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"Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla"
Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla
4th track of Savages
Featuring Neil Fallon
Sung by Max Cavalera, Neil Fallon
Duration 7:29
Genre(s) Groove metal, thrash metal
Lyrics by Max Cavalera, Neil Fallon
Composed by Max Cavalera
Produced by Terry Date
Released in 2013
Previous track
"Fallen"
Next track
"Master of Savagery"
Single
Released on July 28, 2014
Record label Nuclear Blast

Search YouTube to play this song.

"Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla" is a song included on the ninth album Savages, released in 2013. It was released as the third single from the album, close to 10 months after the album itself containing this song was released. This song features Neil Fallon, lead singer of Clutch, providing clean vocals besides roars by Max Cavalera. The song contains elements of Clutch-like southern metal in the Pantera style and rhythms resembling "Rise of the Fallen" in some areas. According to singer Max Cavalera, the song's beginning is reminiscent of Soundgarden, and reading the novels by Hunter S. Thompson inspired this song's lyrics.

Fallon has thoughts about himself and Cavalera singing together, "I am stoked to have been asked by Max to participate on the 'Ayatollah of Rock 'N' Rolla' track! Max brought Clutch out on some of our earliest and most formative tours and this brought back some very fond memories of singing with Max all those years ago." Cavalera quoted about his likeness to Ghost Cult magazine, "A song like 'Ayatollah of Rock 'N' Rolla,' it was something totally new. I never did anything like that before. It starts with like this country, cowboy riff, and Neil starts talking over it and it was so killer! And of course that line in the chorus 'Ayatollah of Rock 'N' Rolla' is from Mad Max. It's probably my favorite song on the album. I don't want to make the same record over and over." Cavalera commented to Songfacts about why he wanted Neil Fallon to join him, "I thought it was a great idea to do a song with Clutch, and mixing Soulfly and Clutch together in the same song for me sounded just so amazing and unusual and wild and exotic, which was great. We did it and it sounds killer."

The song title came from the quote said by Lord Humungus in the post-apocalyptic action film Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, and some of the lyric lines reference the things and events in the film. This song could be a reference to Fozzy singer and WWE wrestler Chris Jericho.

Lyrics[]

<poem class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> On both banks of the river, red obsidian, Heavy smoke Leather slings, feathered arrows, many Deities carried off in ropes Big drums, small wagers, cold daggers, lambs But all goes very quiet at the sudden shifting At the sudden shifting of the sand

Fear and loathing Highway burning We come to scalp your souls Trench warfare Demolition Unleash the dogs of war

Fuel injected suicide machine Animal instinct, killing disease Hell on Earth I inflict The world is burning The sky is falling

Ayatollah of Rock 'n' rolla Ayatollah of Rock 'n' rolla

Failed crusaders roam the land Hearts of wind, lungs of sand

Fuel injected - suicide machine Animal instinct - killing disease

Ayatollah of Rock 'n' rolla Ayatollah of Rock 'n' rolla

Sanctuary burning Looting and pillaging Killing and screaming Punishing coming Brain washing Death dealing Pain inflicting Terror bringing Devil's breathing Face smashing Bomb blasting Thunder roaring...

Failed crusaders roam the land Hearts of wind, lungs of sand

I am defected Nuclear head Follow me till the end I was rejected Children septic Human flesh I ate

Fuel injected - suicide machine Animal instinct - killing disease

Ayatollah of Rock 'n' rolla Ayatollah of Rock 'n' rolla

The stars quickened westward, the broken Beast charge away Speaking of the angels that many years ago Fell upon the plain Covenant, vengeance, the mortality of men Another day at the doorstep begging mercy Before the palace of the djinn

Personnel[]

Band performers

Guest performer

Songwriters

Engineers and producers

Navigation of Soulfly songs[]

Live-only songs on various albums

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