Writing History

"I guess if I didn't form this band maybe I would have used one or two of them or something, but I think at the time when I was doing this project, I wasn't thinking Slipknot at all,”Joey Jordison says of newly born Scar The Martyr. “They weren't written with Slipknot in mind. I was just, 'Slipknot's got time off, and I want to form a new project'. That's when I started working on, 'What do I want to do? What kind of band do I want to form?'”

One somewhat removed from previous qualifications on an already lengthy CV, seemingly.Aside from being drummer/co-songwriter for Slipknot andco-leader of glam-punkers Murderdolls, the Iowan native has also enjoyed stints withKorn, Satyricon, Ministry and Rob Zombie. As Scar The Martyr took shape(Jordison plays guitars, bass and drums on their self-titled debut), contributions were sought from lead guitaristsJed Simon (Strapping Young Lad) andKris Norris (ex-Darkest Hour),vocalist Henry Derek,keyboardistChris Vrenna (Nine Inch Nails) andmixing byRhys Fulber(Fear Factory,Paradise Lost).

The new disc infuses industrial and '90s alt-rock elements within its melodic metal structure. Exploring fresh territory must have been liberating: “I really wanted to construct great songs,” he tells, “each song had to stand out on its own. It came together with me not listening to any specific thing; I really wasn't listening to any music at the time of the inception of these songs. I didn't want to be influenced by anything on the outside. If I was going to make a record, I wanted to do something that I hadn't done yet.”

Although enthused about touring his new outfit (“We'll be down in Australia soon… Probably around like February”)and boasting the aforementioned collaborations, a name remains unchecked on his proverbial bucket list. “I'd really like to work withMike Patton.I have no clue what that would sound like; I guess that's what's intriguing about it.”

While hopeful about making such a musical union a reality,there's alsoSlipknot'sfirst studio album since the death of bassist Paul Gray in 2010.The man known as #1is emphaticthat a new LP will happen.“I demoed more than my writing's share already for Slipknot. I've got so many damn songs. It's just when everyone is ready to get together and do it. At the time I was doing all my demos other people weren't necessarily ready, but I got material dude, I got a lot of it.

“What I can say is there is material, there will be another Slipknot record, and then one after that. We are by no means going anywhere. You had the first record that did what it did and it blew doors open.Iowa, we went darker and heavier. OnVol. 3,working withRick [Rubin]and stuff, we opened ourselves up for more melody.All Hope Is Gone,we polished up the sound a little bit. So the next record… I know it's gonna probably be the most important record we've ever released. I'll leave it at that.”