ANDREAS KISSER Is 'Not Really Concerned Too Much' About His Post-SEPULTURA Future: 'I'm Gonna Keep Doing Music'

In a recent interview with Jarek Szubrycht of Poland’s Mystic Festival, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser spoke about the band’s decision to embark on what will turn out to be a three-year farewell tour by the time it concludes in late 2026. Asked why now was the right time to call it quits, Andreas said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I think it was a great momentum. 40-year anniversary is a great mark. We have an amazing history behind, coming from Brazil, playing almost 80 countries around the world, bringing the Brazilian music to heavy metal, to thrash metal, to heavy music in general. And we did a great album, [2020’s] ‘Quadra’, our last one. We survived the pandemic situation, the lockdown. I went through also a personal experience with my wife. She passed away after [a battle with] cancer two years and a half ago, and it gave me a whole new perspective of life — when you respect finitude, when you respect dying, when you don’t deny that. We have a tendency not to talk about dying, to talk about death in general, and after her passing, a big part of myself died with her. But at the same time, other parts came to be — new experiences, new ideas, new horizons, new situations. I didn’t choose that way, but it came to be. And dying and death has been my biggest professor, my biggest teacher. And it felt that for SEPULTURA, it would be the same, really, to give a rest. I was feeling very pressured to write another album, to do another cycle, to do another tour. It’s not easy to write an album. You really have to be focused a hundred percent on [it]. And we decided to quit, to stop for a while.”

Kisser continued: “We are recording a live album on this tour. We’re gonna put out the live album. And so we still have stuff to do in the next two years. We are not in a hurry. We say goodbye, but relax. We’re doing [it] our own way. We’d like to fulfill our last wishes, let’s say go to Iceland for the first time, go to places in Africa and stuff, play in places that we’ve never been before, do partnerships and tours. A lot of stuff are happening and proposals [are coming in]. We’d like to go everywhere in the world, really enjoy this moment, and really afterwards just breathe a little bit… And it feels great. It’s still exciting. This is the best tour we[‘ve done] in Europe in our history. A lot of people are coming to see SEPULTURA for the first time. Other fans, they met at a SEPULTURA concert. Now they’re married. They have their kids with us. It’s great. It’s a fantastic feeling. And it’s a very thankful spirit, that we say to our fans, ‘Thank you so much for keeping this bad for 40 years so much alive and relevant.'”

Regarding how he plans on spending his time once SEPULTURA has completed its farewell tour, Andreas said: “Since I joined SEPULTURA in ’87, we never stopped — never. Even on the lockdown, we created an album. When we changed singers and managers and stuff, we were always rehearsing, we were always working towards the future and et cetera. And it feels like it’s a good momentum because we’re still young enough to be motivated to start something else from scratch. Of course, I’ll be involved with music. That’s what I do, I love to do. I’m not gonna quit SEPULTURA to sell cars or something like that. I’m gonna keep doing music. I still study music and et cetera.”

Andreas added: I’m not really concerned too much about [my post-SEPULTURA] future. Like I said, we have another two years of this touring. I like to enjoy the moment, like we are doing here. Every show has been amazing. It’s a fantastic feeling. I have so many different options. I already have another band called DE LA TIERRA. I have a radio show in São Paulo with my son for 13 years now. And I have some parallel things that I already do that I might have more time, really, to dedicate to those. And I also wanna do a guitar lesson, finally a video talking about my style, SEPULTURA‘s music, acoustic guitar and stuff, to put more time on that and really do that. A lot of people ask for that as well, so I wanna really have more time to do this. And I know so many musicians, so many bands. I’m really talking to people, ‘Oh, let’s do this, let’s do that.’ I have an idea to do a reggae project with Derrick [Green, SEPULTURA frontman]. Who knows? [Laughs] I like to keep it open. I mean, it’s a little scary, but at the same time it’s very exciting to feel that freedom that we could really express and really see what happens. I think that’s why we are stopping — to get away of the comfort zone, to get away [and] artistically having different air to breathe.”

Less than four months ago, Kisser was asked by Reality Check TV about the possibility of reuniting with original SEPULTURA frontman Max Cavalera and drummer Igor “Iggor” Cavalera for a final show to cap off the band’s ongoing farewell tour. He said: “I hope so. The idea is to do a very last show [in 2026] in São Paulo, Brazil, where we have all the guests, friends to celebrate our history.”

He continued: “There’s no reason to be fighting. We just go on stage, enjoy ourselves. We know how to play the songs. It’s gonna be a party for the fans. Forty years of history, it’s a lot — many albums, many different changes and different styles of music. And it’s gonna be an amazing party — I hope so — and hopefully everybody will be a part [of it].”

SEPULTURA kicked off the North American leg of the massive “Celebrating Life Through Death” farewell tour on September 17, 2024 at the Concord Music Hall in Chicago, Illinois. The band played a career-spanning set that honors SEPULTURA‘s 40 years of existence. Joining SEPULTURA on this tour were Florida-based death metal veterans OBITUARY, iconic New York hardcore pioneers AGNOSTIC FRONT, and São Paulo, Brazil’s death/thrash metallers CLAUSTROFOBIA.

SEPULTURA is putting together a live album commemorating their last run of shows. The band is recording 40 songs in 40 different cities for what will be a “massive compilation of our best, most energetic moments on stage,” according to a statement released by SEPULTURA in December 2023.

Asked in a new interview with Germany’s Moshpit Passion if SEPULTURA‘s final show will also be included in the package, Andreas said: “Who knows? Everything is possible. We did three big shows in São Paulo [Brazil] before we went to the States. And we recorded the whole show — the cameras, DVD and stuff. Of course, this stuff that we’re recording for the live album is audio only. And we are planning to have the last farewell show in São Paulo in 2026, so we like to go places, we like to visit places that we’ve never been before. We like to do our goodbye in a relaxed mood — no hurry. There’s no reason really to rush anything. We are enjoying the moment so much. We are celebrating the momentum. It’s fantastic. It’s amazing. So it’s something that is gonna be on the recording as well, this great vibe, the connection we have with the crowd and stuff. But, yeah, everything is possible. I mean, of course, the last show, [it] would be great to have a register. We like to invite all the ex-members, including the brothers, Cavalera brothers. Let’s see what happens. We’re working towards that, to have a big celebration for the fans.”

Acknowledging the fact that SEPULTURA had an acrimonious split with Max Cavalera nearly 30 years ago, Andreas said: “We don’t care who is right or wrong. We’re never gonna get to that point. [Laughs] We have different point of views and different perspectives about same historical events and stuff. So let’s jam, let’s have a good time for the fans, for us, for ourselves, and really close this amazing 43 years or 44, whatever it’s gonna be at the time, in peace with ourselves, and really reach for something different afterwards. At least in my point of view, I like to, of course, continue with music and everything, but maybe do something different. Who knows?”

In a recent interview with Metal Hammer magazine, Derrick was asked about his plans for after the completion of the farewell tour. Derrick said: “I want to do a lot more with the TV show I’m working on, ‘Highway To Health’. I’ve also been interested in doing voiceover work in animation or commercials. Musically, I’d like to do something outside of metal with more singing, but if somebody approaches with something I think is intriguing, I’m definitely open to that, because I never want to step away from music.”

Asked if Andreas and Derrick will still work together in the future, Kisser quipped: “Nah. We only talk to each other by contract. When the contract is done, we’re done. [Laughs] No, of course there are a lot of possibilities. I would love to work with Derrick outside of SEPULTURA. We have the idea for a reggae project on the cards, which we have a great name for. The comfort zone is the worst thing that can happen to an artist. It would be boring to stop SEPULTURA and do something else that is SEPULTURA-like.”

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 drummer Greyson Nekrutman, who previously played with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES.

SEPULTURA announced drummer Eloy Casagrande‘s departure on February 27, 2024, explaining in a statement that he was leaving to join “another project”, with Eloy later confirming that he is the new drummer of SLIPKNOT.

The news of Eloy‘s exit from SEPULTURA came just two months after the band announced it would celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2024 by embarking on a “farewell tour” which will cover the entire globe.

In SEPULTURA‘s statement, the remaining bandmembers expressed their shock over Casagrande‘s departure, saying they were “taken by surprise” that their now-former drummer would “abandon everything related to SEPULTURA” less than a month prior to the start of the tour.