SEPULTURA's ANDREAS KISSER: 'We Were Very Surprised' By ELOY CASAGRANDE's Decision To Leave The Band

In a new interview with Overdrive.ie's Oran O'Beirne, SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser was asked if drummer Eloy Casagrande's decision to leave the band and join SLIPKNOT was influenced by the fact that SEPULTURA was about to embark on a farewell tour. Kisser responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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]"

Referencing the fact that former SLIPKNOT drummer Jay Weinberg is now playing with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES while Nekrutman is in SEPULTURA and Casagrande is in SLIPKNOT, Andreas said: "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," Kisser added. "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."

In an interview for the cover story of the January 2025 issue of Modern Drummer magazine, Casagrande was asked for his opinion of Nekrutman, who joined SEPULTURA at around the same time in his life as Eloy did in 2011. The Brazilian musician responded: "Yes, and when I see him playing, I can remember myself in the same spot. When I joined SEPULTURA, I was his age. That's quite interesting. He's a very good drummer. I used to watch him playing videos he posted on social media when he was playing more jazz and drum solos. He's a brilliant player and I wish him and the rest of the band all the best. I have a lot of respect for him. I wish I could talk to him more one day. Maybe we could bring all the SEPULTURA drummers together.

"Greyson came to my studio in São Paulo when he joined the band to do some rehearsals, and we had a very good talk," Eloy added. "He had just two or three weeks to learn all the songs, so I gave him some advice like, 'We used to play that song faster. Be careful with this song because we used to play it slower.' I wasn't teaching him how to play the songs because he can play anything he wants to play. He's an incredible drummer."

Asked what it was like getting the call from SLIPKNOT and how he got the gig, Eloy said: "Everything happened at the end of 2023 when I got a call from SLIPKNOT's manager asking me if I was interested in doing an audition for SLIPKNOT. That year, SEPULTURA decided to stop playing, so it was a very natural decision for me to keep playing with someone else instead of just retiring. At the end of [2023] and the beginning of [2024], I wasn't supposed to talk to anyone about that. The audition was a big secret. Nobody could know about it. SEPULTURA didn't even know, it was just something between me and the guys from SLIPKNOT. It was my decision to do the audition. I said, 'Okay, I'm interested in doing an audition because SEPULTURA is going to stop. I have one and a half years left of working with them and I'm going to be done.'

"Through the years, I have played many times with SLIPKNOT," he continued. "We shared stages when I was playing SEPULTURA, and that was the place that I always wanted to be. I grew up listening to their music, so I wanted to have the experience playing live with SLIPKNOT with a mask on my face. In my first show with the band I was thinking, 'Oh, this is really happening. Oh my god. I can't believe it.'"

During an appearance on an August 2024 episode of the "One Life One Chance With Toby Morse" podcast, Derrick reflected on Eloy's departure in February 2024, less than a month prior to the start of SEPULTURA's "Celebrating Life Through Death" farewell tour. Derrick said: "We had already announced that we're going to do a farewell tour. It was in December that we announced it. And so then I think it was February, we started playing shows. And so it was, like, Andreas calls me was, like, 'Yeah, we're gonna do rehearsals. It's all set. Everybody's in line. You'll come down to Brazil and then we'll rehearse a few days and then we'll start the tour.' And I was, like, 'Great.' [I was] literally waking up, packing my shit. I think I was flying out literally the next day to start rehearsals. Andreas [gets in touch with me and he] is, like, 'Yo…' I was, like, 'What's going on?' He's, like, 'He's out.' I was, like, 'What do you mean? What are you talking about? Who's out?' And then he was just, like, 'Yeah, Eloy's out.' And I was just kind of like falling in a black hole, like, 'What are you talking about?' It was totally surreal. It was like literally in slow motion. I was just trying to get my breath. And he explained everything. [Eloy] wanted a meeting with everybody in the band and with the managers and everything, and I wasn't there. But he came in and it was just, like, 'I'm doing this gig. I signed a contract. And I'm out.' And I was just trying to get my head around it, because it'd been 13 years playing with this guy. And I was just really in shock. I was, like, 'Dude, what are we gonna do?' And we've been in this position where it's just, like, so crazy changes. I'm sure when Max [Cavalera] left [SEPULTURA], [Andreas] was in that position, like, 'What are we gonna do?' And then when Jean [Dolabella] left and Igor [Cavalera] left, like different people: 'What are we gonna do?' It wouldn't be the first time of total chaos… I'm on the phone with [Andreas]. He's, like, 'My son showed me a video of Greyson.' I was, like, 'Greyson, he's in SUICIDAL. Yeah. I just saw the show.' And he's, like, 'I was thinking of maybe calling him.' I was like, yeah. 'Call him up. Call him up and see what's up with him.' I was, like, 'You should call him immediately.' He's, like, 'I am. I'm gonna get his number. I'm gonna call him up, see what's up. Just to see what's up.' I was, like, 'He's playing with SUICIDAL. Maybe he has some off dates.' And we're just, like panicking because we had no clue what to do. We weren't expecting this at all."

Regarding how he got involved with SEPULTURA, Greyson, who turned 22 in June 2024, told "One Life One Chance With Toby Morse": "I'm home, and I get a text from Chloe Trujillo, Robert's [Trujillo, METALLICA bassist] wife, and she says, 'Hey, can Paulo [Xisto Pinto Jr.] from SEPULTURA have your number?' And I said, 'Absolutely.' About five hours after that, I get a DM from Andreas, and it's very nice, and it's very straightforward, and he says, 'Hey, man, I love your stuff,' yada yada. 'Can I call you? I have something I would like to talk to you about.' And I said, 'Hey, man. Absolutely. Here's my WhatsApp.' So I tell my parents. My parents are, like, 'Well, what the hell's going on?' My parents think I'm joking. So then I'm also not getting ahead of myself. 'Cause I'm, like, 'I don't know what it could be,' whatever. So this is where it gets funny. And I actually never told Derrick this… So Andreas says, 'We're gonna talk at 2 o'clock Eastern Standard Time. So I wake up, I go to the gym, I'm at the gym and Andreas texts me. He says, 'Hey, man. My meeting at noon got canceled. Can I call you at noon?' So in my head, I'm, like, 'Damn, it's almost like, like an aggressive girlfriend.' So I was, like, 'Shit.' Like, 'All right.' So I was, like, 'Sure.' So he calls me. And I'm in my room. And he just tells me, he says, 'Hey, man, I love your stuff.' He said it exactly like this. He says, 'I'm kind of in a situation.' That's the exact words he said. And I said, 'What's up?' And he says, 'Eloy quit yesterday. And we have this tour planned out for a long time and it starts very soon. And I have the dates.' And I remember sitting in my room, literally, like… It was the weirdest feeling… It was a feeling of, like, 'Oh, no,' but not a bad or not a good. It was like — you know when you're learning to drive and you're on the highway and you know you have to do this. You have to, because you've got 50 years left to live, 90 years left to live, whatever it is. But it's, like, you have to. You have no choice. But, like, 'Damn, I'm gonna really have to do this?' So I was, like, 'Okay.' And again, I still had no clue. I had no clue what he meant, though. I thought he meant maybe do like a show. Because then Andreas was, like, 'I think [Eloy is] going to SLIPKNOT,' kind of thing. He's, like, ''Cause I don't know why else [he would leave on such short notice].' I was, 'Okay.' So I go on my phone, and I remember looked up SLIPKNOT dates while I'm on the phone, and I realized they started in April. So I said, 'Okay, maybe then I'll start doing the [SEPULTURA] shows that are in April, May.' So I was kind of chilling. And he's like, 'If you're interested, let me know.' I was, like, 'Dude, I am interested.' And I said — this is so funny — I said… I think Andreas laughs every time we talk about it. He's, like, 'So you can do it?' I said, 'Yes, I'm gonna do it, but I've gotta go tell my parents.' [Laughs] And Andreas is, like, 'Okay.' [Laughs]"

After parting ways with Jay Weinberg in November 2023, SLIPKNOT teased fans with a hint about a new drummer 10 months ago, posting a photo of a single broken drumstick online with the caption "Rehearsal."

The band explained in a statement that the split with Weinberg was a creative decision. Jay followed up with a statement of his own, saying that he was "heartbroken and blindsided" by his dismissal.

Casagrande joined SEPULTURA more than 13 years ago as the replacement for Jean Dolabella.