Former Sepultura drummer Eloy Casagrande recently left the band to join Slipknot. He made his first appearances with the band on April 25 at an intimate show in Pioneertown, California and again on April 27 in Las Vegas for the Sick New World festival.
In a new interview with Veja São Paulo, Casagrande talked about the audition process for the band and why he ultimately left Sepultura to join the group. “They asked me to record and send them some videos from right here in Brazil,” he explained. “Initially there were three songs, then they asked me for three more, and asked if I had any plans to go to the United States, and I was scheduled to perform there in January with my instrumental music project, Casagrande & Hanysz. So they moved my flight up a bit, and I spent five days in Palm Springs, rehearsing with the full band. Then they asked me to extend my stay by another five days, so we could record some things. I think that was also part of the audition. They threw new ideas at me to see what my songwriting was like. They wanted to test me in every way.”
He continued: “On the first day, I was very nervous, because the band was complete, and it’s quite an impact to see the guys there in front of you. It’s a band I’ve been listening to since I was a teenager and followed on TV. On the first day I was terrible, I didn’t like my performance, but from the second day on I improved. Each day they played a different setlist in the morning, so I had a few hours to learn a song or two that was missing. Overall, it was very smooth. I had everyone’s support.”
Casagrande said that his decision to leave Sepultura came down to the band announcing their farewell tour. “I received the invitation to audition after the tour was announced,” he said. “The big thing, the reason I agreed to audition, was the end of Sepultura. The band was going to break up, and I didn’t want to stop playing drums at the age of 33. I had a chat with Slipknot, asked about their schedule and if it would be possible to juggle the two bands, but they said no, it wouldn’t be possible, I’d be exclusive. So it was my decision to leave Sepultura. It was complicated. I told them when I had closed the deal on February 5th or 6th. That very day I called a meeting and explained the situation. That was it, an individual decision.”
Slipknot released a video recap of Casagrande’s first two shows that can be viewed below.
