JIM ROOT: SLIPKNOT Is ‘Really Lucky To Have’ Drummer ELOY CASAGRANDE

In a recent interview on Tone-Talk, SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root looked back on the first two performances the band had with their new drummer, former SEPULTURA member Eloy Casagrande.

These shows occurred on April 25 at Pappy + Harriet‘s in Pioneertown, California, and on April 27 at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“We just did two new shows to sort of introduce our new drummer to the world,” Root said. “We did a secret show at Pappy + Harriet’s in Pioneertown in the desert, kind of over by Indio, Palm Springs area. And man, that was awesome. I love the desert, and that whole vibe is just cool. And the people there were just so nice, so cool, so accepting. And they had to have a city council meeting for us to do the show there, ’cause they were kind of, like. ‘Oooh, SLIPKNOT. This is a small kind of chill, hippie community. Do we want this chaos happening here?’ type of thing. But it all turned out really cool and everybody was really accepting and everybody was really respectful.

“And we raised a bunch of money to donate for no-kill shelters and [generated] a bunch of money to pump back into the economy there in Pioneertown. And stuff like that to me is epic. That’s way better than… I don’t know. Some of the s**t that you can end up doing in this industry for, let’s just say, not the greatest causes, but when you can do stuff like that, it just hits harder. And it was something special. And it gave us a chance to do something that we hadn’t done in years, if not decades — play for 300 people. That was much fun. I can’t even describe it. So we did that to kind of, like, ‘Boom, here he is. Yes, you were all right. It’s Eloy Casagrande. He’s our new dude.’ And then — what? — two days later, we did a Sick New World in Vegas. So, we got those under the belt and out of the way, and now it’s time to move forward and onward and upward and do a lot more jamming and rehearsing. I need to get myself into writing mode so that we can write music worthy of Eloy‘s drumming, ’cause that dude is a world-class drummer.”

When asked about whether SLIPKNOT has begun the process of crafting new music and if Casagrande is contributing to the creative process, Jim responded: “We haven’t really started doing that yet. We will be doing that real soon. Eloy has sent me some drum loops. He e-mailed me some… Eloy does a lot of drum videos on his own and play-alongs in his home studio and stuff like that. So he sent me five or six minute — from a minute long to one that’s a couple minutes long of just him playing drums. And I downloaded those on to my computer and I converted them into files that I could import into Pro Tools. And I spent some time kind of trying to write some riffs to them. And it was a little bit difficult because he basically sent me two-minute-long drum solos. And I’m not really good at finding a bit, chopping it out and then looping it to make that, like, ‘Okay, this sounds like it could be like an intro riff on the drums. And this sounds like it could be like a verse riff on the drums.’ ‘Cause the particular ones that he sent me, it’s, like, a lot of real stunt drumming and really busy stuff. And I wrote riffs to most all of it. And there’s one in particular that I’m thinking about that if it does turn into a song, it’s gonna be an awfully chaotic song, which could be really cool. So, yes and no, he’s contributing, but we haven’t really gotten there yet. We’re trying to get these shows under our belt first and then it’s time to put our nose to the grindstone and start the creative writing process.”

Further along in the conversation, Root discussed in broader terms the circumstances surrounding Casagrande‘s addition to SLIPKNOT and the influence he has had on the band’s overall sonic landscape.

“We didn’t even try anybody else,” Jim said. “Eloy‘s name came up. He contacted us, actually, about wanting to be a part of it and started sending a bunch of videos in. I think him and our bass player [Alessandro ‘Vman’ Venturella] might’ve had a little bit of a relationship before. I think they knew each other. They had mutual friends. And Vman‘s really in tune with a lot of really great, proggy, heavy musicians that are passionate about their instruments. And it just seemed like a no-brainer. And he’s really respectful of the legacy of [SLIPKNOT‘s original drummer, the late] Joey [Jordison], and Joey was a huge influence on him. And he’s so humble. The dude has so much humility. And you could tell he just lives and breathes his craft, to the point where I see his passion and it ignites my passion for my instrument.

“And Brazilians, South Americans in general, are so passionate about what they do. Our manager told me, he was out to dinner with four or five promoters from South America, and they were all really stoked. They’re all, like, ‘It’s so good you’ve got a Brazilian drummer in SLIPKNOT now. We kind of feel like we’ve won the World Cup.’ It’s a cool feeling. And God, he just fits in so well. I don’t know, man. I mean, there’s a lot of things I can say about it. I’m just glad it happened when it did. And we’re lucky to have him — we are really lucky to have that dude.”

In a recent interview with Brazil’s Veja São Paulo, Casagrande revealed that the opportunity to audition for SLIPKNOT arose last December through the band’s manager, shortly after SEPULTURA had announced their 40th-anniversary farewell tour.

“They asked me to record and send them some videos from right here in Brazil,” he said. “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. 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.”

When asked about the moment he received official confirmation as the new drummer for SLIPKNOT, Eloy said: “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. I think it was on February 5th [or February] 6th that I received confirmation that I had passed the test.”

Concerning the audition process itself, Eloy commented: “At first, they didn’t explain what we were going to do. It was all kind of in the dark. The first thing they sent was a NDA [non-disclosure agreement] document, so I couldn’t discuss it with anyone. I learned the setlist, prepared myself and, four days before the trip, they sent me a list of 32 songs that it would be important for me to know. Many of the songs I was learning weren’t on that list, so I started looking for sheet music. When I got there (in the United States), they gave me a setlist on the first day, which had some songs I didn’t know either, but we went out playing.

“On the first day, I was very nervous, because the band was complete, and it’s quite an impact to see the guys there in front of you. It’s a band I’ve been listening to since I was a teenager and followed on TV. On the first day I was terrible, I didn’t like my performance, but from the second day on I improved. Each day they played a different setlist in the morning, so I had a few hours to learn a song or two that was missing. Overall, it was very smooth. I had everyone’s support.”

When discussing his choice to depart from SEPULTURA, Eloy remarked: “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.”

Casagrande joined SLIPKNOT in February, stepping into the role previously held by Jay Weinberg, who was unexpectedly dismissed in November 2023. His abrupt departure from SEPULTURA in February, just before the band’s 40th anniversary farewell tour rehearsals, hinted at his transition to SLIPKNOT.