Slipknot’s Clown on long-awaited ‘lost’ album ‘Look Outside Your Window’: “Management has it and it’s coming out”
“You have my word, it’s out of my hands now”
by Liberty Dunworth · NMESlipknot’s Clown has shared an update on the band’s long-awaited ‘lost’ album, ‘Look Outside Your Window’ – confirming that it is now out of his hands and with management for the final steps.
The record was recorded by the founding member and percussionist – real name Shawn Crahan – alongside Corey Taylor, Sid Wilson and Jim Root at the same time as they were working on 2008’s ‘All Hope Is Gone’.
Hopes of it being shared have gone unfulfilled in recent years and, to date, only one track from the sessions has been released: ‘All Hope Is Gone’ bonus track ‘Til We Die’.
Now, Crahan has spoken to NME in a new interview, and confirmed that the release is completely finished and on the cusp of being officially released.
Reflecting on comments he made in a separate NME interview in 2023 – in which he assured us the release would be coming this year – the metal icon said: “I did say it was going to be in 2024, and I gave it the best fight that I could to make it this year.”
As for where the release is up to now, he added: “What I can tell you is that I showed Corey the final artwork two days ago. It is happening, but unfortunately, because of Christmas and New Year and the way business works, I can’t slide it in this year.
“But you have my word, it’s out of my hands now. It’s being moved on, the money has been spent and there is a plan. The management has it and it is coming out.”
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Crahan continued: “I’m really pleased about it and happy to finally be rid of it. What’s nice though is that it isn’t a hype thing, it’s just something we did while we were doing other Slipknot albums. It was a very honest action to make music that wasn’t Slipknot, but utilised the skills of guys with no rules.
“I don’t know if it’s ‘good’, but I know that I love it. I make music for myself, but I hope that the people who waited and waited and waited think it was worth it too.”
While no official release date has been shared at the time of writing, the speculation about the project stems back to 2019, when Crahan said that the band were readying the release, and Corey Taylor later added that he “tried like hell to make those worlds come together” to complete the project.
In 2020, Clown revealed to NME that the band almost dropped it over Christmas 2019 but ultimately decided against it because they didn’t want it to interfere with sixth studio album ‘We Are Not Your Kind’. “‘Look Outside Your Window’ is a very unique art-piece on its own. It’s sort of timeless in my opinion, so I try not to worry about it too much. I’ve waited this long for it to be right and it just never has,” he said. “It’s not meant to be confused or watered down for marketing purposes.”
Since then, Corey Taylor began teasing the release again in August 2023, and Crahan said it could finally see the light of day that same year, but has failed to materialise so far.
Later, the frontman said in a discussion with NME that it was partly his fault that the record hadn’t been released yet. “I was talking to Clown about it the other day and he goes, ‘One of the reasons it hasn’t come out is because you keep putting shit out which keeps conflicting with when I want to release it!’ I was like, ‘Fuck dude, why didn’t you tell me?’ He says, ‘Fuck, Taylor – you just got too much shit!’,” he said.
“It’s sounding like he’s got a release date that he can finally lock in and I have promised him that I won’t release anything that will ruin that.”
It isn’t only the fans who are waiting on the release either, just last month guitarist Jim Root threatened to leak the album out of frustration.
Elsewhere in the latest NME interview with Clown, the percussionist reflected on the band’s ongoing 25th anniversary tour, as well as plans for new material.
“Eloy [Casagrande, drummer] is in the band and there’s something happening between the nine of us right now that is very fun,” he said. “A lot is floating around and we probably have several albums in us right now. As for how things feel, I’m being completely honest with you now, it’s like a cloud has left.”
Slipknot continue their ‘25th Anniversary’ tour this week, before embarking on more UK and European tour live shows in 2025. Visit here for tickets and more information.