Slipknot have officially entered the tracking stage for their next studio album, marking another major step towards record number eight — and the first full-length to feature powerhouse drummer Eloy Casagrande behind the kit.
Something wicked is brewing in the Slipknot camp.
After months of talk surrounding new material, the masked metal giants have begun tracking their next studio album, meaning ideas are finally moving beyond rehearsals and writing sessions and onto actual recordings.
And this one could represent a genuinely fascinating new chapter.
For the first time on a Slipknot studio album, former Sepultura drummer Eloy Casagrande will be behind the kit.
Anyone who has watched the bloke play since joining Slipknot already knows what that potentially means.
Absolute violence.
🥁 Eloy Casagrande Finally Hits The Studio With Slipknot
Casagrande officially joined Slipknot in 2024, replacing former drummer Jay Weinberg and stepping into one of the most demanding drumming positions in modern metal.
Not exactly an easy first day at work.
Slipknot songs require precision, speed, groove, stamina and the ability to sound like you’re attempting to demolish a building using nothing but a drum kit.
Luckily, Eloy appears uniquely qualified.
His performances with Slipknot have been utterly ferocious, bringing enormous power to classics including People = Shit, Psychosocial, Duality, Disasterpiece and Surfacing.
Now comes the exciting bit.
Rather than interpreting someone else’s Slipknot drum parts, Casagrande gets to help shape brand-new material from the ground up.
That could make a massive difference.
🎸 Album Number Eight Starts Taking Shape
The upcoming record will follow Slipknot’s 2022 album The End, So Far.
That record included tracks such as The Dying Song (Time To Sing), Yen and The Chapeltown Rag, while continuing the band’s habit of pushing their sound beyond straightforward metal brutality.
But Slipknot entering a new recording cycle always raises the same delicious question:
What version of Slipknot are we getting this time?
The furious chaos of Iowa?
The twisted experimentation of Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)?
The huge arena-metal attack of All Hope Is Gone?
Or something completely different?
With Eloy involved creatively, there’s every chance the next record could introduce another shift in the Slipknot sound.
And frankly, we’re dying to hear what happens when those riffs collide with that ridiculous drummer.
🤘 Jim Root Back In Studio Mode
Guitarist Jim Root has become one of Slipknot’s most important creative forces over the years.
His songwriting and guitar work alongside Mick Thomson have provided the backbone for some of the band’s nastiest material.
And Slipknot riffs don’t exactly arrive politely.
They crawl out of the speakers like they’ve got warrants out for their arrest.
Root’s studio activity surrounding the new record suggests the band have progressed well beyond simply throwing ideas around backstage.
Tracking means instruments are going down.
Parts are being shaped.
Songs are starting to become real.
We’re officially past the “we’ve been talking about making an album” stage.
Lovely stuff.
🔥 What Will Eloy Bring To Slipknot’s Sound?
This is where things get really interesting.
Eloy Casagrande is not a drummer who simply keeps time.
The man attacks drums like they owe him money.
His playing combines incredible technical control with monstrous physical power, and his background with Sepultura gives him decades of experience working with groove, thrash, extreme metal and rhythmically complex music.
Slipknot have always been heavily dependent on percussion.
From Joey Jordison’s frantic early performances to Jay Weinberg’s muscular approach, drums have remained crucial to the band’s identity.
But Eloy has his own personality.
Allowing that personality into the songwriting process could create something genuinely nasty.
In the best possible way.
🎤 Corey Taylor Has Plenty Of Room To Go Dark
Then you’ve got Corey Taylor.
One of Slipknot’s greatest strengths has always been the sheer range available to them because of Taylor’s voice.
He can scream like the apocalypse has personally inconvenienced him.
Then five minutes later he’ll deliver a massive melodic chorus.
That contrast helped turn tracks such as Wait And Bleed, Duality, Before I Forget, Psychosocial and Unsainted into gigantic songs without sacrificing the band’s heavier identity.
A fresh Slipknot record means another opportunity for Taylor to explore whatever emotional carnage is currently rattling around upstairs.
And historically, that’s usually been rather good news for listeners.
Possibly less good news for Corey.
💀 Slipknot Have Never Stayed Still
One of the reasons Slipknot remain fascinating more than two decades after their debut exploded internationally is that no two eras have been exactly identical.
The line-up has changed.
The masks have changed.
Production has changed.
The scale of the shows has become absolutely enormous.
But that core feeling remains.
Nine maniacs.
Distorted guitars.
Industrial noise.
Percussion.
Samples.
Screaming.
Hooks.
And the vague sensation that something might catch fire at any moment.
Each record has added another layer to that world.
Now we’re about to discover what Slipknot sounds like with Eloy Casagrande properly embedded inside the creative process.
🎭 Another New Era For The Nine
Slipknot’s history has been defined by change almost as much as their music.
The loss of founding bassist Paul Gray in 2010 changed the band forever.
Original drummer Joey Jordison departed several years later before his death in 2021.
Chris Fehn left.
Craig Jones departed.
Jay Weinberg exited.
The Slipknot that exists today is very different from the group of young lunatics who arrived wearing boiler suits and homemade masks during the late 1990s.
Yet somehow the band keeps evolving without losing its identity.
That’s no easy trick.
Plenty of bands would have collapsed under half that amount of change.
Slipknot simply seem to put on another mask and keep moving.
🚨 No Need To Start Camping Outside The Record Shop Yet
While tracking has begun, that doesn’t necessarily mean a finished album is about to land tomorrow morning.
Recording is only one stage.
There will still be vocals, additional instrumentation, editing, mixing, mastering, artwork, release planning and whatever other madness Slipknot decide to build around the new era.
So calm yourselves.
Put the sleeping bag away.
Nobody needs to camp outside HMV yet.
But make no mistake:
A new Slipknot album is actively taking shape.
That’s enough to get us excited.
🤘 THE RIFF REPORT VERDICT
This could be one of the most intriguing Slipknot records in years.
Not because we’re expecting the band to suddenly reinvent metal again.
It’s because Eloy Casagrande finally gets to become part of Slipknot’s creative DNA rather than simply playing the existing catalogue.
We’ve already seen what he can do with their old songs.
Now we want to hear what happens when Slipknot write songs with him.
Give Jim Root a filthy riff.
Give Mick Thomson something horrible to play underneath it.
Put Eloy behind the drums.
Let Corey Taylor scream over the top.
Then lock the studio door and see what crawls out.
Album number eight is officially taking shape.
And if Eloy’s live performances are anything to go by…
This thing could hit like a bloody truck. 🔥🤘💀
