Eloy Casagrande has shared his first statement since being named as Slipknot’s new drummer.
The Brazilian musician, who played with Sepultura from 2011 until his abrupt exit in February, took to Instagram yesterday (May 1) to express his gratitude at the opportunity to play with The Nine.
“It’s an exciting moment. Unthinkable until then,” Casagrande wrote.
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“There is nothing to lose, there is nothing to win.
“There is just living. We’re here as one.
“Thank you Slipknot for trusting me. Thanks all the maggots and fans around the world.
“See you on the road. Here comes more pain.”
A host of heavy metal stars have replied to the statement via Instagram.
Mario Duplantier, drummer of death metal quartet Gojira, offered a glowing review of Casagrande as a performer and as a person, writing: “Groove, precision, power, musicality, finesse and humility. You are one of a kind! 🙏”
Other drummers to express their congratulations included Brad Wilk of Rage Against The Machine, who sent Casagrande a string of clapping emoji, and Megadeth member Dirk Verbeuren, who said: “Huge congrats to you Eloy. If anyone deserves it, it's you! 💪”
Jay Postones of Tesseract wrote, “🙌 100% deserved. Groove & power like no other - so stoked for you 🤘🏻”
Ray Luzier of Korn added: “Huge congratulations man!! Mad respect for you brother 💥❤️”
Bran Dailor of Mastodon told Casagrande, “Crush it like only you can! 💙💙💙”, while Adrian Erlandsson of At The Gates simply sent a series of fire emojis.
Notable non-drummers to react to Casagrande’s statement include Slayer guitarist Gary Holt, who responded with a string of supportive emojis: “🤘🏻❗️🤘🏻”
Misha Mansoor, guitarist and founder of progressive metal favourites Periphery, contributed: “Slipknot is so fucking lucky to have you.
“What an amazing gig, and I’m so excited to see the energy you will bring to the songs! Congrats!!”
Trivium leader Matt Heafy simply reacted with, “Parabéns!!!”, which is Portuguese for “congratulations”.
Nita Strauss, former guitarist for Alice Cooper and current solo star, wrote: “Congratulations! Very very well deserved!! 👏👏👏👏👏”
One of Casagrande’s new bandmates, Slipknot bassist Alessandro “V-Man” Venturella, welcomed the drummer onboard with a gif of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers’ characters shaking hands in the 1987 film Predator.
Fans speculated that Casagrande had become Slipknot’s new drummer from the moment he quit Sepultura.
Slipknot had dismissed Casagrande’s predecessor, Jay Weinberg, in November in what they called a creative decision in a now-deleted statement.
Weinberg said that he was “heartbroken and blindsided” by the dismissal.
Slipknot played their first gig with Casagrande at a 300-capacity club in Pioneertown, California, on April 25.
Casagrande was confirmed as Slipknot’s drummer on April 30, when the band tagged him in a photo showing off their new masks and jumpsuits.
The Iowan nine-piece will tour prolifically in 2024, having announced North and South American and European dates to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their self-titled debut album.
The full list of concerts Slipknot will play this year is listed below.
Slipknot 2024 tour dates:
May 12: Daytona Beach Welcome To Rockville, FL
May 19: Columbus Sonic Temple Festival, OH
Aug 06: Noblesville, Ruoff Music Center, IN
Aug 07: Burgettstown The Pavilion at Star Lake, PA
Aug 09: Baltimore CFG Bank Arena, MD
Aug 10: Camden Freedom Mortgage Pavilion, NJ
Aug 12: New York Madison Square Garden, NY
Aug 14: Gilford BankNH Pavilion, NH
Aug 15: Mansfield Xfinity Center, MA
Aug 17: Toronto Scotiabank Arena, ON, Canada
Sep 01: Pryor Rocklahoma, OK
Sep 07: Auburn White River Amphitheatre, WA
Sep 08: Ridgefield RV Inn Styles Resorts Amphitheater, WA
Sep 09: Louisville Louder Than Life, KY
Sep 11: Nampa Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater, ID
Sep 13: Inglewood Intuit Dome, CA
Sep 15: Phoenix Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, AZ
Sep 17: Austin Moody Center, TX
Sep 18: Dallas Dos Equis Pavilion, TX
Sep 21: Des Moines Water Works Park, IA
Oct 11: Sacramento Aftershock Festival, CA
Oct 19: São Paulo Knotfest Brasil, Brazil
Nov 08: Guadalajara Calle 2, Mexico
Nov 09: Mexico City Parque Bicentenario, Mexico
Dec 05: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands
Dec 06: Dortmund Westfalenhalle, Germany
Dec 08: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
Dec 09: Leipzig Quarterback Immobilien Arena, Germany
Dec 11: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Dec 12: Paris Accorhotel Arena, France
Dec 14: Leeds First Direct Arena, UK
Dec 15: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Dec 17: Manchester Co-op Live Arena, UK
Dec 18: Birmingham Utilita Arena, UK
Dec 20: London O2 Arena, UK
