SEPULTURA's ANDREAS KISSER Says His Wife's Death Contributed To Band's Decision To Embark On Farewell Tour

In a new interview with France's Loud TV, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser, whose wife Patricia Perissinoto Kisser passed away in July 2022 after a battle with colon cancer, was asked if the experience of losing his longtime partner accelerated the decision for SEPULTURA to embark on a farewell tour. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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," he continued. "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," Andreas explained. "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."

Andreas went on to say that grief is a long and complex process that has its own timetable and that we must keep living while we grieve.

"It's been very amazing for me, the experience I had with my family, my wife, and SEPULTURA now," he said. "It's something very respectful that we give to ourselves, the respect for the present and the life we have. Of course, it's a very difficult situation, very painful, a lot of sadness and sorrow, the grief, but at the same time, there's a beauty around everything. We should talk about dying with our family, the last wishes, how are we gonna do the dividing the money for the people who stay, the documents you need to sign.

"People have this idea if you talk about dying, bad things are gonna happen and stuff. It's totally the opposite. Peace," he continued. "And Patricia, my wife, she used to talk about dying every time. Like very normal. She would say, 'When I die, please don't forget my pillow. Don't forget my blanket. And put my pajamas and socks on my feet because I don't wanna get cold. And we all laughed about that. But when she died, we did that.

"I cannot explain in words the feeling of fulfilling a wish of your loved one. Simple stuff, simple things. And it brings peace to you. It brings understanding. It brings a thankful feeling for life for her to be a part of our life for so many years. I have three kids [with her], and a lot of the Andreas I used to be died with her. But I'm discovering another one that are coming up out of it. It's a very — I don't know how I can describe it — an amazing experience. It is what it is. That's life. Let's live while we are alive. [Living] is taking care of ourselves to the last minute. That's why the palliative care comes into [play]."

Kisser stressed the importance of palliative care in order to ensure the seriously ill receive the right level of care at the right time so they can make the most of each day they have.

"I was shocked to hear from the doctors in Brazil, when everything was happening with my wife, that only a small percentage of the hospitals in Brazil have a palliative crew," he said. "I said, 'What the fuck, man? How do you do it? You improvise or you just let [your patients] die or just [give them] morphine?'

"The palliative care, it's everything," Andreas continued. "Medicine in general should be palliative, taking care of ourselves. We all live with illness in our life, and we have to deal with that. COVID, for instance. We're dealing with it. We're learning how to deal. It's not cured, but we learn how to deal with it. And that's the type of thinking that we need to change, especially in Brazil, and to talk about dying, like I said, euthanasia, assisted suicide and so many different things that most of the Brazilians, they don't even know that it exists, the possibility, while our neighbors in Ecuador, in Chile or Argentina are much more advanced on those matters. Same in the U.S., same in Europe, like Switzerland or Belgium, on different places. I don't know about France, but I believe there's a discussion that went through or is still going… In Portugal recently as well.

"So we need to stimulate people in Brazil to talk about it, at least to have a discussion, so we can advance as a country and improve our dying process," Kisser added. "We can really improve a lot. We can work and improve a lot this process. But it's growing. The last three years after the festival, I went public with my experience talking about my wife and everything that happened, on interviews and everything, during the festival and et cetera, and we feel it's improving. So we're very happy that we could turn our grief as a family and friends into something alive like that, so positive and so inspired, at least for our family and myself. And it's growing, so let's see."

Asked if he thinks he will spend more time in the future talking about the importance of palliative care and organizing events to raise awareness and funds to support the development of hospice and palliative care, Andreas said: "I hope so. I will have more time, definitely, to put on that, without SEPULTURA, without all the touring. Of course, I'm gonna keep working with music, different bands or whatever, different situations, soundtracks or who knows. I'm still studying music a lot, especially acoustic guitar. I have so many different ideas. But I don't wanna make any decisions now. I wanna enjoy what I'm doing today, hence live in the present. [Laughs] But just [be] aware of the possibilities, [so] when it's time to decide I'll be a little more ready to know what to do. But it's great that we're on this [farewell] tour now and enjoying the moment. It's fantastic."

Patricia had just turned 52 years old one day before her death.

Andreas and the couple's three children, Giulia, Yohan and Enzo, announced Patricia's death in a social media post. They wrote: "It is with deep sadness that we have to share that Patricia Perissinoto Kisser passed away this morning. She will remain in our memories forever."

Andreas and Patricia had been together for 32 years after first getting together in 1990. They married in 1994.

In June 2022, Andreas left SEPULTURA's European tour due to what was described at the time as a "family emergency." He was temporarily replaced on the road by Jean Patton of fellow São Paulo, Brazil-based heavy metal act PROJECT46.

SEPULTURA's current lineup comprises Kisser, vocalist Derrick Green, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr. and drummer Greyson Nekrutman.

SEPULTURA kicked off its farewell tour on March 1, 2024 at Arena Hall in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The sold-out show marked the band's debut performance with Nekrutman, who previously played with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES.