“I was falling in a black hole. It was totally surreal.” Sepultura singer was “in shock” when Eloy Casagrande left to join Slipknot

Sepultura singer Derrick Green has expressed his shock over drummer Eloy Casagrande leaving the band before their farewell tour.

The Brazilian thrashers announced that Casagrande had abruptly left the band after 13 years of membership in February, despite their ongoing Celebrating Life Through Death shows starting the next month. Casagrande was confirmed to have joined Slipknot in April and was replaced in Sepultura by Greyson Nekrutman.

Now, talking to the One Life One Chance With Toby Morse podcast, Green has shared the panic he felt after hearing of Casagrande’s last-minute exit.

“I think I was flying out literally the next day to start rehearsals,” the vocalist remembers of the day he found out his drummer was leaving (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).

“Andreas [Kisser, Sepultura guitarist, gets in touch with me and he] is like, ‘Yo…’ I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ He’s like, ‘He’s out.’”

Green continues: “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.”

Green then remembers the meeting the band had with Casagrande to discuss the drummer’s exit. The discussions did nothing to ease his shock over the departure.

“[Eloy] 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?’”

According to Green, the band quickly contacted Nekrutman, then playing with Suicidal Tendencies, at the suggestion of Kisser. The guitarist had previously been shown videos of the drummer playing by his son. Nekrutman was replaced in Suicidal Tendencies by ex-Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg.

Sepultura’s Celebrating Life Through Death farewell tour continues with three dates in São Paulo, Brazil, from September 6 to 8. The band will start the European leg in October. See the list of dates below.

Slipknot, with Casagrande, are currently touring North America to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their self-titled debut album.

Sepultura 2024 tour dates:

Sep 6–8: São Paulo Espaço Unimed, Brazil

Oct 30: Paris Zenith, France
Oct 31: Offenbach am Main Stadthalle, Germany
Nov 01: Hamburg Edel Optics Arena, Germany
Nov 02: Cologne Palladium, Germany
Nov 03: Den Bosch The Rock Circus, Netherlands
Nov 05: Brussels Ancienne Belgique, Belgium
Nov 06: Esch-sur-Alzette Rockhal, Luxembourg
Nov 08: Manchester Academy, UK
Nov 09: Dublin Olympia Theatre, Ireland
Nov 10: Belfast Telegraph Building, UK
Nov 11: Glasgow Barrowland Ballroom, UK
Nov 12: London Hammersmith Apollo, UK
Nov 14: Zurich The Hall, Switzerland
Nov 15: Ludwigsburg MHP Arena, Germany
Nov 16: Munich Zenith, Germany
Nov 17: Budapest Barba Negra, Hungary
Nov 19: Leipzig Haus Auensee, Germany
Nov 20: Vienna Gasometer, Austria
Nov 21: Katowice Spodek, Poland
Nov 22: Berlin Columbiahalle, Germany
Nov 23: Prague O2 Universum, Czech Republic

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Prog and Metal Hammer, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Guitar and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.