“I actually had some solos in songs, but they all got cut out” – Mick Thomson reveals new facts about Slipknot’s self-titled album

To the dismay of guitar virtuosos everywhere, the once-respected art of the guitar solo took a backseat as nu metal gained popularity in the mid-1990s and early 2000s. Many bands chose to follow the precedent set by bands like Korn in forsaking the art of shred, since this shift in taste preferred overall groove and goofy guitar effects-laden atmospherics. Naturally, several guitar legends refused to change to fit the new standard. However, their resistance wasn’t exactly helping them thrive at the moment, as nu metal was arguably the final wave of metal’s popular supremacy. Multi-platinum status was achieved by groups such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Deftones, while Linkin Park, Evanescence, Kid Rock, and others went one step further and eventually obtained diamond certifications (10x multi-platinum status). The guitar-driven metal greats of a few years ago, on the other hand, mostly remained in the background. A generation of metalheads began to perceive solos as cheesy and out of style, much like what happened to glam metal when it was overtaken by grunge. Ross Robinson, the so-called “Godfather of Nu Metal,” might be held largely responsible for that. Robinson’s distinct production approach was the driving force behind a number of significant early releases by artists including Korn, Limp Bizkit, Sepultura, and others. Robinson effectively served as the general engineer for a generation of bands that came after, most of whom gave up extended guitar performances to keep up with the times. Mick Thomson, the guitarist for Slipknot, was one performer who was prevented from displaying his abilities at the time. He had several solos and leads in mind when he first envisioned Slipknot‘s self-titled epic. Although Robinson, who produced that opus and had the band signed to his Roadrunner Records offshoot label at the time, had some influence over that choice, late drummer Joey Jordison also opposed his soloing. In a recent interview with Guitar World, Thomson discussed this and disclosed that the solos he had initially composed for that record were ultimately cut.

I actually had some solos in songs, but they all got cut out. Because between Ross and Joey solos are stupid now. Any kind of technical guitar playing was mocked and frowned upon. So, yeah, leads were stripped out. The song ‘(sic)‘ used to be called ‘Slipknot‘, and there was a lead in that, and then there were solos in some other sh*t. But they were just massaged out. I mean, I get it… but it sucked. Because it was one of those things where I’m like, ‘I’ve spent my whole life playing and now f*cking here I am, and… nope! Never mind! It’s all gone!’ You know? Like, ‘Just take it all away from me. That’s cool! Never mind that I sat in my room for years obsessing and trying to f*cking do whatever, and then here I am and… nope! I learned a lot from Ross, and that was one thing. I mean, we grew up in an era where you heard one to two guitar solos in every goddamn metal song. And it’s like, ‘Why?’ Just as a matter of course? It’s like paint-by-numbers. ‘There’s your template. There’s where that solo goes.’ Ding!

Although he wasn’t happy with the choice, Thomson exhibited some self-control, saying of his initial response, “What are you gonna do? Throw fits?” However, he did admit that he eventually came to appreciate the aforementioned pair’s reluctance to solo. Soloing did, of course, eventually return to metal when trends changed, particularly after the New Wave Of American Heavy Metal movement started to surpass nu metal in the early aughts. Ironically, it might be argued that the resurgence of guitar solos was one of the main advantages of that then-developing change in preferences, thus launching nu metal with precisely what that increasingly disparaged genre ultimately came to oppose.