Andreas Kisser Admits His Wife’s Death Contributed to the Decision to End Sepultura
It was a major shock to the metal world when Sepultura announced last year that, after 40 years as a band, they would be calling it quits with a farewell tour. According to lead guitarist Andreas Kisser, the decision was, in part, due to the tragic death of his wife in 2022 from colon cancer.
In a recent interview with French outlet Loud TV (that was transcribed by Blabbermouth), Kisser was asked if the death of his wife, Patricia Perissinoto Kisser, had anything to do with Sepultura’s decision to hang up their guitars, and he confirmed that it did in a long answer that slowly seemed to veer off topic:
“Yeah, for sure. Definitely. The death of Patricia, my late wife, was two years and a half ago, [due to] cancer. The process was very painful, very difficult, of course, as we can imagine, but it’s been an open experience, to know myself, my family, new opportunities to talk about life because of dying.
“In Brazil is one of the worst places to die. A lot of people are forgotten from society, going through the same problems with cancer and very difficult illness and stuff. And I created this movement to inspire and stimulate people in Brazil to talk about dying in many respects, about euthanasia, about suicide, assisted suicide, about palliative care, especially, because in Brazil, we’re still growing up on that manner, because my wife, she had the palliative care and stuff. We were privileged to give that, because of health insurance and all that stuff. But most of the people in Brazil, they don’t have that. So we started this movement, this campaign, a festival [Patfest], a music festival as well that we did for two years now. I just did the third edition now to raise funds for the people who take and give palliative care to the favelas [impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil] in Rio, for the very poor people that are forgotten for society and stuff, and at the same time stimulate people to talk about dying. I learned that death is my biggest professor. I’m learning so much about life because I respect finitude. We cannot control that. We’re all gonna die. You’re gonna die. The camera’s gonna die. [Laughs] Any electronic [device will eventually stop working]. So it is what it is. We cannot choose. What we can choose is to live the moment. The intensity of the present is much more intense if you respect finitude.
“If you go to a movie and it doesn’t have any end, there’s no meaning, there’s no message. A book, anything you do in your life, a job, this interview, we have to finish. The way we think [in] phases — beginning, cause and effect; beginning, middle and conclusion. And that’s life. Let’s respect that. Let’s not try to live forever, AI, robots, and all that stuff. Let’s be human and respect finitude, respect dying.”
Wait, what? That started off as a poignant tribute to his wife, then became about the importance of palliative care, but then it kind of careened off the path and drove into the ocean. How did we start talking about AI?
Regardless, it confirms that Kisser’s wife’s death played a role in the end of Sepultura and, honestly, I can’t blame him. A loss like that is devastating and you have to do what you can to get by. Here’s hoping that Kisser finds healing in whatever his next endeavor is.
