Slipknot’s ‘Arsenal’ was “a tune we could quickly get out there while we work on the rest of the record”

Jim Root has said that Slipknot’s new single ‘Arsenal’ will not feature on their upcoming album, and was instead “a tune we could quickly get out there while we work on the rest of the record”.

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The metal icons returned with the surprise single earlier this week – with the track marking their first new music in three years, and first release since the departure of Sid Wilson and the joining of drummer Eloy Casagrande.

Since it dropped, the single has got mixed reviews online, with some fans enjoying the new approach, while many others have criticised it for feeling like too much of a deviation from their usual sound.

There has also been backlash towards the song’s chorus, which sees frontman Corey Taylor simply repeat “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go“.

Now, guitarist Jim Root has spoken out about the harsh comments towards the new song, and said that it is not reflective of the album that they are currently working on.

In response to the new song, fans have also shared some surprise at how much turntable scratching the song features, especially given this year’s exit of Sid Wilson.

Root was quick to respond to rumours of Wilson’s leaving the band at the start of last month, telling fans “don’t believe everything you read”, although they later confirmed that they would “no longer be associated” with the keyboardist and turntablist in a post that they swiftly deleted.

Arsenal will NOT be on the new album byu/Proton_Optimal inSlipknot.

The new album will be the first since 2022’s ‘The End, So Far’, and while details about the upcoming LP remain vague, the band have revealed that they’ve been working with Matt Wallace on the record and have “so much material”.

While the band haven’t released an album since 2022, they did tease a new song, ‘Long May You Die’, recorded shortly after new drummer Eloy Casagrande joined in 2024, replacing Jay Weinberg.

In April, Slipknot finally released their long-awaited ‘lost’ album ‘Look Outside Your Window’ under that name for this year’s Record Store Day. A full series of physical editions followed later.

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