SEPULTURA 'Reunion' Talk Will 'Go On Forever,' Says ANDREAS KISSER

Metal Wani editor in chief Owais "Vitek" Nabi recently conducted an interview with SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser. You can now listen to the chat in two parts below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On SEPULTURA's latest album, 2013's "The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart":

"I think we have two factors on this last album, which are very important. I mean, [producer] Ross [Robinson] is one of them, for sure. And the other one is our new drummer [Eloy Casagrande], [who's been] four years with us already. And he really brought some new possibilities for our music. He's an amazing musician; he can play basically anything. [His playing style is] very metal, very powerful, very much with that urge to break limits. So the consequence was 'Mediator' — songs that were really… that stretch our possibilities as musicians, which was great for me, Paulo [Xisto Pinto Jr., bass] and Derrick [Green, vocals], to have that kind of push and motivation to do something extra and something new, and really to take SEPULTURA to a different level. And Ross [who previously worked with SEPULTURA on 1996's 'Roots'] really enhanced everything, especially with Derrick's singing and the performance. It was great. I mean, of course, it was different times and different ideas than 'Roots' and stuff, but we have that kind of communication of friends. I mean, we know each other, and we respect each other so much. It was the perfect choice; we're very happy with everything."

On whether SEPULTURA has started working on the follow-up to "The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart":

"Yeah, we started putting… actually, putting the mold on. I mean, I have riffs written… Nowadays it's very easy to write… I mean, not to write, but to keep the ideas. [With] phones and stuff, you can keep any idea anywhere. So we started to develop and to organize these riffs and ideas. Eloy is writing some drum loops and stuff. Me and Derrick are talking about lyrics and topics and names and stuff… So, [it's] very early stages, but… Yeah, the plan is to, in February, start really practicing in São Paulo, [where] we have our studio, and then start developing the demos and do the pre-production."

On when SEPULTURA plans to enter the studio to begin recording the new album:

"[That] depends on the rhythm of the writing and stuff. But hopefully we'll be in the studio [recording the CD] around May or June… something like that. The idea is to have an album out by the end of the year — before the end of 2016. So let's see [what happens]."

On people constantly asking about the possibility of a reunion of SEPULTURA's classic lineup, featuring guitarist/vocalist Max Cavalera and drummer Igor Cavalera:

"I think it's gonna go on forever. Unfortunately, people are really… They're stuck in a date, in a year, in an era of their life. They didn't develop something of their own. They didn't move on, it seems like. We had to rebuild SEPULTURA from scratch, because when Max left, he took the management, he took the label, he took, basically, Ross and [producer/mixer] Andy Wallace. It took everything that we built… It took ten years to build that, [and] Max took it for him. And it was very difficult for us, of course — to lose the lead singer, a charismatic guy… Max was really one of a kind of a lead singer, you know, so it was very difficult on that respect, but the most difficult part was really to rebuild the whole structure — the confidence from the label and the fans. The campaign that [Max] Cavalera did was really… He tried to separate the axis of evil: 'Either you're with me or with them.' It was something very stupid in the end. I mean, this is not a political party; this is music. If you choose to follow a different path, so be it — just go for it. Don't keep looking back and talking shit — which he still does. But that's his problem, and that's something that he has to deal with. But we are very focused on what we're doing right now, and this kind of stuff is always gonna come up, because people don't let it really rest. [Laughs] But it's fine. I mean, we take it as a normal thing. Many bands pass through this kind of stuff, but you don't hear, like… I don't know… VAN HALEN came back with Dave Lee Roth, which was something that the fans… David Ellefson came back to MEGADETH after a while too. So, I mean, it's something that… Every case is a different case. Although it's rock and roll, it's music, it's very common… Pay attention to how many bands the family of BLACK SABBATH and DEEP PURPLE made… It's, like, WHITESNAKE and whatever… RAINBOW and DIO… You know, great musicians that came up with all those disagreements and fighting and stuff. So really good stuff came out of these bad situations — amazing music, you know."