In a recent interview with Loud TV, Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser opened up about the profound impact of losing his wife, Patricia Perissinoto Kisser, in July 2022 after her battle with colon cancer. Patricia had turned 52 just one day before her passing.
When asked if her passing influenced Sepultura’s decision to embark on a farewell tour, Kisser responded directly (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “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, and my family, and new opportunities to talk about life because of dying.”
Kisser shared that Brazil can be one of the hardest places to face death, with many who suffer from terminal illnesses feeling neglected by society. To help bring change, he has started an awareness movement, including Patfest, a music festival designed to raise funds and support for palliative care in underserved areas.
“Brazil is one of the worst places to die,” he said, continuing, “A lot of people are forgotten from society, going through the same problems with cancer and very difficult illness…We started this movement, this campaign, a festival Patfest…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 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. Any electronic device will eventually stop working. So it is what it is. We cannot choose. What we can choose is to live in the moment. The intensity of the present is much more intense if you respect finitude.”
Kisser elaborated on this philosophy, explaining that the beauty of life often lies in its finite nature: “If you go to a movie and it doesn’t have any end, there’s no meaning, there’s no message,” he observed. “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, with AI, robots, and all that stuff. Let’s be human and respect finitude, respect dying.”
Acknowledging the complexities of grief, Kisser described it as an extended, personal journey that should coexist with living fully: “It’s been very amazing for me, the experience I had with my family, my wife, and Sepultura now,” he shared.
“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 sorrow, the grief, but at the same time, there’s 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.”
He went on to emphasize how discussing death openly can provide peace, noting that Patricia spoke of it with remarkable openness. “People have this idea if you talk about dying, bad things are gonna happen and stuff. It’s the opposite. Peace,” he recalled, adding that Patricia would often say things like, “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.”
Honoring her final wishes brought a profound sense of comfort, as he shared, “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 die with her. But I’m discovering another one that is 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 palliative care comes into play.”
Kisser discussed the critical need for palliative care services in Brazil, especially for terminally ill patients who deserve proper support. “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 recalled. “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?’”
Kisser went on, “The palliative care, it’s everything…Medicine in general should be palliative, taking care of ourselves. We all live with illness in our lives, 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 Brazilians, don’t even know that exist, 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…In Portugal recently as well.”
Reflecting on his campaign’s growth, Kisser expressed cautious optimism for the future: “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,” he said.
“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 etcetera, 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.”
Looking ahead, Kisser hopes to devote more time to this cause while Sepultura begins winding down their tour schedule. Asked about his future, he shared: “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. 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.”