SEPULTURA's ANDREAS KISSER Says Drummer ELOY CASAGRANDE Has Injected New Energy Into Band's Sound

Metal Storm conducted an interview with SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser on June 13 at the Summit Music Hall in Denver, Colorado. You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On the SEPULTURA songwriting process:

"Nowadays we write all the time everywhere — at least I do. With a smartphone, whatever, a recording device, there's, you know… better quality, smaller… You know, you can handle anything, so you can record anything — a melody or lyrics, ideas and acoustic guitar or any instrument. But when we start writing, we really focus on a plan, let's say, like a topic — what we're gonna talk about, what we're gonna do. And then we can arrange the ideas that we have, the riffs. Eloy [Casagrande, drums] has a lot of drum loops and parts and stuff, so we just have to put together to start a new sequence."

On where SEPULTURA draws its songwriting inspiration from thirty years into the band's career:

"Everywhere. Everywhere. I mean, we have the privilege to travel the world, you know. Every year we go to a different place we've never been before. Since 1989… It can be the same country, but in a different town or in a different part of the country, etc., and ideas are flowing everywhere. Books are a great source [of inspiration] for us. Me and Derrick [Green, vocals], especially, we like to read a lot [and watch] documentaries and [discuss] politics, and whatever. We talk about these things naturally, and ideas come up and names, etc. I love to take musical ideas outside from music — not only listening to music, but books is a great source, like to create atmospheres and stuff that you can create some type of feeling in music. But everything is possible."

On whether 24-year-old drummer Eloy Casagrande has injected new energy into SEPULTURA:

"Oh, definitely. Eloy came to shake the uncles… Uncle Paulo [Xisto Pinto Jr., bass] and Uncle Andreas's worlds. [Laughs] It's great, you know?! We feel great to play with such an energetic drummer, such an amazing musician. He's 24 years old and he plays such… You know, he has the best of [former SEPULTURA drummers] Igor [Cavalera] and Jean [Dolabella] together — very technical and very powerful… like an animal, really… but very concentrated, very… He studied a lot and he started playing very young. And, of course, that gave many different… new possibilities for guitar riffing and bass, etc., vocal parts. And it's great. It's very exciting to have somebody like that with such a high level of energy and possibilities. So, yeah, we're very excited."

SEPULTURA's latest album, "The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart", came out on October 29, 2013 via Nuclear Blast Records.