Slipknot guitarist Jim Root has offered a juicy update on the band’s upcoming album via social media, warning fans that it’s going to “hurt some feelings”.
The 54-year-old, who joined the masked nu metal megastars as they were recording their breakthrough 1999 self-titled debut album, posted a video of his guitar pedalboard to social media on Monday (September 28). “We’re about to get real busy,” he teased.
Replying to comments on the post, Root spilled more details, saying, “[One] very important thing for us at this time is to not ‘repeat’ ourselves. It’s gonna hurt some feelings. We’re really experimenting with different approaches.”
He urges people not to expect another Slipknot or Iowa, their chart-topping 2001 second album, explaining that “we’ve been there”.
“The vibe feels honest and true to me,” he continues. “It’s uneasy and reminds me of recording in the earlier days. I’m not saying that means it will translate to the type of music we’re creating or the sound/production of it. The early records had the vibe. You can’t miss that with Ross [Robison, Slipknot and Iowa producer].”
Root adds that some of Slipknot’s more recent material has been “over-produced” – something he intends not to repeat on their next release: “Not necessarily the ‘best’ sounding one. The most exciting sounding… liveliest etc. We did track on the floor live with Eloy [Casagrande, drums]. We hadn’t done that in a long time for various reasons. Everything is analogue and played. All the pieces that need to be there are there.”
The guitarist also replies to a fan who offers a pretty harsh critique of Slipknot’s last album, 2022’s The End, So Far. “Please don’t make another The End, So Far,” the fan writes. “We need this to be heavy and not Stone Sour,” referring to Root and singer Corey Taylor’s former melodic rock project. Root simply responds, “Agreed.”
Root has been critical of The End, So Far in the past. Talking to MusicRadar days before the album’s release, he lamented the fact that the band didn’t do pre-production, and said that more preparation would have resulted in “a better product”.
“Directors will say constantly that they never finish a movie, they just abandon them!” he added. “I feel like, more than anything with this record, we had to abandon it and move on from it.”
Slipknot are recording their new album, their eighth overall, with former Faith No More producer Matt Wallace. It will be their first via their own label, (sic)est Records. They released the single Arsenal earlier this month, but Root revealed shortly afterwards that the track will not appear on the new album.
On Monday, Slipknot announced extensive touring for 2027, kicking off with a show at Wembley Stadium on July 3, their only European date all year. The announcement of Marilyn Manson as main support for the Wembley and South American dates proved controversial, as Manson has faced multiple misconduct allegations in recent years. A lawsuit by his former assistant Ashley Walters accusing him of verbal, physical and psychological abuse has been granted a trial date in November. Manson denies any wrongdoing.
