Slipknot drummer Eloy Casagrande has said the band is prioritizing artistic integrity over commercial success while recording their new album, in comments shared via Radiónica.
Casagrande discussed the band’s approach to writing and recording. He explained that the band is creating many songs but cannot yet discuss them in detail. He said the members are in good spirits about the work they have done so far.
“Right now, we are recording the new album. We are doing the new record… We are doing a lot of songs — many, many songs. So I cannot talk a lot about them very much. I cannot explain for you what we exactly we are doing in the studio right now.”
“But what I can say is that the band is really happy with the music that we created so far, we did so far,” he continued. “Everyone’s in a very good vibe. And we are being very honest to our fans. We are doing what we wanna do. We are doing what feels right for us to do at the moment, and we are being very honest to all the fans. That’s it. We are making real music.”
“We are not thinking about business,” Casagrande added. “We are not thinking about if the people are gonna like it or not. We are doing what we believe is right to do… It’s a very chill, very good process, very natural process, easygoing. So we are enjoying to play music, and that’s the most important.”
He explained further how the band approaches their work in the studio. “We believe in music,” he said. “And now that I’m here, having my first experience doing a record with the band, I’m also really glad to see, to be able to experience that situation, that we are in the studio making real music. We are not thinking about business. We are not thinking about selling our music. We are just thinking about art in the most pure way, the most honest way of respecting what we wanna do right now and being honest, being truthful, being transparent with our fans. So we are doing real music, and that’s it.”
“Nowadays you see a lot of artists thinking about the future, if they’re gonna sell well or not, if they’re gonna be able to play in huge arenas or not, and no — that’s the opposite that we’re doing here,” he continued. “We are focusing on doing something that we like, that we feel proud of what we are doing.”
Casagrande reflected on his own experience joining the band. “Before I joined the band, of course, that was something that I had in mind,” he said. “I was concerned if I would be able to be myself, to play the way I like to play, to be able to do real things, real music. And to be here inside and see everybody enjoying what they are doing and see that we are being very honest with the art, with our instruments, with the music, that makes everything special.”
“That’s the biggest goal in any musician’s life, to be able to just play your instrument the way you wanna play, to be true to your fans,” he added. “We are in a very good moment. That’s what I can tell you. The feeling inside the band, inside all the members, it’s really good. So we’re just having fun to play music.”
Casagrande made these comments while discussing Slipknot’s current recording sessions for their new album.
Casagrande joined Slipknot in February 2024, replacing Jay Weinberg following Weinberg’s dismissal in November 2023. He had spent 13 years as the drummer for Sepultura before leaving that band to join Slipknot. His first show with his new band came on April 25, 2024, at Pappy & Harriet’s Palace in California, USA. Later that year, he was voted Best Metal Drummer in Modern Drummer magazine’s 2024 Readers’ Poll.
The band is recording their new album with producer Matt Wallace, who has previously worked with Faith No More and Maroon 5. The project involves numerous song arrangements being developed during the sessions. The band tracked live on the floor with Casagrande on drums, an approach they had not used in a long time. Slipknot’s most recent album before these sessions was The End, So Far, released on September 30, 2022, through Roadrunner Records.
In 2024, the band released “Arsenal,” a single with a music video directed by Corey Taylor. This was their first new music following the departures of longtime members Sid Wilson and Craig Jones. However, “Arsenal” will not appear on the upcoming album, as guitarist Jim Root explained the track was finished earlier to release something quickly to fans.
The upcoming album represents Slipknot’s first release on the band’s own (sic)est Records label, marking the end of their two-and-a-half-decade record deal with Roadrunner. The new work will show the band exploring different creative directions while maintaining their commitment to artistic honesty.
