At their O2 Arena performance in London last December, SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root chatted with Jonathan Graham of Guitar Interactive about what might come after their 2022 album, The End, So Far.
When asked if he and his bandmates have been working on new music, Root responded (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “Not diligently. Honestly, we’ve been touring so much since [drummer] Eloy [Casagrande] joined the band that my inspiration is nearly zero. And there’s a bunch of music that was written during COVID that I’m not interested in. And I think everybody else in the band gets it too, and I think they’re kind of, like, ‘Okay, we need to just kind of, like, maybe sweep all that s**t under a rug and start fresh.’
“And I wanna get touring behind us. I wanna have at least a month off just to shut my brain off and sleep and all that kind of stuff. And then when I find myself going out to my little home studio and putting riffs together, then I’ll know it’s time to start.”
Last year, Root revealed that he is among the many fans eager for the release of Look Outside Your Window.
Percussionist Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan revealed six years ago that the band secretly recorded another album during the All Hope Is Gone sessions. Despite repeated promises of a release, the album has yet to materialize, leaving fans frustrated.
In a 2024 chat with Metal Hammer, Root admitted his frustration with the continued delay of Look Outside Your Window. He revealed that he’s repeatedly threatened to leak the album himself, tired of the endless wait.
He said at the time: “Man, I keep telling Clown that I’m just gonna throw it up on Youtube, then put a link to it on my Instagram or something. He’s like, ‘Don’t dude, just don’t.’”
“I don’t even remember what any of that stuff sounds like, because it’s been so long since we recorded it,” Jim added. “I don’t think I’ve listened to it in probably 10 years. Maybe I’ll go find him after we are done talking, and I’ll be like, ‘Let’s listen to Look Outside Your Window, and let’s release it tonight…’”
Recorded in 2008 alongside All Hope Is Gone, this project featuring Clown, Sid Wilson, Jim Root, and Corey Taylor has been a source of speculation for years. Clown previously assured fans that the album’s timeless quality makes the wait worthwhile, and that its release is imminent.
Clown said: “The only reason Look Outside Your Window has not come into this reality is because it is a timeless album that allows it to be presented at anytime.
“Up until now things we’ve been doing has been taking priority. It has to come out, I promise it will come out soon.”
“It’s sort of timeless in my opinion, so I try not to worry about it too much,” he continued. “I’ve waited this long for it to be right and it just never has. We were going to release it way early on this album cycle [for We Are Not Your Kind], but this one takes precedence. It’s not meant to be confused or watered down for marketing purposes. It’s really just another piece of the puzzle and the imagination that’s missing. People might really need it.”
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.