Slipknot’s Jim Root Wants The Next Album To Sound “Raw” Again

Slipknot’s Jim Root says he want to bring back the raw, punk energy of the band’s early albums on their next record, with six arrangement ideas already in the works.

Guitarist Jim Root has six new Slipknot song ideas ready to go – and he’s hoping they’ll pull the band back toward the chaotic energy of their early days.

Appearing on the Turning Wrenches podcast and transcribed by Blabbermouth, Root shared insight into the band’s approach to album number eight (spoiler: they want to take their time), while also teasing a return to a sound that longtime fans will instantly recognise. “I would like to revisit the raw energy of how those first two records were recorded and even into the Vol. 3 record,” he said. “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.”

Those first two records are Slipknot’s 1999 self-titled and 2001’s Iowa, two iconic albums that solidified Slipknot in the scene and set the stage for their early chaotic, aggressive sound.

The Slipknot guitarist also revealed that he’s sitting on six complete arrangements, none of which have yet been shown to the rest of the band. “They’re about ready to go to Clown and Corey and then filter out into the rest of the band,” he explained.

He’s keen to release one or more songs as standalone singles or an EP before a full-length takes shape. “I would like to do one, two, maybe even three in the meantime. As long as that affords me the time to keep writing and still have 25 separate from those three that we could work on.”

Root described how songs can surprise him – referencing The Devil in I, which he originally wrote off as a throwaway. “I thought it was really repetitive and I hated it… and then all of a sudden that’s one that we always throw in live sets.”

As for a 25th anniversary reissue of Slipknot’s 1999 self-titled debut, Root didn’t confirm a date but said he’s heard some rumblings of remasters: “I don’t have any news of when it’s happening, but it is happening.”

For now, it looks like Slipknot fans can expect something stripped back, heavier, and maybe even a little unpredictable – just the way Root wants it.