Pedro Sérgio Murad Passarell (11 April 1968 – 27 September 2024), known professionally as Pit Passarell, was an Argentine-born Brazilian singer-songwriter and bassist famous for his work with heavy metal band

Viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

, of which he was one of two of its founding members to remain consistently in all of the group's line-ups alongside guitarist Felipe Machado. Later in his career, he also wrote several songs for

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

-based rock band

Capital Inicial Capital Inicial is a Brazilian rock band from Brasília flourished in the 1980s, saw a resurgence in the late 1990s, and extended into the 2000s. History The band has recorded fourteen studio albums, five live albums and six DVDs in their 40-ye ...

, for which his younger brother Yves plays the electric guitar. Born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

on 11 April 1968, his family moved to

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil while he was still an infant. He and his brother

Yves Passarell Osvaldo Yves Murad Passarell (born 8 February 1969), known professionally as Yves Passarell, is a Brazilian musician and songwriter best known for his work with Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Viper (band), Viper, of which he was one of its f ...

formed

alongside long-time acquaintance Felipe Machado in 1985; Pit initially served as the band's bassist, becoming its vocalist in 1991 following the departure of

Andre Matos Andre Coelho Matos (; 14 September 1971 – 8 June 2019) was a Brazilian singer and musician. He was involved in the heavy metal bands Viper, Angra, Shaman and Symfonia. Since 2006, Matos had been dedicating his time to his solo career. I ...

. He was responsible for writing some of their most recognizable songs, such as "To Live Again", "Living for the Night", "Evolution", "Come from the Inside", "Soldiers of Sunrise" and "Rebel Maniac". Following Yves' departure to become guitarist for

in 2001, he and Pit also wrote songs for the latter band, such as "O Mundo", "Seus Olhos", "Depois da Meia-Noite", "Algum Dia" and "Instinto Selvagem". Pit was replaced by Ricardo Bocci as

's vocalist in 2004, but would remain as the group's bassist, his most recent album with them being 2023's ''Timeless''. In 2005, Pit was featured in the documentary '' 20 Years Living for the Night'', produced in celebration of

's 20th anniversary. In 2007, he wrote two songs, "Letting Go" and "Remember Why", for the solo debut of his former Viper bandmate

, '' Time to Be Free''. On 28 August 2020 Pit released his debut solo album, ''Praticamente Nada'', originally recorded between 2008 and 2009. "O Mundo", a cover of a song he originally wrote for

, came out as a teaser single the month prior, followed by "Que Seja Eterno o Nosso Amor" and "Seus Olhos". In mid-2024 Pit was diagnosed with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

; he died while undergoing treatment later that year, on 27 September, at the age of 56. His wake was held at the Funeral Home complex in

Bela Vista Bela Vista (also known as ''Bexiga'' or ''Bixiga'') is one of the most traditional Italian neighborhoods in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It belongs to the borough of Sé, and it has been a mixed neighborhood since its beginning, where free A ...

. Daniel Matos, brother of

, subsequently took his place as

's bassist.

Personal life

Until her death in 2019 Pit was married to Thais, with whom he had a daughter. The eponymous song "Thais" of Viper's 2023 album ''Timeless'' was dedicated to her.

Discography

;

: ''For a more comprehensive list, see Viper discography'' * (1987) '' Soldiers of Sunrise'' * (1989) '' Theatre of Fate'' * (1992) ''

Evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

'' * (1995) '' Coma Rage'' * (1996) '' Tem pra Todo Mundo'' * (2007) '' All My Life'' * (2023) ''Timeless'' ;Solo * (2020) ''Praticamente Nada''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Passarell, Pit 1968 births 2024 deaths English-language singers from Brazil Brazilian bass guitarists Brazilian male bass guitarists Brazilian composers Brazilian male singer-songwriters Brazilian heavy metal singers Musicians from Buenos Aires Argentine emigrants to Brazil Brazilian people of Argentine descent Viper (band) members Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Brazil