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Eloy Casagrande has finished laying down drum tracks for Slipknot’s long-awaited eighth studio album.
Talking to ex-Stray From The Path drummer Craig Reynolds on the Downbeat podcast, the Brazilian drummer, who joined Slipknot in 2024, says that the band have “a lot of songs” in the bank.
He calls the process of making his first album with the Iowan nu metal force “crazy”.
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“We started the process last year, at the end of ’25,” he continues. “Me and Jim Root [guitars] started exchanging some riffs, some drum beats … and I think it was the first time, in February or March, that we played together. The process started with me and Jim and Clown [percussionist Shawn Crahan] in the studio, just jamming.”
Casagrande adds that the trio would jam for “at least three or four hours a day” and record the sessions, then listen back and cherry-pick the best bits. Former Faith No More producer Matt Wallace, whom Root previously confirmed is overseeing the new album, was present at these early rehearsals.
Elsewhere in the interview, Casagrande reveals that Arsenal, the standalone single which Slipknot put out last month, was written in a different way, starting with a vocal melody from frontman Corey Taylor.
“That’s a song that he sang [for] me at the beginning of the year,” the drummer explains. “Then, Jim wrote the riffs to the song. So that song didn’t come from a jam. That’s a Corey Taylor song.”
Despite the progress on the new album, 2026 has been far from a banner year for Slipknot. Longtime turntablist Sid Wilson was let go from the lineup in August, five months after it was announced that the DJ and his ex-fiancée Kelly Osbourne had called off their engagement. Then, Arsenal was met with a fiercely divided response from fans; the single currently has 105,000 likes on YouTube against 78,000 dislikes.
At the end of September, the now-eight-piece group announced a 2027 world tour, including a show at London’s Wembley Stadium, but faced backlash for having Marilyn Manson as their main support act in South America and the UK.
Manson, real name Brian Hugh Warner, has been accused of misconduct by more than a dozen women; he’s settled out of court with multiple accusers and maintains his innocence. A lawsuit from former personal assistant Ashley Walters alleging sexual assault and battery has been given a trial date in November 2027; Manson denies any wrongdoing.
Slipknot haven’t officially commented on the controversy over touring with Manson, but guitarist Root has washed his hands of responsibility for the decision, writing in an Instagram comment that he “stay[s] out of the logistics of touring and all that”.
Casagrande joined the band in April 2024, replacing Jay Weinberg following the American drummer’s shock firing the previous November. The news of his hiring broke mere weeks after he abruptly quit Sepultura; the Brazilian quartet quickly hired Greyson Nekrutman to fulfil the dates on their ongoing farewell tour. Weinberg went on to replace Nekrutman in thrashers Suicidal Tendencies, before departing in January.
Last year, Casagrande appeared on the Modern Drummer podcast and explained the meaning behind his Slipknot mask, which features what resembles a bullethole in the forehead. He revealed that he had been mugged in São Paulo two years prior and had a gun pointed at his head. He considers himself “lucky” the perpetrator “decided to not shoot”.
