In an exclusive interview with Veja SP , Eloy Casagrande spoke for the first time about the process of leaving Sepultura and joining Slipknot .
The drummer played in the Brazilian metal band for 12 years before announcing his departure in February of this year . Shortly after, rumors began circulating about his possible entry into Slipknot, which had also just parted ways with its longtime drummer, Jay Weinberg . In late April, the nu-metal band performed for the first time with the new member and days later confirmed Eloy Casagrande's identity on social media: an unprecedented feat until then.
In the new interview, Eloy shared firsthand details about the entire process that took him from Sepultura and led him to Slipknot. “I received the invitation to audition after the announcement of the [Sepultura] tour,” he clarified. “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 33 years old.”
“I had a chat with Slipknot, I asked about their schedule, if it would be possible to juggle both bands, but they said no, it wouldn't be possible, I would be exclusive. So it was my decision, due to the end of Sepultura. It was complicated, I informed them when I had closed the deal, on February 5th or 6th. That same day I called a meeting and explained the situation. That was it, an individual decision,” he concludes.
According to Eloy, the invitation to participate in a formal audition to play in Slipknot came in December, through the band's manager. Upon accepting, Casagrande says he received a confidentiality agreement so that he wouldn't talk about the process with anyone. He recorded videos and took advantage of a trip to the United States to rehearse in person with the band and record some things. "They threw new ideas at me, to see what my composition was like. They wanted to test me in every way," he says.
Regarding the first show with the band, which took place at the end of April, Casagrande reveals that he experienced some technical problems due to the force with which he was playing, which he attributed to a mixture of "nervousness and happiness." "It was a smaller show, and I ended up playing harder than usual. I broke ten, fifteen drumsticks," he recounts. "This Kevlar adhesive fell off, and the residual glue remained on the skin. So, when I played, the beater stuck and wouldn't come off. I had to grab dirt from the floor and throw it on the adhesive, and then it stopped sticking."
Regarding his time in Sepultura, Eloy expresses affection and gratitude. “It was a gigantic learning experience,” he comments. “It was many years, three studio albums. Live albums. Lots of songwriting. A lot of time we spent touring together. I look back with great affection and admiration. And a feeling of immense gratitude for all those years.”
Check out the full interview on the Veja SP website.