For the last few months, members of Slipknot have been doing a bit of work here and there in preparation for their new album. Lead guitarist Jim Root even sat out Stone Sour‘s January-February U.S. Tour to write music for the record. Today, in an interview with Kerrang! Magazine, front man Corey Taylor confirmed that Slipknot will officially begin “major work” on a new album in March, suggesting that the band has gone into pre-production. The band has compiled 17 demos to choose from for the upcoming album. “I’ve written lyrics for everything that we have right now and it’s feeling pretty good,” Taylor told Kerrang!. “It feels like the story of the band so far, which is a totally different take on what I’ve been used to writing with Slipknot, but I think because of everything we’ve been through, it’s time to tell that story. It’s going to be everything you want in a Slipknot album, and everything you wouldn’t expect.”
As far as the sound and feel of the record, Taylor added, “I can say that, to me — and this
is only my opinion — it’s a cross between ‘Iowa’ and ‘Volume 3,’ but that’s honestly just scratching the surface. I think fans are going to be very, very excited when they hear this stuff.” While their may be familiar sounds of Slipknot’s past on this new outing, two things will be very different this time around. Since the release of their last album, All Hope Is Gone, in 2008, the band experienced the death of bassist Paul Gray in 2010. Just over two months ago, the band and drummer Joey Jordison officially parted ways. There’s no word yet on how the band will address these issues for the recording process. In 2012, former guitarist Donnie Steele handled bass duties on the band’s festival dates, but played off-stage.
Throughout their career, Slipknot have been nominated for 7 Grammy Awards and released for studio albums, all of which have been certified platinum. Their last effort, 2008’s All Hope Is Gone, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and sold over 240,000 copies in it’s first week of sales. The band has headlined some of the world’s biggest festivals, and in 2006, they won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for the song, “Before I Forget”. In 2012, Slipknot released Antennas To Hell, their first greatest hits compilation. – by Matt Bishop