Yesterday, the metal world took notice when the drummer for Sepultura, Eloy Casagrande surprisingly left the band on the door step of the Celebrating Life Through Death Farewell Tour. The band announced it on their website yesterday, naming new drummer Greyson Nekrutman.
That in itself is pretty surprising, but the timing got the internet teeming with anticipation. It is unlikely that Casagrande left the band this close to a farewell tour unless something else is afoot. Couple that with the fact that Slipknot ended their relationship with drummer Jay Weinberg on November 5th, and that they, too, are about to perform at a live show in April and are in need of a drummer- people started speculating that the move is not simply coincidental.
It totally makes sense putting those pieces together.
- Leaving the band to pursue another project this close to a tour is strange.
- He seemingly fits with Slipknot stylistically and technically.
- Slipknot is two months from a number of shows and will need time to build rapport with the new drummer prior to playing live. (That seemed to be a problem with Weinberg)
- His time with Sepultura is limited as this is the farewell tour. Slipknot plans to continue on, experimenting with various styles of music.
As a fan of Slipknot, I hope he is the fit the band needs. I, for one, and I believe I am in the minority here, am excited for a chapter of Slipknot that is experimental and opens new doors. I don’t need another Iowa. I already have that. I, like the band, have grown and changed. Bring on the new! Anything else would be fake and disingenuous. It has been reported that Casagrande has done some demos with the band and has a bond, but that is pure speculation at this point.
I also don’t buy into the notion that Corey and Clown make all the decisions and just go all willy-nilly firing band members. That is a slap in the face to Mick, Sid and Jim that they are so weak that they just accept being ruled by the pair. I believe it goes deeper. I believe that there have been issues with substance abuse. I believe that there were issues with the chemistry in playing style and technique. I believe that there is a vision in place that not everyone was in favor of. Clown mentioned as much in response to the firing of Weinberg, “We’ve moved away from things that don’t belong and we are continuously moving away from what is in the way. There are no hard feelings. There’s no anger or hate. Nobody’s wrong. No one’s mad, it’s just that we’re very aware of us. If you’re a Slipknot fan, then you know what that means. The future is very very exciting. I’m excited, because no one really knows what we’re capable of – as usual.” credit: Web is Jericho. Hopefully, Slipknot has done the homework and found the rhythm section leader to take them into a new direction following their leave from Road Runner.
The fun part of this is that we won’t actually know if he has joined the band because they won’t tell us. He will join and wear a mask. The speculation will begin- Tortilla Man 2.0??? or is that already taken by the new Craig? Time will tell.