After the band split with his brother Max (lead vocals/rhythm guitar) in 1996, their relationship underwent a crisis. In recent times their relationship has improved. Cavalera joined Max's current band Soulfly on stage at the 2006 tenth annual D-Low Memorial Show, to play the Sepultura songs "Roots Bloody Roots" and "Attitude". It was the first time the brothers had played together in ten years.
Cavalera collects toys and football shirts and has many hobbies, including Brazilian jiu-jitsu, snowboarding, surfing, drawing and supporting Brazilian football club Palmeiras. He admires his father Graziano Cavalera as his role model. He has four children: Christian Bass Cavalera (b. November 7, 1996), Raissa Bass Cavalera (b. April 26, 2000), Iccaro Bass Cavalera (b. November 23, 2002), Antonio Leyton Cavalera (b. January 15, 2006) (the first with his current wife Laima Leyton) and a stepson Pedro Leyton Pereira. In 1996 he started the fashion label "Cavalera". His fashion label has faced controversy of its use of the Albanian flag as its logo. In 2020, a petition called for "Cavalera" to change it. He lives in London since 2013.
In the early Sepultura albums his drumming was loud and fast, following the thrash metal style of the 80s. He mastered this style by 1987–1991 (with Schizophrenia, Beneath the Remains and Arise). His innovative style in the album Chaos A.D. brought tribal elements into the songs. One example of his contribution is the introduction of the song "Territory" (1993, Chaos A.D.). He further developed this style in the 1996 Roots album, adding more tribal elements to Sepultura's music.