The new Slipknot album is on the horizon. While we don't know exactly when it is due, we know with some reasonable certainty it will be jam-packed with all-conquering anthems, especially if the band's comments that it is "a cobra in a basket" are to be believed.
The band have done a fine job of setting our expectations sky high (as if We Are Not Your Kind hadn't already got us excited for what came next), but below you'll find 10 things we hope to see from Slipknot's seventh album. And yes, we resisted the temptation to put "more Tortilla man" as every entry.
1. More nu metal influences
It's been a long time since Slipknot belonged squarely in the nu metal camp, having effectively evolved beyond the genre by the time they put out Iowa in 2001. That said, last year's lead single The Chapeltown Rag felt decidedly closer to Eyeless than the band have been since the dawn of the new millennium. Considering nu metal is enjoying a resurgence, we wouldn't say no to more Sid Wilson turntable wizardry for Slipknot's new album.
2. The heaviest blues song since Black Sabbath
Slipknot have always been their own best hype men and the path to album no. 7 has been littered with crumbs hinting to how it's actually going to sound. In a recent interview, drummer Jay Weinberg revealed that Slipknot's new album would contain "the heaviest blues song on Earth". Considering we've got a whole school of metal dedicated to post-Sabbath blues jams being warped into an abyssal black hole of heaviness, you can colour us very interested.
3. Another catchy outsider slogan like 'We Are Not Your Kind'
There's a level of pageantry and excitement that surrounds a new Slipknot album that comes naturally with being at the very top of the game. Ghost have set an exceptionally high bar for eye-grabbing album campaigns in 2022, but we wouldn't put it past Slipknot to have some brilliant, hooky line that will get maggots writhing with excitement.
4. Creepy ballads
While Slipknot didn't entirely do away with melodic sensibilities on We Are Not Your Kind, there wasn't much that you could properly peg as being a ballad. The return of Snuff to recent setlists has given us some hope to hear them indulge their most soulful, emotional side on the new album. If they can strike a Subliminal Verses-style balance between ragers and singalongs, we could be in for something very special indeed.
5. More extreme metal
Yes, we know we just said we wanted a ballad or two on the new album, but Slipknot have proven themselves as a band with a diverse set of songwriting tools at their disposal. Solway Firth slaps harder than just about anything not squarely under the extreme metal banner right now, while All Out Life was exactly the kind of high-octane head crushing energy we need in a post-Slayer metal landscape. More of that for album seven please - let's see extreme metal beats topping the charts (again).
6. Interstellar instrumentals
One of the best things about We Are Not Your Kind was just how expansive Slipknot's sound was, crammed with more industrial noises and samples than the band had used since Vol. 3. DJ Sid Wilson recently revealed the band were using noises taken from other planets and moons as part of their new album , to better reflect just how far they are taking their sound.
7. Guest features
When you've got nine musicians all trying to showcase their talents, there's not really much room for guest features. At the same time, Slipknot have vastly expanded their connections with other bands since launching Knotfest, using the platform to boost new talent and expose bands to the masses. The logical conclusion of that would be to finally give over to some guest spots for the first time in their (studio) career, bringing in some outside influence with new bands like ho99o9, Jinjer or Spiritbox who could add new flavours to the Slipknot mix.
8. A Joey Jordison tribute
Almost a year on since the world lost Joey Jordison and we've still not fully adjusted. Joey played an enormous part in shaping Slipknot's sound and the band weren't shy in acknowledging that in his passing, stating "without him, there would be no us." While the shape of the nine has changed over the years, nobody can ever forget the original members who took the band to the top of the world a little over 20 years ago. An anthem to hold close in his memory feels like the most fitting tribute to a man who lived and breathed metal.
9. A Machine Gun Kelly diss
Daft as the beef between Machine Gun Kelly and Corey Taylor has been, there's also something undeniably entertaining about it all. Kelly might have moved away from his past in hip-hop, but just imagine how satisfying it would be if Corey clapped back with an old-school diss track that could run rings around Kelly's former life.
10. Cool new masks
New masks are almost a given with every new Slipknot album, but we have to admit some of the We Are Not Your Kind looks left a lot to be desired in the freaky/creepy department. Corey's mask has already evolved since the last album was unveiled, moving from the blobfish/plastic look to something more akin to a freaky scarecrow. Whether he keeps the look with the new album remains to be seen, but we're hoping for an overhaul to reflect a new era of Slipknot's career when album seven finally arrives.
Slipknot's new album is expected later this year.
