Slipknot’s new drummer Eloy Casagrande has admitted his Sepultura departure was “complicated”.
The 33-year-old stickman recently replaced Jay Weinberg on the drums for the ‘Wait and Bleed’ hitmakers, after he quit fellow metal outfit Sepultura.
Eloy has told how he was keen to continue in Sepultura for their farewell tour, but he had to depart the ‘Attitude’ hitmakers are being told he couldn’t “juggle the two bands”.
He told Brazil’s Veja Sao Paulo: “I received the invitation to audition [for Slipknot] after the [Sepultura farewell] tour was announced.
“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 the age of 33.
“I had a chat with Slipknot, asked about their schedule and if it would be possible to juggle the two bands, but they said no, it wouldn’t be possible, I’d be exclusive.
“So 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 5th or 6th. That very day I called a meeting and explained the situation. That was it, an individual decision.”
Eloy admitted Slipknot wanted to “test [him] in every way” before they hired him.
He added: “They asked me to record and send them some videos from right here in Brazil.
“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 and 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.
“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.”
In March, Jay – who is the son of Bruce Springsteen’s drummer Max Weinberg – joined Suicidal Tendencies after he was axed from Slipknot last year.
The musician previously told how he was left “heartbroken and blindsided” when he was let go from the band, after almost a decade behind the drums.