Casagrande left Sepultura to join Slipknot, and has opened up about his reasons for leaving. Casagrande gave an interview to Brazil's Veja Sao Paulo which was translated from his native Portuguese. He had to leave Sepultura after being told he would have to be exclusive to Slipknot. Initially there were three songs, then they asked me for three more and I was scheduled to perform there in January with my instrumental music project, Casagrande & Hanysz. He said that they asked him to stay another five days so they could record some things. I think that was a part of the auditioning.
It took Slipknot until February to make a decision on whether or not Casagrande made the cut.
He said that Slipknot needed everyone's approval before they gave him the okay. Casagrande explained that the announcement of Sepultura splitting up was a big draw for him when auditioning for Slipknot. He left Sepultura because he didn't want to stop playing drums at the age of 33. I told when I closed the deal on February 5 or 6. He said that four days before the trip, they sent him a list of 32 songs that were important to him. I started looking for sheet music because some of the songs I was learning weren't on that list.
He said that when he arrived in the U.S., they gave him a setlist with some songs he didn't know. On the first day, I was very nervous because the band was complete, and it was quite an impact to see the guys in front of you. I had a few hours to learn a song or two that were missing, but it was smooth.
Casagrande joined the band at a surprise show at the Pappy +Harriet's barbecue bar in California on April 25. The band played an intimate gig at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas. I am ready to do a 500-person venue again.
Slipknot will have a world they know needs to be, according to the band's vocalist. Normally, we would have about two years on and one-and-a-half years off.
The band has recently announced their 25th anniversary US tour with Knocked Loose and more.