ELOY CASAGRANDE Says SLIPKNOT Is Recording 'A Lot Of Songs' For Upcoming Album: 'We Are Making Real Music'

In a new interview with Camilo Guzmán of Colombia's Radiónica, SLIPKNOT drummer Eloy Casagrande confirmed that the band is working on new music following the release of the "Arsenal" single, which came out in September. The 35-year-old Brazilian-born musician said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "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. 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. 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."

Elaborating on how he and the other SLIPKNOT members are approaching the writing and recording process, Eloy said: "We believe in music. 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. We are focusing on doing something that we like, that we feel proud of what we are doing."

Eloy added: "Before I joined the band, of course, that was something that I had in mind. 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. 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 also reflected on being asked to join SLIPKNOT in early 2024 following a 12-year run with SEPULTURA. He said: "That was a dream that came true in my life. And definitely I think I was waiting for that happening my whole life. I remember when I was a kid and I saw the first time a video clip of SLIPKNOT playing, and that video clip changed my personality as a musician. Because once you're a metal musician and you listen to a lot of heavy metal bands and you discover SLIPKNOT, and me myself, being a drummer, that was something that was very shocking. Like, how is a human being — [original SLIPKNOT drummer] Joey Jordison — how is a human being able to play something like that? And SLIPKNOT made a huge impact in my life, especially on my drumming life as a musician. So, my whole life I think I was expecting one day to play with them. And also what I really like about the band is that SLIPKNOT, it's a mix of different styles. I'm not just playing nu metal. I'm not only playing thrash metal, death metal or melodic metal. SLIPKNOT, it's a big mix of different things. And at the end of the day, it's still being SLIPKNOT. That's something very unique. They have a very strong personality, but inside their personality there's a lot of different influences. Of course it's a band with a lot of members, so each one of them, they bring different perspectives, different ideas. And to keep myself always being always creative, that's something that I always wanted for my life. I would never imagine myself playing in a band that I wouldn't be able to think what I'm doing or to be creative or to expand my limits, to go beyond my limits. And right now, being in the studio with the band, I'm being able to be myself. They want me to be myself. And that's surreal. I remember when I had the first rehearsal with the band, when I was auditioning for the band, and I saw everyone in the same room playing together, the guys in front of me, that was something that changed my life. So, yeah, it's just like a dream that came true, for sure."

Eloy went on to say that he is able to fuse his background in Brazilian music — having grown up loving both metal and traditional Brazilian rhythms — into even the heaviest of parts.

"Yeah, it's impossible to myself to be a different person," he explained. "Especially like a musician, I'm not gonna be able to sit on the drum kit and think, 'Oh, now I'm just gonna be the Eloy drummer from hell, Eloy metal drummer, and I'm gonna forget all about my Brazilian background.' I'm just one — I'm just one person. So even when I'm playing extreme metal, when I'm playing death metal, it's impossible for me to don't bring that Brazilian influence. Some people, they tell me, even when I'm playing super fast or when I'm playing a straight metal bit, I still have some kind of groove, of pocket, the Brazilian pocket or the Brazilian sauce behind, and that's something that I cannot get rid of."

He continued: "I remember there was something funny, because when I joined [SLIPKNOT], we were doing our first rehearsal, and [SLIPKNOT percussionist] Clown [M. Shawn Crahan], he came to me, and I remember that I was just having fun during the rehearsal, playing some Brazilian stuff. And he came to me, like, 'Oh, what are you playing?' I said, 'Oh, this is a Brazilian rhythm.' I don't remember exactly what I played. And he was, like, 'Okay, but you know this is a metal band, right? This is a fucking metal band. It's okay if you have your Brazilian background, but this is a metal band.' It's, like, 'No, no, I know exactly what are you talking.' But nowadays, it's totally fine because, like, when we were recording, a few times he came to me and said, like, 'Oh, what do you think about throwing out some Brazilian stuff, Brazilian rhythms?' And I was, like, 'Okay, I think you changed your mind through the years, and that's something really good.' So, yeah, of course I'm not playing a traditional Brazilian band the way I was supposed to play it. Of course I'm changing, I'm evolving to fit into the SLIPKNOT world. But still, I'm being able to still have my DNA and to express myself into the band."

After Guzmán noted that Casagrande, as "one of the best metal drummers in the world", has the difficult task of honoring SLIPKNOT's musical past while also preparing for the future, Eloy said: "Oh, I'm not sure about that, what you just said about myself being one of the best metal drummers. I don't agree with you. But I'm just doing what I like. I'm just being who I am. But I never search for that. I never search for that kind of title or prizes or contests. I'm just doing what I like to do, and I'm trying my best to support the band's music.

"But, yeah, I believe that that was a very difficult thing to replace Joey, that those are big shoes to fill," Casagrande continued. "And what I did the best that I could do, to learn his drum parts, to respect the old arrangements from Joey, to keep the... And beyond just playing his arrangements, but keeping the energy alive. Playing SLIPKNOT, it's not only about playing notes correctly, but it's having a different attitude. It's having the energy. It's to keep the soul of the band alive."

Eloy added: "I remember since day one, when I was playing with them, Clown, he came to me and he told me, 'Man, you don't have to be concerned about playing everything right. There is no wrong or right. But there is the soul of the band. There is the idea of the band, the attitude, the energy. So that's what we want.' So I understood that since day one. They're not looking for perfection. They are looking for something bigger than that. So that's what I'm trying to do. I'm just trying to honor Joey's legacy. And also, now with the new songs that we are doing, I'm trying to express myself, to be myself. They don't want to have another Joey in the band. They made that very clear since day one. They're not trying to make myself to play like Joey. They want me to be myself. Because it doesn't make sense. Otherwise, you just go and you find a Joey Jordison [clone] that plays exactly like him and put [him] in the band. So that's not what they were looking for. They want something with personality that would be able to bring ideas, to be another member to work in the band, another member that will give them new ideas, to give new things, bring new things. So that's what I'm doing my best to support the band. But, yeah, that's the most important. Besides everything, besides my playing, everything that I practice or study, I'm here to support the band's music. I'm here to make the other musicians happy with what I'm playing, and present that to the people the best way possible."

SLIPKNOT's first new song in over three years, "Arsenal" arrived in September alongside a music video directed by Crahan. It was SLIPKNOT's first piece of new music since the departure of longtime members Sid Wilson and Craig Jones, and the exit of drummer Jay Weinberg and addition of Casagrande. It was also the first SLIPKNOT release on the band's own (sic)est Records label following the completion of the group's two-and-a-half-decade record deal with Roadrunner.

"Arsenal" received mixed views, with some SLIPKNOT fans saying it was a departure from the band's usual sound and criticizing the song's chorus, which features singer Corey Taylor repeatedly chanting, "Let's go, let's go, let's go".

SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root addressed the negative feedback "Arsenal" had received, saying that the song was not indicative of the direction of the album he and his SLIPKNOT bandmates were working on.

In the comment section of a now-deleted post on Instagram, Root replied to one fan who asked if he was upset about the criticism of the song. "It depends on the commenter, really," Jim wrote. "I mean, what's their band doing?" he added, before confirming that "Arsenal" was made available as a standalone single.

"'Arsenal' was a tune we could quickly get out there while we work on the rest of the record," Root wrote. "It's not really representative of the other tunes."

Regarding whether the single will be a part of the upcoming SLIPKNOT album, Root wrote: "No. This was just one that we could finish 'sooner' to get out there."

"Arsenal" was premiered in the "Hottest Record" slot on BBC Radio 1's "New Music Show With Jack Saunders". Speaking to BBC Radio 1 presenter Jack Saunders, Taylor stated about the song: "It pummels. It is absolutely a pummeling experience. One of my favorite things about it is it kind of encapsulates everything that we do. It's got these great moments of hyperactivity, and then at the end, man, there's this sublime drop that just makes it. It's like we've got everyone by the hair, and we're just going, 'Go! Go!' That, to me, sums up SLIPKNOT completely."

"Arsenal" was the first new music from SLIPKNOT since the release of the 2023 standalone single "Bone Church", a track that had been in the works for nearly a decade.

When SLIPKNOT's next album arrives, it will be the follow-up to the band's latest LP, "The End, So Far", which came out in August 2022. It marked the band's the last full-length LP before the departure of both keyboardist Craig Jones, who left the group in June 2023, and drummer Jay Weinberg, who was replaced by Eloy Casagrande.

Last fall, SLIPKNOT sold its music catalog to HarbourView Equity Partners. The deal included the rights to SLIPKNOT's publishing and recording masters royalties. It reportedly covered the band's archival catalog but did not extend to future releases.

Since releasing its debut album in 1999, SLIPKNOT has captured a Grammy Award alongside 11 nominations, scored a number of platinum and gold album certifications around the world, and logged billions of global streams and video views to date. Rolling Stone cited the seminal platinum-selling 2001 album "Iowa" among "The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time," while The Ringer attested, "They're the most important heavy band of their era."

"The End, So Far", landed at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart and at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, marking their sixth Top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200. A new album from SLIPKNOT is a global event, and "The End, So Far" continued the band's global chart rise, with No. 1 debuts in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and Mexico, as well as Top 3 debuts in Canada, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Japan, and Belgium. SLIPKNOT's previous album, 2019's "We Are Not Your Kind", marked SLIPKNOT's third consecutive No. 1 on the Billboard 200, along with No. 1 debuts in the official album charts of twelve countries around the world, including the U.K., Australia, Canada and Mexico, with Top 5 debuts in an additional twelve countries. including Germany, France and Sweden.

In late September, SLIPKNOT announced its biggest tour to date, a 2027 global stadium run dubbed "(Sic)est Stadium Tour", with BRING ME THE HORIZON opening all North American dates. Produced by Live Nation, the trek will open on July 3 at London’s Wembley Stadium before a North American leg that kicks off July 16 at Washington, D.C.'s Nationals Park and wraps August 18 at Phoenix's Chase Field. Five South American shows will follow in September. BRING ME THE HORIZON will provide support at every North American date, with a rotating cast of guests across the tour, including LAMB OF GOD, MOTIONLESS IN WHITE, LORNA SHORE, LOATHE, ACID BATH, POLYPHIA, KUBLAI KHAN TX and VENDED. MARILYN MANSON, LORNA SHORE and HATEBREED will appear at the Wembley gig.

SLIPKNOT's most recent live performance was at Inkcarceration, a music and tattoo festival in Ohio, in July 2025.