Sepultura Was “Very Surprised” Eloy Casagrande Decided to Leave to Join Slipknot

One day there’s going to be a documentary, a book, or something about the great drummer swap of 2024. You know, that brief moment in time where Slipknot, Sepultura, and Suicidal Tendencies basically swapped drummers over the span of a few weeks — Greyson Nekrutman left Suicidal to join Sepultura, Jay Weinberg was kicked out of Slipknot and he eventually found his way to Suicidal, and Eloy Casagrande jumped ship from a Sepultura that was about to embark on its farewell tour to join the international powerhouse that is Slipknot. Crazy shit.

Know who else was just as shocked and surprised by the news? Apparently everyone in Sepultura, according to guitarist Andreas Kisser. During a recent interview with Overdrive.ie‘s Oran O’Beirne (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), Kisser was asked whether Sepultura’s decision to call it quits pushed Casagrande to leave the band. His answer, however, suggests that no one in the band can answer that question because the decision came as a shock.

“I have no idea, man. You have to ask him. Because we were very surprised by his decision. We were working on [the Sepultura farewell tour] for two years — with him — and three weeks before the first show, he decided to leave out of nowhere. It was really weird. And he decided three weeks before the first date that we were working for two years to happen, with his approval and everything — we were discussing setlist and all the effects and everything — but he decided to go at that moment and he left, and [current Sepultura drummer] Greyson [Nekrutman] came up to my mind right away, ’cause we were following him. My son, Yohan, showed me his videos, Derrick [Green, Sepultura singer] saw him playing with Suicidal [Tendencies] in L.A. And he came to my mind right away. And I called him, and 48 hours [later], we were together. [Laughs]”

The sudden turn around among drummers was not lost on Kisser, either. Looking back on how it all shook out, it sounds like he agrees that it all kinda worked out in the end.

“For us, it’s great. I guess for Eloy, Slipknot is great as well. And for Jay — maybe it was better for everyone.

“Yeah, we had to rebuild or to rehearse with Greyson. He did an amazing, amazing job. Every time it’s better. Every time we got connected, playing, touring more and [getting] to know each other better. And it’s fantastic.”