Slipknot have released “Arsenal” on September 9, marking their first new song in more than three years and the first tangible piece of music to emerge from the writing the band has been discussing throughout 2026. The single arrives alongside an official video directed by M. Shawn Crahan — Clown — and starring Jackson White.
Musically, “Arsenal” brings several of Slipknot’s defining elements into a tightly constructed track. Dense guitar work and punishing percussion sit alongside electronic textures, while Corey Taylor moves between rhythmic delivery, punk-inflected phrasing and the harsher vocal approach that has remained central to the band’s sound.
Slipknot characterize the song through driving riffs, rock ’n’ roll attitude and confrontational lyrics. Taylor addresses questions of relevance, trend-chasing and the band’s position nearly three decades into its career, delivering lines such as “I fought a fucking god and the god lost” with the deliberately combative tone running throughout the track.
The accompanying video continues Crahan’s longstanding role in shaping Slipknot’s visual identity. Clown has directed and overseen numerous videos and film projects throughout the band’s career and returns behind the camera for “Arsenal,” with White taking the central onscreen role.
The single follows months of increasingly concrete discussion about new Slipknot material. In July, guitarist Jim Root revealed that the band had recruited producer Matt Wallace and had accumulated roughly 50 arrangements in various stages of development. Root also stressed that the writing was not intended as a deliberate return to the nu-metal sound associated with Slipknot’s earliest records.
“Arsenal” is the first newly released material from Slipknot’s post-The End, So Far period. Their seventh studio album arrived on September 30, 2022, closing the band’s long contractual relationship with Roadrunner Records, the label that had been home to virtually their entire recording career.
In the years since, Slipknot devoted a significant portion of their touring activity to the 25th anniversary of their self-titled debut, revisiting both the music and visual presentation of their 1999 era. An expanded anniversary edition followed in September 2025, collecting demos, alternate mixes and archival live recordings.
For now, Slipknot have not announced a new album or confirmed whether “Arsenal” will appear on a forthcoming full-length. What the song does establish is the first official release from the band’s latest period of writing and recording, ending a gap of more than three years without a new Slipknot song.
