Back in November, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor said that the band were “thinking about kind of putting out another album maybe” in 2021. Now, this kinda-sorta-almost announcement has turned out to be true, as percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan now says that Slipknot are in the studio, making what he calls “God music.”
In an interview with Download festival presenter Kylie Olsson as reported by Metal Hammer, Clown says that ‘great music has been written’ for what will be the band’s seventh studio album.
“I’m not gonna talk about how many songs [have been completed], because, honestly, I can’t,” says Clown. “But I can just tell you that I’m really happy, and the guys are really happy. Taylor is on some level of singing that I’ve never heard him, which makes me really emotional. Great music has been written, and because of that, my favorite singer on the planet has sang the songs.
“So, we’re in L.A,” continues Clown. “That’s about all I can say. And we’re making God music, and we’re having a blast. And it’s just great to be around everybody, and everybody is in the best mood I’ve ever seen. It’s a lot of fun being around the band; it’s a lot of fun not being stressed or having anxiety, and just doing what we do, because we’ve done it for 20 years. And people are finally, like, ‘Just do what you wanna do.’ And that’s unusual for us, because it’s usually me going, ‘No. This is what we’re gonna do, whether you like it or not.’ So now, it’s just, like, ‘Do what you want.’ And, man, what a pleasant thing to receive after all these years. It’s a beautiful thing.”
“We have nothing to prove to anyone; we only have to prove it to ourselves. And I’ve always believed that our fans, our culture, loves us because they can trust us. They might not like what we decide, but they’re, like, ‘At least you decided it, and we’re gonna back it, because you thought about it.’ So, is the music different? The music’s always different. I wanna make different paintings. I don’t wanna create the same painting. Familiarity is good, but recreating the same thing is not, in our opinion. So, what I can tell you is this for this album: I believe this album is the final album to exercise the right of what we’re searching for. I think we’re mastering it on this one.”
Meanwhile, if you can’t wait for Slipknot to finish their new record, catch them live at one of their upcoming European dates:
July 16 – Moscow Park Live Festival, Russia
July 18 – Kiev Upark Festival, Ukraine
July 21 – Bucharest Romexpo, Romania
July 22 – Plovdiv Hills Of Rock, Bulgaria
Jul y24 – Athens Release Festival, Greece
July 28 – Graz Stadthalle, Austria
July 29 – Prague O2 Arena, Czech Republic
July 31 – Wacken Open Air, Germany
August 01 – Malmö Rock Slap Festival, Sweden
August 07 – Port Of Turku, Finland
August 13 – Gdansk Ergo Arena, Poland
August 15 – Geneva Arena, Switzerland
August 19 – Charleville-Mézières Cabaret Vert Festival, France
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Words by Chris Krovatin
