echo through time, shaping sounds far from its origin.
The connection between Ward and Cavalera is a testament to the power of innovation in music. Ward’s fearless approach inspired Cavalera’s own experimental work, and in turn, helped define Sepultura’s distinctive tribal metal style — a sound that continues to influence metal bands across the world.
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