Jim Root on 25 Years Since Slipknot’s Debut, Taking Off the Masks for a Show, Authentic Tones | Interview

As one-half of Slipknot's twin guitar towers, Jim Root has been a driving force behind the band's crushing riffs and evolving sound for over two decades. As Slipknot came through London to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their landmark debut album, #4 himself sat down with Guitar Interactive's Jonathan Graham to discuss revisiting early songs, chasing authentic tones on tour, vintage guitar obsession, potentially taking off the masks, and why the work never really ends.

Jim, you're back on tour and playing the band's debut album. How has it been revisiting some of these tracks you haven't played for a while — and is it hard to believe it's been 25 years since it dropped?

"It kind of is. So much can happen in that amount of time, yet it feels like a blink of an eye. Time is funny like that.

Some of these songs, we literally haven't played in 20-plus years. When we started, it's all we had. Now we have so much more, but when you revisit old songs, you realise, 'Wow, that was a crowd favourite. That was a great song to play live.'

Some songs you think are great on the album don't always turn out great live — too many time changes, too many parts, or they're just too fast."

What's an example of a song that was difficult to revisit?

"Some of those songs are fun for us but might not translate live. Anything that's higher tempo without a breakdown can be tough. 'Metabolic' from Iowa — that's a good example. We loved playing it, but it didn't always hit live the way others did."

Talk us through your process of getting authentic tones from the records live.

"I used to build a new rack for every record. 100-watt heads with backups, GCX switching systems, MIDI switchers, custom wahs — it took up a lot of space, and touring kept getting more expensive.

I tried digital processing before. It has its place.

Now I can't find anything that beats the Quad Cortex with a specific IR of a Bogner amp I've been using. It's blowing my mind. I was always an analogue guy — tube amps only — but this Quad Cortex has been a solid tool for downsizing without sacrificing sound."

You never had problems with the feel of a digital rig?

"That's the tricky part. I don't use in-ears; I still use wedges. By the time the sound hits me, it's been through cab sims, boards, EQs, compressors — you lose some nuance. Even if it was a Helios head, it'd still get processed. And with eight guys on stage, so much is going on that you hear everything in context.

At home, I'm playing through a little Roland digital amp on the couch. It's the same vibe — so I justify it that way in my head."

What about guitar-wise? What have you got out with you on the road for this tour?

"A lot of Charvels, Jacksons, and Fenders. Most of them are ones I picked up off Reverb, The Music Zoo, or Diablo Guitars. I also went down this wormhole trying to find Model 5s like I had in the late '80s. I think I have seven or eight of them now.

Then I started getting DK Series Jacksons — the bolt-on neck ones — and had some custom builds made.

But man, when I pick up a Strat or Tele, I'm like, 'Oh, I love this too.' It's a disease."

The idea of '90s or '80s guitars being vintage now still seems a bit crazy, but that's what they are. What draws you to older instruments?

"It comes down to the wood. A lot of guitars from the '80s, '90s, and earlier — even cheaper models — were made with old-growth wood.

You can find a £200 guitar, swap the pickups and hardware, refret it if needed, and you've got something incredible. There's a difference in the tightness of the grain and the porousness of the wood."

If you find an old piece of mahogany that's really light, it's crazy. Did it fall into a river and fill with ice holes, making millions of tiny tone chambers? Or was it just the soil it grew in? It's bananas."

Taking things back to the start, Jim — that first audition with Slipknot. What are some memories of it?

"Well, it wasn't really an audition as such. Des Moines had a big scene. I'd played with everyone already — Heads on the Wall, Vex, Modifidious. When I met Clown and heard what they were recording, I was hesitant. I'm an only child, pretty set in my ways. But Clown said, 'We've all played with you before,' and it clicked. The hardest part of the whole thing was quitting my job at the t-shirt shop without notice.

We rehearsed in Sid's basement — loud as hell. The energy was electric.

Learning songs like 'Surfacing', Joey pointing out when I missed parts — nose to the grindstone. That mentality still drives us."

Was there a feeling the band would get as big as it did?

"No. Joe was the first who thought it would blow up. At Ozzfest, he was pissed about the monitors, saying, 'This band is going to be bigger than you think. We need to get our shit together.' He was intense about it — and right.

Good enough isn't good enough. If you want something, you work for it. The work never ends."

After the global success of the band's first album, did you feel the pressure when writing and recording Iowa?

"The mindset was: screw the sophomore slump. We wanted the heaviest record ever. We rehearsed riffs like 'People = Shit' at soundchecks before they became songs. As soon as we got home, Paul called and said, 'Get to Tony's house. We're writing.' There was no downtime. We never stopped working."

Anonymity was a big part of the band's story in the early days. That would surely be impossible now?

"I don't know if it matters now. We're already talking about the vibe and wardrobe for the next album."

Taking off the masks?

"I don't know. I always thought it would be cool to play one Halloween show just in regular clothes.

But if we ever did that, it might feel like the end to me. I sometimes wonder how differently I'd act on stage without the mask and coveralls. I guess we'll never know."

25 years in, and a new generation is coming to the shows. Are you feeling that younger crowd energy from the stage?

"Yeah, a little bit. It's good to see. For young people with all this energy, metal music is an outlet. It was for me and my friends. Metal shows are aggressive — you can get into a pit and work out all that emotion. It's therapeutic.

It's still true today, but now I look out and see people in the pit facing themselves with their phones — probably doing an Instagram Live. Reminds me of that Chappelle bit — I'm in their dream instead of them being in mine."

Does that energy remind you of anything from Slipknot's early days?

"Definitely. The first time I saw people really going crazy at one of our shows, it was unreal. It felt dangerous, but in a good way. You could feel the energy bounce off the walls.

Even now, seeing younger fans come out, it's like we're watching the cycle start over. They're just discovering this thing we built 25 years ago, and it's wild to be part of that."

What advice would you give a young fan going to their first Slipknot show — or any metal show, for that matter?

"Man, it's going to be information overload — not just from the show, but from the crowd, the vendors, even just walking up to the venue. It's a full experience. In America, it used to feel like tailgating. You'd see the tour buses and go, 'There they are.'

Back then, you didn't have instant access to artists. If they weren't in a magazine or on MTV, they basically didn't exist. I remember being at Vets Auditorium — Megadeth was opening for Alice Cooper — and I saw Dave Mustaine on a skateboard by the buses. I completely lost it. I was like, 'This is insane. He's real.' I'd only ever seen him in magazines and videos, and suddenly, there he was, just skating around.

Then he came out on stage with that shiny Jackson King V, lights bouncing off it, and I was like, 'Holy shit — a King V!' That kind of moment sticks with you.

I'd tell a kid to try to absorb it all. Take it in. The crowd, the atmosphere, the sound, the characters… let it all hit you."

Is Slipknot working on new music right now?

"Not diligently. We've been touring so much that my inspiration's nearly zero. There's a bunch of stuff written during COVID that I'm honestly not interested in anymore, and I think the rest of the band feels the same way.

We probably need to sweep all that under the rug and start fresh. What I really need is to get touring behind us and take at least a month off to shut my brain off, get some sleep, and reset.

Once I find myself heading out to my little home studio and putting riffs together, that's when I'll know it's time to start again."

You have the 25th anniversary reissue of the self-titled album coming up. What can you tell us about it?

"There's vinyl, different covers — everything you could throw at it. It looks really cool. I kind of want all of it."

There are so many biopics in the works these days. If there were ever a Slipknot one, Jim, when the credits rolled, what track would play?

"Oh shit. 'Till We Die', probably. Just like the end of the show. Certain shows — not this show, because it's the 25th anniversary — but any normal show, we usually play 'Till We Die' because I think it'll end up being that way."

For more information on Slipknot, including new releases, tour dates and ticket information, visit slipknot1.com