Slipknot guitarist Jim Root discusses comparing new album We Are Not Your Kind to the band's previous work.
It's been almost a year since Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor teased that the band's new album would be "Iowa levels of heavy", and now guitarist Jim Root has disputed those comments in an interview with Kerrang! Radio.
Understandably a whole lot can change within a band in the space of a year – and especially given that Corey's thoughts came before they had even hit the studio to record upcoming album We Are Not Your Kind (due out on August 9 via Roadrunner Records). Nevertheless, Jim says that he would never set out to recreate their past work.
“I would never in a million years compare anything we’ve done to anything we’ve previously done," he explains. "I don’t believe in it. I think it’s bad, because no matter… I mean, you could say, ‘Oh, we’re gonna write the heaviest album of all time,’ or, ‘We’re gonna write an album that sounds like Iowa.’ Even if we set out to try to do so, it would never compare.
"We’re not those people anymore. We’re not that band anymore. That was a place in time; it was a snapshot of who we were at that time; and to try to recreate that, I think, would be contrived, and our fans would see right through it.
"And even if it was a great, really heavy, aggressive, organic record like that, the comparison wouldn’t match up to it. So I like to look at everything as an evolution.
"And if I’d compare anything, it wouldn’t be the songs themselves; it might be the process itself.”
Watch the full interview with Jim below.
Pre-order We Are Not Your Kind through Roadrunner Records right now, and catch Slipknot live at the following dates this year.
June
18 Hannover, Germany @ TUI Arena
21 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Copenhall
22 Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop
25 Krakow, Poland @ Mystic Festival
26 Sopron, Hungary @ Volt Fest
27 Bologna, Italy @ Sonic Park
29 Madrid, Spain @ Download Festival
July
1 Nîmes, France @ Amphitheatre Nîmes
4 Lisbon, Portugal @ VOA
5 Viveiro, Spain @ Resurrection Fest
8 Quebec City, Quebec @ FEQ
26 Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
27 San Bernardino, CA @ San Manuel Amphitheater
August
1 Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
3 Albuquerque, NM @ Sleta Amphitheater
4 Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
6 Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
8 Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena
10 Des Moines, IA @ Iowa State Fairgrounds
11 Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
12 Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
14 Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
16 Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
17 Bonner Springs, KS @ Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
18 Maryland Heights, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
20 Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
21 Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
23 Burgettstown, PA @ KeyBank Pavilion
24 Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
25 Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater
27 Mansfield, MA @ The Xfinity Center
28 Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
30 Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
31 Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion
September
1 Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
3 Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
4 Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
6 Austin, TX @ Austin 360 Amphitheater
7 Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
8 The Woodlands, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
October
17 Perth, AUS @ Optus Stadium
20 Adelaide, AUS @ Adelaide Oval
22 Melbourne, AUS @ Marvel Stadium
24 Melbourne, AUS @ Marvel Stadium
26 Sydney, AUS @ ANZ Stadium
29 Brisbane, AUS @ QSAC
31 Auckland, NZ @ Mt. Smart Stadium
November
2 Auckland, NZ @ Mt. Smart Stadium
