In a backstage conversation with Guitar Interactive's Jonathan Graham, Slipknot guitarist Jim Root pulled back the curtain on where things currently stand with new music and why the band is in no rush to return to the studio.
"Not diligently," Root admitted, when asked if the band has been working on material to follow up their 2022 album The End, So Far. "Honestly, we've been touring so much since Eloy Casagrande joined the band that my inspiration is nearly zero."
Casagrande, the former Sepultura drummer, joined Slipknot in early 2024, bringing a new dynamic to the group. But even with fresh blood in the lineup, Root confessed that the grind of touring has taken a toll on his creativity.
"And there's a bunch of music that was written during COVID that I'm not interested in," he continued. "And I think everybody else in the band gets it too, and I think they're kind of, like, 'Okay, we need to just kind of, like, maybe sweep all that shit under a rug and start fresh.'"
It's a surprisingly candid admission, but Root's honesty is mostly about needing space to move forward: "I wanna get touring behind us. I wanna have at least a month off just to shut my brain off and sleep and all that kind of stuff," he said. "And then when I find myself going out to my little home studio and putting riffs together, then I'll know it's time to start."
In a recent interview with Alternative Press, percussionist Clown said that the plans to record new material are uncertain. "Somewhere between 2025 and mid-2026, there's gonna be writing. I think it's gonna be sooner than later. Maybe we'll be in the studio in the later part of 2025. There are no expectations. No one's in a rush, but we're not going to blow it off, either."
For Slipknot, whose identity has long been rooted in chaos, catharsis, and constant evolution, the next chapter is still unwritten. And for now, a pause might be exactly what they need.
Speaking of Slipknot and touring, check out the band's upcoming tour dates below.
6/4 Sölvesborg, Sweden Sweden Rock
6/6 Nuremberg, Germany Rock im Park
6/7 Nürburg, Germany Rock am Ring
6/8 Nancy, France Heavy Weekend
6/10 Hannover, Germany Expo Plaza
6/12 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic Rock for People
6/13 Nickelsdorf, Austria Novarock
6/14 Interlaken, Switzerland Greenfield
6/17 Ferrara, Italy Ferrara Summer Festival
6/19 Frankfurt, Germany Festhalle Messe Frankfurt
6/20 Dessel, Belgium Graspop Metal Meeting
6/21 Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhell
6/23 Berlin, Germany Waldbühne
6/25 Lyon, France LDLC Arena
6/26 Barcelona, Spain Rock Fest Barcelona
6/28 Viveiro, Spain Resurrectionfest
6/29 Lisbon, Portugal Evil Live Festival
7/19 Mansfield, OH, USA Inkcarceration Festival
