Slipknot have tracked live with drummer Eloy Casagrande for their next album. In September 28 Instagram comments reported by Loudwire, Jim Root described an experimental approach rather than a recreation of Iowa or the band's debut.
Root wants fewer guitar layers, centered on his playing and Mick Thomson's, with selective additional parts. After testing 16 amplifiers, he and producer Matt Wallace chose the one that felt most exciting rather than conventionally best. “Everything is analog and played,” Root wrote. He compared the atmosphere to earlier sessions without promising the same sound.
Playing together has shaped the material from its beginnings. During his July appearance on the Ride Bynd podcast, Root described long jams involving himself, Casagrande and percussionist Michael Pfaff, with Shawn “Clown” Crahan arranging the results and sometimes joining in. A session lasting roughly 90 minutes to two hours could produce several song ideas. The band would then work on those arrangements, developing what had emerged from the players responding to one another.
Casagrande's contribution extended beyond speed or technical ability. Root discussed how the drummer could change his approach when another musician was suggested, citing Stewart Copeland as one example, and how their conversations introduced him to drummers he had not known. He also described writing that ranged from fast riffs to slower, heavier passages and clean interludes. Wallace was already working with the band during that process, before the latest update about tracking.
Listeners have heard one result of their work together through “Arsenal,” released September 9 with an official video directed by Crahan. The single was produced by Slipknot and Wallace, but Root subsequently explained that it would stay outside the album. It was a song they could finish sooner, he said, and did not represent the remaining material. The video accompanies that separate release.
Root's latest studio post showed the amplifiers he is using and said he expects to spend the rest of 2026 working there. His update did not announce an album title or release date.
