Paulo Xisto Pinto Júnior (born 30 April 1969) is a Brazilian musician best known as the bassist for heavy metal band Sepultura.[1] He joined Sepultura after Roberto Raffan left the band in 1984, becoming Sepultura's second bassist. Although no original members are left in Sepultura, Pinto is the longest remaining member of Sepultura despite never performing on any album until Chaos A.D. (1993).
Early life and influences
Paulo Jr. was born in Belo Horizonte, where he grew up with two brothers and a younger sister. His father was a lawyer. He received his first bass guitar, a white Giannini, when he was 15. In an interview, Paulo Jr. commended his parents for supporting the band in its early days.
"The support of the parents was one of the keys to our success. We had an empty room and my parents not only lent the space, but also the car to carry the equipment and made lunch for everyone when we were rehearsing."[2]
In 1984, Paulo Jr. met the Cavalera brothers in the Santa Teresa neighbourhood of Belo Horizonte through a common friend. He joined Sepultura after the departure of the band's previous bass player, Roberto Raffan. Paulo Jr. played his first concert at the Ideal Club in Santa Teresa.[4] He is their longest serving member. However, while he was a part of the band in their early years and performed live with them, Paulo had not performed on any Sepultura album until Chaos A.D. (1993); Andreas Kisser did both guitar and bass duties on their albums prior to Chaos A.D., except Morbid Visions (1986), which featured Jairo Guedz handling both roles.[5][6][7][8][9]
Cultura Tres
In 2019, Paulo Jr. joined the brothers Alejandro Londoño Montoya and Juan M De Ferrari Montoya to bring back to life the sludge / thrash metal band Cultura Tres.[10] In 2023, the band released their full length Camino de Brujos[11] supported with three music video clips for the songs "The World And Its Lies",[12][13] "Proxy War",[14][15] and "The Land".[16][17][18]
Paulo Jr. is currently touring with Cultura Tres with dates announced both in Europe and South America.
The Unabomber Files
In 2009, Paulo Jr. joined with Alan Wallace and André Márcio of Eminence and Vladimir Korg of Chakal to form the band The Unabomber Files.[19] In 2013, the group released a six-song EP and a teaser for the music video of the song "Buried In My Bunker".[20][21]
Guest appearances
In 2007, Paulo Jr. played bass guitar on Sayowa's second album.[22] In 2013, he made a guest appearance on Eminence's fourth album, The Stalker, providing extra bass accompaniment.[23][24]
Since 1999, Paulo Jr. has organised a series of annual football charity games between former Brazilian players, television artists, musicians and the band members. The games took place at the Estádio Municipal Castor Cifuentes in Nova Lima, Brazil, near Belo Horizonte. The spectators were asked to donate a pound of food and the gathered donations were given to local charities.[27][28][29]
In April 2008, Paulo Jr. was decorated with the Medalha da Inconfidência. This decoration was created in 1952 by the former Brazilian president Juscelino Kubitschek to pay homage to individuals who contributed in the development of the state of Minas Gerais and the country. The ceremony took place in Ouro Preto, hosted by the then Governor of Minas Gerais, Aécio Neves.[30][31]
