It would appear that Slipknot have yet to really get down to business when it comes to the collaborative writing process for their next studio album. The group’s percussionist M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan recently told NME that the multi-platinum masked metal band are currently on a break after having wrapped up a touring cycle that combined the release of their 2022 album “The End, So Far” and the 25th anniversary of their self-titled debut album. According to Clown, he and his bandmates haven’t been in a rush to get back in the studio together thus far, as he told NME:
“We’re doing the biggest thing we can do right now, which is taking a much-needed break. We’re taking some real human time. Everybody is writing all the time, but we have not got into a place to work on what’s been written.”
Clown did mention though that tentative plans to assemble in the studio to start piecing things together this month have been scheduled. He said of their current mindset, “It feels very positive and everyone is looking forward to getting back at it.” Slipknot‘s potential eighth studio album will represent the beginning of a new era, with “The End, So Far” having concluded their decades-long affiliation with Roadrunner Records.
In the meantime, Clown has been balancing his time between his Minecraft-based new video game venture ‘Vernearth‘, while also working on music for a potential soundtrack for that project. He said of that:
“I’m in the studio almost every week making music without any of the usual pressures or expectations, which is very fulfilling. I’ve also gotten back into drums in a big way to make sure I’m ready for what’s up next [with Slipknot]. I’m really trying to take things to that next level. Music is dead important to gaming.”
Much of the above-mentioned chat focuses on the creation and vision Clown has for ‘Vernearth‘, including word of his obsessive days spent playing ‘Minecraft‘ and developing the project, even while on the road with Slipknot. He also touched on several video game ideas he previously pitched to publishers and developers, but couldn’t get off the ground.
One of those projects was a rock & roll-oriented game, which Clown apparently spent three years working on to no avail. He said of being rejected with that project, “That still pisses me off because it’s such a no-brainer [coming from a member of a huge rock band]. I reckon it would be as [influential] as ‘Grand Theft Auto‘.”
