Photo: AFP
Slipknot slyly revealed the identity of their new drummer last month as ex-Sepultura member Eloy Casagrande, and in a new interview with Brazil’s Veja Sao Paulo (translated from Portuguese to English by fans on Reddit) the drummer detailed the intense audition process.
“They asked me to record and send them some videos from right here in Brazil,” he recalled. “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,” he continued. “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.”
It took Slipknot until early February to tell Casagrande he got the job. “Slipknot is made up of nine musicians, so there are many spheres and layers, and they needed everyone’s approval before they gave me the okay,” he noted.
The choice to leace Sepultura was made easier when the band announced it was breaking up after a farewell tour. “The band was going to break up, and I didn’t want to stop playing drums at the age of 33,” Casagrande said. “It was my decision to leave Sepultura. It was complicated. I told [Sepultura my decision] when I had closed the deal [with Slipknot] on February 5 or 6. That very day I called a meeting and explained the situation. That was it, an individual decision.”
Casagrande's addition to the band comes after they parted ways with longtime drummer Jay Weinberg in November. Slipknot recently announced a North American tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their self-titled debut album. See the full list of tour dates here.