"Krone" interview
Sepultura: An end, strictly linked to death
At the end of 2026, Sepultura, one of the biggest and most important bands in thrash metal history, will retire. Reason enough to talk to the remaining band leader and guitarist Andreas Kisser about the reasons and motivations for the end - a very emotional and profound conversation about the inevitable end, palliative care and why you should talk openly about death.
Sepultura formed exactly 40 years ago under the patronage of brothers Max and Igor Cavalera in Belo Horizonte. Over the years, the project developed into one of the biggest and most popular bands in global thrash metal. Due to their humble origins, Sepultura not only brought the working-class attitude to light unadulterated, with the classic albums "Beneath The Remains" (1989), "Arise" (1991), "Chaos A.D." (1993) and "Roots" (1996) they brought political and system criticism as well as tribal elements into their sound. Max left the band in 1996 in a dispute, brother Igor in 2006. Since 1987, German-born Andreas Kisser has kept the ship on course with changing members.
The "new" Sepultura have not been able to match the popularity of their early days for around 25 years, but singer Derrick Green has won over many new fans in addition to some remaining fans from the past. In March 2024, Kisser announced that he wanted to bury the band after more than two years of farewell tour at the end of 2026 with a big final concert in São Paulo and dedicate himself to new tasks. This decision was prompted not least by the tragic death of his wife Patricia from cancer almost three years ago. At the end, the 56-year-old extended his hand to the Cavaleras once again to celebrate a dignified and joint farewell. The "Krone" interview then went from the planned talk about the Sepultura farewell to a conversation about the inevitable end and what we can learn from it.
"Krone": Andreas, all good things must come to an end at some point. In Sepultura's case, it will probably be a show in São Paulo in 2026 before Sepultura retire. How does it feel to be on the last lap of a career that has spanned more than 40 years?
Andreas Kisser: It feels great because we have chosen this path ourselves. Three years ago, I talked to my bandmates, our families and managers about ending it for the first time. I just felt too much pressure at the thought of writing another album. You have to be 100 percent focused and in the tunnel to do it, it's a feat every time. It became a kind of routine and 40 years of Sepultura was a good milestone to celebrate our history. We survived the corona lockdown, are in top form and released an excellent album in 2020 with "Quadra". Two and a half years ago, my wife died of cancer. The palliative care, the hospitals, the doctors and the constant sword of Damocles hanging over you - all of that changed my perspective. When you respect finiteness, you find much more intensity in the present.
Joy and sorrow have been incredibly close together for you in recent years. Is it even possible to cope well with so many waves of emotion?
After such experiences, you don't put things off until tomorrow, you do them now. You fulfill your dreams and wishes, you talk to people to get problems out of the way and you say "I love you" straight out to the people who are important to you because you don't know if you'll ever have the chance again. There may not be a tomorrow, you have to accept and respect that. Sepultura has an incredible history and it feels right to stop at a great moment for the band. We are happy and we respect each other - we love each other. We are at peace with ourselves and the band and the timing of the end is perfect. It's a privilege to be able to decide the finale ourselves and not break up too old, bitter or divided. Many fans have followed Sepultura for more than 40 years through all the ups and downs - we are now closing the chapter at a moment of climax for us.
When your wife passed away, did you also feel the stress of life? Sepultura is one of the bands that work and tour the most, there is hardly any time to take a deep breath. But is it now necessary for you to take a deep breath in peace and quiet?
Everything needs an end in order to have meaning. Every movie, every book, every interview that has no end is not necessary. An ending brings perspective and understanding. We all have our limits and sometimes need to reflect on them. We know our past. Our highlights and our mistakes. Have analyzed everything many times as a band. I'm grateful for every experience I've had with Sepultura. No matter if it was good or bad - at the end of the day we are where we are today because of all these experiences. The history of the band is fantastic and incredible. We're not closing the chapter quickly and hastily either, but celebrating for almost two more years all over the world until it comes to a close in São Paulo in 2026. All the people who played with us or were associated with the band are invited there to celebrate the very last big party. Then we will take a deep breath and head for new shores. We are still motivated and feel young, I'm not retiring. I study a lot of classical guitar and I know so many musicians around the world who have started something completely new even when they are over 50. Why not? But I don't want to make any decisions now, I want to enjoy the moment. The future will shape itself when the time is right.
I can even imagine myself touring noble concert halls as a classical guitarist and presenting myself in a completely different way.
Like this - or similar. Maybe not classical music directly, but classical music has always been an important influence on my playing. I have my own teacher for it and play as often as I can, always wanting to know more. I just want to learn and experience more of this classical and acoustic world. But that's just one of many possibilities. I've also often talked to our singer Derrick Green about a reggae project. It started as a joke, but we like the idea. We even have a name for it, but of course I won't tell you here. (laughs)
So Sepultura as a reggae version?
The other guys are less interested in that, only Derrick and I like reggae. Derrick brought a lot of input from this scene to Sepultura when he joined us. Our lowest common denominator is the Bad Brains. They mixed hardcore with reggae, religion and Rastafari. So that would be another possibility. The nice thing is that this kind of total freedom can be a bit scary because you don't have a clear direction, but it's also extremely exciting.
Have you lost your appetite for aggressive music over the years? Do you no longer feel the thrash metal as strongly as you used to?
No, not at all, but I'm ending this chapter of my life out of respect for music. The whole point of life, strictly speaking, is to prepare for death, because it's inevitable. We do the best we can to have a good life. We exercise, try to eat well, love people and be respectful and then when it's time to go, you can say you've given it your all. In my opinion, that's the meaning of life - that's what it's all about. Many people don't manage to finish chapters in their lives. Sometimes because they have bills to pay, but often because they're too stuck on the concept of what they're used to. You go to work every day in a job you hate, but you still have to survive because that's how the game works. Having the privilege of saying no is incredibly nice.
Only very few people have this privilege. As the boss of a globally successful metal band, self-employment is of course easier to achieve.
A good friend of mine is a sports journalist at one of the biggest TV broadcasters in Brazil. At some point, he knew he had to give it up. He was still young, but wanted to take a deep breath, sharpen his perspective and simply do something else. There is no peak in his job and no measurable success. You can't say you've now put the rarest vinyl by Iron Maiden in your cupboard because you can't value the job like that. Even in the band. We work hard every day and our peak is the life we lead today. But you can't classify success so easily.
Many people love your music, can identify with it and have probably experienced really personal stories about it. Being in a band like this also means carrying a lot of responsibility and being a provider of such experiences. Does that make it more difficult to end? Will you miss the encouragement and applause?
We're a touring band and our home is the stage - that's always been the case with Sepultura. That's why I don't see myself anywhere else. I love the stage, performing and the unique feeling when you communicate with your audience live. I can't be a studio musician or YouTube guitarist, sitting on my ass and playing lick after lick. With all due respect - I don't want to devalue or embarrass anyone here, but for me music and my life only works with the stage. In the worst moments, it was the fans and the concerts that put me back in a positive mood. You only get that feeling when you play live. But nothing can be taken for granted. I have to get the best out of Sepultura every day so that everyone feels good and that connection with the people is maintained.
You've already mentioned that in the history of Sepultura there have been many high points as well as some low points. Were there moments when you were about to quit the band out of frustration or hopelessness?
Very often, actually. So much has happened in more than 40 years, that's more than half a lifetime. But I can only remember one moment when we were all really so annoyed and exhausted that everything was completely on the brink - when Max Cavalera left the band at the end of 1996. He was our frontman, singer and the face of the band. With him we also lost the management and the trust of our record company. The whole structure that made up the band so far. It took more than ten years to build up the band and make it so big and then everything collapsed like a house of cards. I thought about whether we should rename ourselves or leave the music alone. I wanted to do something completely different, but then we took a break for a few months to clear our heads again. That was important to ask ourselves questions. Do we continue as a trio? Do we change the name? Do we stop? Do we get a new singer? Should I sing from now on? Then Derrick joined the band and we suddenly had a reason to carry on.
Was the integration of Derrick Green the necessary revitalization of the band that was about to die?
To a certain extent, yes, and all those tough moments full of doubt made me and the others so resilient that we survived all other crises with ease in comparison. I understood that you can't run away from problems, you have to confront them. Especially when things get really uncomfortable. Of course I could turn around, do something else and never look back, but the band has always been a fundamental part of my life. We've done interviews, we've talked to fans and questioned ourselves. That's part of the job and it's part of it. I'm here to play guitar, go on stage and inspire people. It's a great privilege, but with privilege comes a lot of responsibility. I understood that back then.
You have already emphasized in an interview that you want to finally bury the hatchet with Max Cavalera and that he is also invited to come on stage at the last show in 2026 in São Paulo ...
I just want all the people who have ever had anything to do with Sepultura to be there. We've talked about these invitations, but we haven't officially sent them out yet because we don't have the exact date yet. It should be at the end of 2026 and we want to have everything arranged by then. Jairo, Eloy, Max, Igor and everyone else who has ever been part of this family in any way should return to the fold for this evening. It should be a big party, a one-off jam session. Let's see who comes and what happens. I hope that as many people as possible will accept the invitation, but even if someone doesn't come - the party will go ahead anyway.
Not only do times change, but people change with the times. You are certainly a completely different person today than you were 30 years ago. Would you describe yourself today as calmer, more understanding and more at peace with yourself?
Oh yes, in every respect. Sometimes I would have to put on glasses to see all the changes clearly, but they have definitely happened. I lost my wife, who I was with for 32 years and have three children, who are all fantastic. But losing Patricia changed everything. A big part of me died with her, but an even bigger part of me came into the world because of it. Talking openly and honestly about finiteness and dying is the best thing we humans can do. You live your life completely differently, much more intensely, if you keep reminding yourself of this. I didn't choose this path, life pushed me in this direction. I am learning to live with this process and have founded a movement in Brazil to encourage people to talk openly about death - inspired by Patricia's life. Before her death, my wife and I organized a festival with more than 60 Brazilian musicians of different styles to raise money for palliative care for the favelas in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. We need to talk openly about issues such as euthanasia, assisted suicide, palliative care and cancer, because so much is taboo and it gets us nowhere.
Many people close their eyes to it because it automatically puts them in a negative spiral. Voluntarily and without really having a reason for it.
Of course, these are uncomfortable topics. They are tough, but necessary. The more you talk about it, the better prepared you are when it happens. Death is always sad and painful, but if we deal with it in life, we can also improve our sense of finitude. We will all die, sooner or later - that's the reality and we have to come to terms with it. I am much calmer and more understanding today, especially when it comes to my two sons and my daughter. Losing their mother was very hard, she was a fundamental and active part of all our lives. That was less than three years ago, but we have found ways to cope and move on. We face challenges and situations in life differently and see many things through different eyes. Windows have opened that weren't even visible when there were five of us. We have no choice in dying, it is not our decision. In life, you are born and you die - those are the only two constants. Everything in between is totally up to us.
Living life as fully as possible is always the greatest goal, but it is not granted to everyone. Although the end is inevitable, it will always remain a heavy topic that many want to push away.
Of course, but it will happen. If we respect and realize this, we have a much healthier relationship with our lives. You are much more at peace with yourself. My wife was very open and relaxed about death, even at the beginning when we were still dating. She always told me that if she had to die, I shouldn't forget my pillow, blanket and pyjamas because she was afraid she would get cold in the coffin. Of course, everyone laughed about it at the time, but when it did happen, we naturally knew what to do. There are no words to describe the feeling you get when you can fulfill the wishes of a loved one on their last journey. We put it all in the coffin and it brought us even closer together as a family. That was the moment when I knew we had to talk much more openly about the end. About our last wishes, about inheritance, about so many things that happen and that people who are already emotionally shaken after a death have to make ad hoc decisions about. Everyone wants to put these issues off until tomorrow, but if you talk about them today, you can deal with everything much better when you die.
Death very often happens spontaneously, when nobody really expects it. What remains is uncertainty, emptiness and overwhelm.
You are at the worst moment of your life and have to make the most important decisions of your life. In the heat of the moment, you may say things to your loved ones that you didn't really mean in your overwhelm, but which can no longer be undone and may drive a wedge between you forever. When a loved one dies, everyone around you is in a state of emergency. But you can solve and organize a lot of things in advance so that you can then cope better with your emotions because the bureaucracy and non-emotional aspects are already taken care of. These are also things that I want to make people in Brazil aware of. Countries like Colombia or Chile are much more advanced and progressive in South America when it comes to issues like euthanasia and death. However, Brazil is such a large country that it is difficult to find a uniform solution that everyone can live with. Our movement is growing and is on the right track and I can see that people also want to talk about it much more openly. We just can't let up.
Now that you've been talking so openly and clearly about death for almost three years, have you lost your own fear of it?
I never had the fear of death, but the fear of no longer living, if you know what I mean. There is a big difference between these two poles. It's funny today, but at the very beginning I was very afraid of flying when we first left Brazil to play in Europe and the USA. I saw a photo of John Lennon and Paul McCartney with their wives on an airplane and thought to myself, quite profanely, that if the two greatest musicians in the world weren't afraid of flying, then I shouldn't be either. It's all just psychological. I've been skydiving, bungee jumping and many other things - sometimes rather stupidly and carelessly. My wife and I went skydiving together. Looking back, that's stupid, because if something goes wrong, the children have no parents at all. Today I live very safely. I go to the gym a lot, don't drink, meditate and eat well. All of this has also helped me to get through the emotional turmoil and to live with the low blows. I just want to be in such good shape that I can enjoy the rest of my life as much as possible.
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