VIPER has announced a show for October 13th at the Grita Festival in Colombia, where Andre Matos , Daniel , will perform in place of Pit Passarell. The founder of VIPER died on September 27th at the age of 56 after battling pancreatic cancer.
According to the band, the performance will be the first international show of the tour promoting their most recent album, Timeless (2023).
“The last few weeks have been very difficult for VIPER. We lost our greatest mentor, the unforgettable Pit Passarell (…) The only thing that lessens our sadness at this moment is remembering the moments we lived alongside this great brother, both on and off stage.”
They continue: “During his time in the hospital, Pit expressed concern about the band's existing commitments. He didn't want his health problems to interfere with the schedule and the tour.”
“That’s why we kept the show in Catanduva, in the interior of São Paulo, with the participation of bassist Daniel Matos. Besides being an excellent musician, Daniel has another characteristic that made Pit comfortable with the decision to invite him: Dani is the younger brother of Andre Matos, another giant who left us too soon. Symbolically, but also literally, Daniel has been a member of the VIPER family since the band was born.”
Finally, the band revealed that they had gone ahead with the performance in Colombia: "We'll have another show next weekend, which will also feature Daniel."
Read the full statement below.
Pit Passarell
Well-known in the heavy metal scene, not only for composing most of VIPER's catalog, but also for the incredible charisma he always had with fans, for the bass lines he created, and for the success he achieved in the almost impossible task of taking over the band's vocals after Andre Matos' departure.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1968, Pit came to Brazil with his family when he was still a child. In 1985, at less than 17 years old, together with his brother Yves Passarell and his friend who lived in the same building, Felipe Machado , he founded VIPER.
With the addition of Andre Matos soon after, VIPER recorded the demo The Killera Sword in 1985, and in subsequent years the albums Soldiers of Sunrise (1987) and Theatre of Fate (1989). These two albums, which featured songs mostly composed by Pit Passarell, changed the history of heavy metal in Brazil and have influenced and continue to influence countless bands for over 35 years.
After Andre Matos left, Pit took over vocals on the albums Evolution (1992), Coma Rage (1994) and Tem Pra Todo Mundo (1996). Pit also sang on the EP Vipera Sapiens (1993) and the live album Maniacs in Japan (1993).
In the late 1990s, Pit began composing songs that transcended the boundaries of heavy metal. Several of these compositions were recorded by Capital Inicial and became huge hits throughout the country, such as "O Mundo," "Algum Dia," "Seus Olhos," "Instinto Selvagem," "Poucas Horas," "Depois da Meia-Noite," among others.
With VIPER, Pit continued composing most of the songs for the band's last two albums, All My Life (2007) and Timeless (2023). Pit also participated heavily in Andre Matos's comeback tour in 2012, which culminated in the release of the live album To Live Again – Live in São Paulo (2015).
In 2020, Wikimetal had the honor and pride of releasing Praticamente Nada , Pit Passarell's solo album featuring several compositions originally written for Capital Inicial, but sung and arranged by the bassist, in addition to other unreleased songs.
