Slipknot Release Behind-the-Scenes Clip for 'Arsenal' Music Video

Earlier this month, Slipknot released their first new song with Eloy Casagrande (and without Sid Wilson and Craig Jones) – “Arsenal” – as well as a corresponding (and divisive) music video. Over the weekend, the band published a behind-the-scenes clip for “Arsenal” that sees director/percussionist M Shawn “Clown” Crahan delving into the “difficult” vision behind the music video.

What Does Shawn “Clown” Crahan Say About “Arsenal”?

The roughly five-and-a-half-minute video was posted to YouTube on Sept. 18 by the official YouTube accounts of Slipknot, (sic)est Records and M Shawn Crahan. It begins with shots from the “Arsenal” music video before Crahan introduces himself.

Hey, everybody. As usual, I’m the Clown. Working on a video. [I] directed a video called ‘Arsenal,’ our new single,” he begins, adding: “Why ‘Arsenal’? I don’t know. Ask [frontman Corey] Taylor. We’re on a set somewhere in L.A. that you wouldn’t imagine with a wonderful location. You’ve been seeing this church [shows footage of the church from music video] and we kept it real tight and real personal and basically, this is for all of you.

Crahan then discusses the vision behind the “Arsenal” music video:

This one was difficult because we definitely wanted to do the band. It feels so right to do the band, [but] it’s too early to make masks and outfits and be sure of that stuff. I definitely don’t want to regurgitate old stuff because that – Slipknot doesn’t do that. It’s my job to make sure we don’t repeat ourselves.
So, this is all supposed to be a little confusing and a little bewildering because there’s so much more that’s gonna be focused in the future. So, I just let the song be the song and I thought I’d let the video be the video. People will connect them when they want to. Two for one. [I’m] tired of fighting the song and [I’m] tired of fighting the video. It’s two for one. Get it when you can.

He also elaborates on how he expects fans to digest the single and the music video: “I know you’ll only listen to the song for a while, and that’s okay. That’s what we’re here to do. [We’re] lucky and blessed to even be able to make a video.”

Later, Crahan discusses working with actor Jackson White:

So, yeah, Jackson. We were really lucky to, you know, [get] superior talent with belief. Jackson’s been with the band for a while. So, he knew coming in and he got what he needed, and that’s what’s really cool. Instead of just casting to get, it’s almost like you have people that need to be in [it] because they understand [it]. That’s when you get the best [result]. Like, you don’t have to direct; he wants it. He understands it.

Crahan also praises the cast and crew of the “Arsenal” music video:

[There’re] a lot of great young people working today. Being in prosthetics for hours [and even] eating lunch in prosthetics. If they’re actually in prosthetics over half an hour and don’t complain, it probably means they want to live there for the rest of their life. And this is a big Slipknot thing.
You know, like I said, this is the hardest mask to wear [Crahan points at himself], and the other one is a blessing. . . . I mean, what about these gentleman that wore the sphere heads all day? [They] never complained once. Never, not once. [They’re] just up there. Can’t hear shit. . . . They loved it, and obviously, a lot of these people know the band. We’re pop culture now, so they can come in knowing what to expect, and that’s pretty frightening (that we’ve already taught people how to be before I’ve even met them).
The fact that they’re willing is Slipknot, because we were all willing to go in the basement and start this shit. So, people should still be willing, and that’s a little bit of the crew. A lot of great people. I don’t know all their names and, um, alright. Well, thank you. That was easy!

You can watch Slipknot’s entire behind-the-scenes clip for the “Arsenal” music video – which includes additional insights from White, lead SFX makeup artist Jim Ojala and actress Ran Wei – below:

Slipknot – Behind the Scenes of “Arsenal”

In case you missed it, you can also view the music video for “Arsenal” below:

Slipknot, "Arsenal" Official Music Video

Other Slipknot News

Loudwire originally reported on the release of “Arsenal” on Sept. 9, noting that it “marks their first new work since adding drummer Eloy Casagrande to the band and more recently since parting ways with longtime turntablist Sid Wilson and splitting with sampler/keyboardist Craig Jones.”

We also broke down the song’s lyrics and fans’ mixed reactions.

For instance, one person on Reddit said they’d give the track “6/6.5 out of 10” because it’s “all over the place” and “sounds like the corny single they put out before an album with some weird chant in the middle.”

In contrast, another Reddit listener confessed: “Well I like it. It sounds like they have their energy and their fire back. I think the video’s cool too. Hyped to see what else they have in the chamber!”

Shortly after the tune came out, guitarist Jim Root clarified that “Arsenal” will not be on Slipknot’s next studio LP.

Specifically, Root was talking to people on Reddit and stated (across multiple inquiries) that “Arsenal” was “a tune we could quickly get our there while we work on the rest of the record. It’s not really representative of the other tunes. . . . This was just one that we could finish ‘sooner’ to get out there.”

Plus, Loudwire dove into whether Slipknot are an 8-piece band now (based on their latest press photo at the time of writing), as well as Corey Taylor teaming up with System of a Down’s Serj Tankian for a new Falling in Reverse track called “Joseph”!

How are you feeling about “Arsenal”? Did Slipknot’s behind-the-scenes video change your opinion on it? Let us know!

Also, keep scrolling to see our feature on how Slipknot split with five former members (including Sid Wilson and Jay Weinberg)!