Slipknot's Shawn "Clown" Crahan recently told NME he doesn't want the band to release full albums anymore.
The band's most recent record, The End, So Far, was Slipknot's final release through Roadrunner Records, which they've been signed to since 1998. Clown said that starting March 31, 2023, the band will be fully independent. With that freedom in mind, they've mulled over the idea of only releasing singles, rather than full albums.
"I always thought, ‘What would it be like if Slipknot was big enough that we weren’t held to albums?’ Let’s say Clown could convince you, ‘Hey, instead of waiting two years for 12 songs, I’m gonna give you one song every month.’ So in reality, I’m shaving a year off for the same thing," he explained.
The percussionist also said he believes not being restrained by the confines of a traditional album will allow Slipknot to "explore deeper, more surreal opportunities to hone in with our craft."
“I’ve always thought it would be interesting for our fans to know more about us,” he said, “So if the Clown and Corey Taylor and Jim Root were all interested in playing with the Number One sitar player on the planet – and we would be because we’re artists – and we brought this person to our location, and this person adorned us with their craft and taught us about the sitar… If we got to sit in and listen, and partake, and touch and smell and feel that vibration… Wouldn’t it be interesting?”