Eloy Casagrande finishes drum recording for first Slipknot album
The drummer described a jam-driven writing process and said he favored full performances over punch-ins for the upcoming record.
Eloy Casagrande has completed recording his drum parts for his debut album as a member of Slipknot. In a podcast interview, he described sessions built around group improvisation and an approach intended to preserve the imperfections of live playing.
Casagrande said the writing began with him exchanging musical ideas with Jim Root before the two joined Clown for studio jams. They recorded their playing and reviewed it for passages they wanted to develop. That process continued for around two months, with Mick Thomson, V-Man and Michael Pfaff subsequently participating.
Producer Matt Wallace also took part, Casagrande said, helping Clown select material for songs. The drummer said he avoided punch-ins, recording repeated performances and selecting his preferred takes. Some songs combined portions of different takes, while most of his drum performances used a single take.
The band's stand-alone track “Arsenal” developed differently. Casagrande said Corey Taylor supplied the song and Root wrote its riffs. He initially kept his drumming close to Taylor's version, but later reworked it with encouragement from Clown during sessions involving Wallace.
Casagrande said he recorded “Arsenal” in one complete take after an afternoon of band rehearsals, without having settled his exact drum part beforehand. The former Sepultura drummer joined Slipknot in 2024 after the band's split with Jay Weinberg.
