Marc Rizzo, the lead guitarist of Soulfly and former guitarist and founding member of Ill Nino, was born August 2, 1977 in Carlstadt, New Jersey where he attended Henry P. Becton Regional High School. As a youth, Marc was a standout athlete. While on tour, he continuously trains with weights as well as boxing. For protein, he is known to eat a jar of peanut butter and hard boiled eggs. Marc is also an amateur boxer and fought in New Jersey Golden Gloves.
Marc has played on four Soulfly albums and has also released three solo instrumental albums. He is also a member of Cavalera Conspiracy. Marc has a wide range of musical styles which is demonstrated by his solo works, which include hard rock, metal, jazz, classical and flamenco guitar. His flamenco inspiration comes from Paco De Lucia and others. Marc has said that Jimmy Page is what interested him in playing guitar and the first song he played on the guitar was Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog,” after which he became more interested in thrash metal. Steve Vai is another musical inspiration for Marc. He created Phlamencore Records with his younger brother Luke in 2004 under which two sampler CDs have been released as well as three full length albums. In 2007, he headlined his first US tour. Two of his solo albums were released in 2008 under Shrapnel Records. Marc is endorsed by Peavey and Yamaha and when his tour schedule allows, he travels the world for Peavey. Since 2009, Marc has been endorsed by B.C. Rich and a signature 7 string Stealth model has been released for him. This model was made available to the public as an import in 2010.
Marc is known for frequent jump-kicks as well as regularly wearing an empty backpack during live shows. He also performs wearing soccer shirts on occasion. He and his brother still currently run their record label but have both been busy with other projects. Marc has released instructional DVDs which are based on his first solo album “Colossal Myopia.”