Andre Mihsin of ChartAttack.com recently conducted an interview with SLIPKNOT percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan.

Slipknot have become one of the most popular and controversial metal bands of the last decade. Despite their immense popularity, percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan takes pride in the fact that, in their minds, they're still the same outcasts.

"I think we're more dangerous now than ever because good soldiers get to be good generals. That's where we're at. It's been 10 years of a philosophy, and I ponder it all day long. I remember not being able to walk down certain hallways just because we were brand new and misunderstood and misconstrued. People were discriminatory towards us. It was bad. But now, living the 'fuck it all' [mentality], we've pretty much broken down all the walls. We've pretty much kicked everyone who was going to be in our way out of our way, and all the naysayers are looking for passes."

Crahan says being different is the whole point.

"I enjoy knowing that what we create doesn't fit within these walls of efficiency. We're always the anomaly — the random chaotic thing in life that reminds you that you don't know shit and you need to always grow."

Although Crahan seems more than happy being an outsider, Slipknot made every move to try and fit in on their last record. They went to Los Angeles to record Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses with producer Rick Rubin. But despite his proven track record, Rubin's philosophy apparently didn't mesh well with the members of Slipknot. But he left his mark on Crahan.

"I would definitely want to go back with Rick. Rick is much more to me than we even have time to talk about, and it don't even feel good talking about it anymore for the simple fact that everyone's got their own idea of what producing is. And what it comes down to is everyone's got their own art and their own idea of what art is. What you try to do is you try to have an idea and try to have as many people to work around that idea as possible.

"And maybe Rick didn't do that for some people. So for me, all I can say is I definitely wanted to work with Rick again. I'm not going to say it's a mistake that we didn't, because we know what we're doing. This record sounds phenomenal. Dave Fortman did a great job on separating all of us, and I think sonically it's a great record. For me, Rubin's my head. That's where I'm at, to be honest with you. If you want to go all the way down the hole, then Rick's your guy. That's what I like to do. I like to go all the way down the hole. I'm looking for the rabbit, man."

For their upcoming record, All Hope Is Gone, Slipknot chose to avoid recording hot spots like New York or L.A. and elected to record in America's heartland in Jamaica, Iowa, near their hometown of Des Moines.

"We have a good friend who owns some land, just under eight acres," Crahan says. "His place is called Sound Farm. It's about 40 minutes from home. It was a pleasure. I would leave and come back and sleep next to my wife. The vibe that I had to leave and go to L.A. and do this thing called 'record making' because that's supposedly where we're suppose to do it, and pay my mortgage while I'm sitting in an apartment waiting to do my parts — are you fucking kidding me? If I had to do another record in L.A…. fuck, man, I don't know. I probably just would have left because I'm tired of it. I don't need it. I don't need what comes with it.

"Now when it came down to business, it was like, 'I'm getting up at 10 a.m., I'm getting in the shower, I'm driving out to the farm, I'm laying down some parts, I'm getting on my RM250, I'm riding around, I'm looking at cows, I'm fishing, I'm shooting bottle rockets, I got my kids out and I'm back home in my own bed.' It was the shit. I just lived it up, bro. I had the best time, and it was so close to home."

Curious what a metal album recorded on an Iowan farm sounds like? All Hope Is Gone is scheduled for release on Aug. 25, but you'll be able to hear Slipknot perform tracks from it beforehand when the band perform at the Rockstar Mayhem Festival with Disturbed, DragonForce, Mastodon and others at Toronto's Downsview Park on Aug. 8.

Be the first to hear All Hope Is Gone, Slipknot's new album, in its entirety. Stop by any Hot Topic location on Friday August 15th at 7PM and hear the whole album from start to finish in the store.

You'll be able to take advantage of special sales while the album is playing. It will only play once, so get there early and make sure you get to hear it all.
Hot Topic will be hosting special sales while the record is playing including:
-Pre-order the album and get an exclusive gift from Hot Topic & Slipknot: an embroidered All Hope Is Gone patch (limited quantities, so be the first in line)
-10% off of any purchase during the listening party.

Sid talks about his musical influences, the fans, drugs, his upcoming DJ Starscream album (coming out in September), he also talks about the Transformers. The interview was conducted on July 27th in Houston by Drug Truth.

These are (probably) the lyrics from ".execute.", the first track from All Hope is Gone.

"It appears that we have reached the Edge, that zenith where stimuli and comatose collide. Forty years ago, THE MAN proclaimed the Age of the Gross to be upon us, and even though THE MAN was destroying our heritage and insulting our intelligence, that era has become very real. We labor for pleasure and abhor the guilt of pressure. My generation will go down as the architects of contemporary disgust. Some have fought and died. Others have allowed the strong to be butchered for a price they themselves don’t care about and will never understand. I myself am beleaguered by the selfish face of a kind of man that is NOT MANKIND. Distrust in information. Fundamentalism of opinion. Catastrophic boredom, and a fanatical devotion to that which DOES NOT MATTER. Where is your glory now, people? Where are your gods and politicians? Where is your shame and salvation? You Rage For No Reason Because You Have No Reason. WHAT HAVE YOU EVER FOUGHT FOR? WHAT HAVE YOU EVER BLED FOR? THE FACE OF THE EARTH IS SCARRED WITH THE WALKING DEAD. THE AGE OF THE GROSS IS A LIVING VIRUS. THIS IS THE FUTURE YOU HAVE CREATED. THIS IS THE WORLD YOU HAVE SET ABLAZE.
ALL YOUR LIES ARE COMING TRUE.
ALL FREEDOM IS LOST.
ALL HOPE IS GONE."

Corey about .execute.:
Execute came about 10 years ago. i was over at clowns old house and he pulled up this speech (by us former vice president) Spiro Agnew given in 1970. And when when we started putting this album together, that's what we wanted to use as an intro. So I took it and manipulated it and fucked it up. But then I played it for clown and he was like " that's cool, but wouldn't it be better if you took it and made your own deal about it?" So I did......

SLIPKNOT will undertake a tour of Japan in October. Support at all shows will come from MACHINE HEAD.

The dates are as follows:

Oct. 08 - Zepp - Nagoya, Japan
Oct. 14 - Zepp - Osaka, Japan
Oct. 15 - Zepp - Osaka, Japan
Oct. 16 - Zepp - Sendai, Japan
Oct. 18 - Super Arena for Loud Park 08 - Tokyo, Japan

Here are some quotes from the new issue of MetalHammer magazine.

Des Moines (Slipknot's home town) had a series of floods recently. Did they affect the band at all?
Corey: "Not really. I spent a couple days running around saving my friends. Everybody I knew with the exception of just a couple of people live on the flood plain, so I was just going out and helping people get the FUCK out of there. I had a house full of people for a week!"

How do you guys balance all the side projects with Slipknot?
Joey: "It's fucking simple. SLIPKNOT comes first!"

What was the theme for All Hope Is Gone?
Corey: "It's not blatantly political or a social album, and its not a blatantly angry album. I think the overwhelming theme, for me, is that none of us are the same, none of us are different. We may change as people, but if we use the same energy to try and solve different problems, nothing is going to get accomplished. And that's something that i think is lost on a lot of people"

Is Slipknot like Kiss, where you could lose a member and just find somebody else to wear his mask?
Clown: "No. If I left this band, we'd be done. If Joey left this band, we'd be done. All of us, if any of the guys leave.... We are the NINE and there is NO ONE else!"

Is Slipknot Meant to last forever, or do you have to write the end of this story?
Clown: "You nailed it man, I am in more pain than anyone could possibly ever know. I have to find a way to finish this!"

Joey: "I don't think its out last record at all, but there's something seriously going on with this record, that's for sure. Its like Friday the 13th Part IV: the final chapter... Its a climax!"

A short audio clip of the new SLIPKNOT track "Snuff" is available for streaming at the web site of the UK magazine Q. You can also download it here:

Download Rapidshare.com: HERE
Download Uloz.to: HERE
Download Edisk.cz: HERE

So break yourself against my stones
And spit your pity in my soul
You never needed any help
You sold me out to save yourself
And I won't listen to your shame
You run away - You're all the same
Angels like you control
My love was born this long ago
Do you still care?
Don't ever let me...

Revolver magazine has posted video footage of a backstage jam session on the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival featuring members of SLIPKNOT (including vocalist Corey Taylor on drums), AIRBOURNE, and SUICIDE SILENCE, shot at the July 23 St. Louis stop of the tour. Check out the footage below.