Slipknot’s new song, “Arsenal,” contains everything in the band’s arsenal: Corey Taylor’s total rage, Jim Root and Mick Thomson’s aggro guitar, and all the thunder percussionists Clown and Tortilla Man and drummer Eloy Casagrande can muster. There’s also
copious turntablism and keyboards, though after the departure of the ensemble’s DJ, Sid Wilson, and a new press photo that shows only eight members of the band, it’s unclear who’s responsible for all the scratching.
Regardless, “Arsenal” recalls the total fury of Slipknot’s earliest days with Taylor screaming, “I got a lot to fuckin’ say/And if you didn’t listen, you didn’t hear me anyway.” He chants, “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go,” as his bandmates create chaos around his voice. That anarchy becomes even more apparent in the song’s video, directed by M. Shawn Crahan, the group’s “Clown.” The clip features actor Jackson White as he descends into a surrealistic, Felliniesque nightmare filled with red and white ghosts, and of course, the masked members of Slipknot.
The band, which released their last album, The End, So Far, in 2022, did not announce any other new albums or release plans with the single, though more music could be on the way. When Crahan spoke with Rolling Stone about his “other” band, Look Outside Your Window, which also features Taylor, Root, and Wilson, he said he was in the middle of a writing session for a new album.
“Arsenal” arrived less than a month after the band announced it was parting ways with Wilson. “Effective immediately, Slipknot will no longer be associated with Sid Wilson,” the band posted in a since-deleted social media post on Aug. 14. “We wish him the best in his future endeavors.” The band, including Wilson, had been touring with a still anonymous musician who contributed samples and turntablism on the road.
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