Before officially ending his long and remarkable run with Sepultura , drummer Eloy Casagrande confessed to helping Greyson Nekrutman , who would take over his position, rehearse some tracks from the band's repertoire.
The revelation came to light recently, in an interview given to Modern Drummer , and exposes a previously undiscussed side of the transition that ended one of the most important cycles in the recent history of Brazilian metal.
The meeting took place amidst a delicate situation. Sepultura, about to embark on a series of tours, had already announced Eloy's departure , and the new drummer, Greyson Nekrutman, had an extremely short timeframe to absorb a complex repertoire built up over decades. Given this, Eloy offered Greyson advice on how to perform the group's classic songs.
Eloy recounts [transcription via Music Radar ]: “Greyson came to my studio in São Paulo when he joined the band to do some rehearsals and we had a great conversation. He only had two or three weeks to learn all the songs, so I gave him some advice, like: 'We used to play this song faster. Be careful with this one, because we used to play it slower'.”
This meeting between the drummers was a private moment, focused on sharing techniques and maintaining a friendship. Finally, Eloy praised Greyson. “I wasn’t teaching him how to play the songs because he can play whatever he wants. He’s an incredible drummer.”
Casagrande also mentioned that he feels an affinity with Greyson and that he had been following the young man's work through social media. "When I see him play, I remember myself in the same place. When I joined Sepultura, I was his age... He's a very good drummer. I used to watch the videos he posted on social media when he played more jazz and drum solos."
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