Sepultura‘s farewell tour was set to mark the top of an period, however simply weeks earlier than the primary present, longtime drummer Eloy Casagrande abruptly left the band — to in the end be part of Slipknot, even when these particulars have been unknown at that time — in a transfer that blindsided his former bandmates. Now, in a brand new interview with Overdrive.ie, Sepultura guitarist Andreas Kisser mirrored yet one more time on the shocking departure and the way the band moved ahead with drummer Greyson Nekrutman stepping in on the final minute.
When requested whether or not Casagrande‘s choice to depart was linked to Sepultura‘s upcoming farewell tour, Kisser did not maintain again his frustration. “I do not know, man. You must ask him. As a result of we have been very stunned by his choice,” Kisser mentioned, including that Casagrande‘s exit got here after years of preparation for the tour. “We have been engaged on the Sepultura farewell tour for 2 years — with him — and three weeks earlier than the primary present, he determined to depart out of nowhere. It was actually bizarre.”
Kisser emphasised how concerned Casagrande had been in planning the farewell exhibits. “And he determined three weeks earlier than the primary date that we had been working for 2 years to occur, together with his approval and all the things – we have been discussing setlist and all the results and all the things — however he determined to go at that second and he left,” he defined. The sudden change left the band scrambling for a substitute, however Kisser quickly had a possible candidate in thoughts: Greyson Nekrutman.
“My son, Yohan, confirmed me his movies,” Kisser mentioned. “Derrick [Green, Sepultura singer] noticed him taking part in with Suicidal Tendencies in L.A. And he got here to my thoughts immediately. And I known as him, and 48 hours later, we have been collectively. [Laughs]”
Regardless of the sudden shift, Kisser expressed confidence in Nekrutman‘s means to fill Casagrande‘s footwear. “Yeah, we needed to rebuild or to rehearse with Greyson,” he mentioned. “He did an incredible, wonderful job. Each time it is higher. Each time we bought linked, taking part in, touring extra, and attending to know one another higher. And it is incredible.”
Curiously, there’s been a noteworthy drummer shuffle between Sepultura, Slipknot, and Suicidal Tendencies, which truthfully feels just like the musical chairs sport in actual life. Casagrande left Sepultura for Slipknot, former Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg joined Suicidal Tendencies, and Nekrutman stepped into Sepultura‘s lineup.
For Kisser, it looks as if a win-win scenario for all concerned. “For us, it is nice. I assume for Eloy, Slipknot is nice as nicely. And for Jay — possibly it was higher for everybody.”
In the meantime, Casagrande not too long ago shared his aspect of the story in an interview for the duvet story of the January 2025 problem of Fashionable Drummer journal, detailing how he bought the decision from Slipknot and why he in the end determined to depart Sepultura. “Every part occurred on the finish of 2023 once I bought a name from Slipknot‘s supervisor asking me if I used to be fascinated with doing an audition for Slipknot,” he mentioned.
At that time, Sepultura‘s farewell tour was already on the horizon. “That 12 months, Sepultura determined to cease taking part in, so it was a really pure choice for me to maintain taking part in with another person as a substitute of simply retiring,” Casagrande defined. He described the Slipknot audition course of as extremely secretive. “On the finish of 2023 and the start of 2024, I wasn’t supposed to speak to anybody about that. The audition was an enormous secret. No person might find out about it. Sepultura did not even know, it was simply one thing between me and the blokes from Slipknot. It was my choice to do the audition. I mentioned, ‘Okay, I am fascinated with doing an audition as a result of Sepultura goes to cease. I’ve one and a half years left of working with them and I’ll be performed.'”
Casagrande‘s admiration for Slipknot made the transition a straightforward selection. “Via the years, I’ve performed many instances with Slipknot,” he mentioned. “We shared levels once I was taking part in Sepultura, and that was the place that I at all times needed to be. I grew up listening to their music, so I needed to have the expertise taking part in dwell with Slipknot with a masks on my face.”
The second he joined Slipknot on stage was surreal for Casagrande. “In my first present with the band I used to be considering, ‘Oh, that is actually taking place. Oh my god. I can not imagine it.'”
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