Slipknot guitarist Jim Root has revealed he is actively writing new material and has urged the band’s management to stop booking tours so they can focus on their next studio album. In a new, wide-ranging interview on the Turning Wrenches podcast, Root stated he wants the next record to capture the “raw energy” of the band’s early work and feels it’s time to get new drummer Eloy Casagrande into a creative setting.
After a period of heavy touring designed to integrate Casagrande into the lineup, Root says the focus must now shift. “I kind of put my foot down and was, like, ‘We need to stop, man. We just need to stop,'” he declared. “‘Cause I wanna write a record, and we owe it to Eloy to write a record. We need to get Eloy in a room and start jamming and getting creative.”
Contrary to previous reports that he suggested a new album wasn’t coming soon, Root clarified those comments were from a time when he was “very tour weary” and are no longer the case. He confirmed he is already making significant progress.
“I’ve got, like, six new arrangements that I think are worthy of giving to the rest of the guys,” he said, adding he’d like to have 20 to 25 ideas ready before the band enters pre-production.
For the follow-up to 2022’s The End, So Far, Root hopes to revisit the stripped-down approach of the band’s first albums. “I want to make a raw album,” he stated. “I would like to revisit the raw energy of how those first two records were recorded and even into the Vol. 3 record… There’s just something really stripped down and punk rock about it and I think we’ve been missing that on our past few records and I think it’s time to get back to that in some ways.”
While a full album may take time, Root also expressed a desire to release new music sooner to bridge the gap for fans. “I would really like to release something before we start working on a record,” he said. This has fueled further speculation about the still-unreleased song “Long May You Die,” which the band teased last year, as well as percussionist Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan’s long-delayed side project, Look Outside Your Window.
For now, Root confirms the priority is halting the touring cycle to harness the band’s new creative energy. “No tours coming up. It’s probably gonna be a while before we do another U.S. run or a European run,” he confirmed.
