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Slipknot‘s new single Arsenal is “not really representative” of the rest of the material the band is working on for their upcoming eighth album, says guitarist Jim Root.

He says because it is too different from the other songs they are working on, Arsenal won’t be on the new album whenever it is released.

Slipknot surprise released the song this week and, as always, there has been passionate online discussion among fans.

Responding to comments from fans on a now deleted Instagram post, Root writes: “Arsenal was a tune we could quickly get out there while we work on the rest of the record. It’s not really representative of the other tunes.”

Asked if it will appear on the new record, he adds: “No. This was just one that we could finish sooner to get out there.”

Arsenal is the first new music released by the band since the recent departure of DJ Sid Wilson.

No firm release details about what will be the band’s eighth album have been confirmed. But Root previously revealed that they were working with long-time Faith No More producer Matt Wallace and that they had around 50 song ideas.

He said: “There’s times where we just kind of sit back and we’re listening to what I just worked on and, I’m just like, Wow this is wild. This sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard before. Yet there’s a familiarity to it that feels like I’ve been listening to it my whole life and it’s just so organic. It’s just Slipknot music.”

The seemingly insurmountable quandary that confronted Marillion in late 1988 was exactly how they could replace their frontman, Fish, and which singer would have the audacity and the balls to even try. After all, Fish was more than just the singer; his gregarious personality and lyrical prowess had created the powerful image and identity that the band had traded on for six years.

It would have been easy for Marillion to simply bring in a Fish replica, to simply regurgitate the hits and carry on the tradition, but the band were too daring – and savvy – for that. Instead they chose Steve Hogarth, as diminutive as Fish was big-boned, whose previous pop-slanted experiences with the bands How We Live and The Europeans made him seem an unlikely choice – especially when his first photo with his new band showed him sporting rather a dodgy New Romantic haircut.

Yet the wisdom of their choice was that Hogarth plainly wasn’t Fish. What the new frontman may have lacked in a range of harlequin-patterned suits, face paint and theatrical helmets was surpassed by his subtly endearing stage craft, and a distinctly individual and immediate voice (crucially, not an acquired taste like that of his predecessor) made his appointment an intelligent and perceptive one.

Marillion’s first album with Hogarth, the slick Seasons End, had been well-received, and although sales hadn’t even approached those of Misplaced Childhood or Clutching At Straws, the signs were at least encouraging that a Marillion without Fish was not inconceivable.

But it’s in the live environment that a new singer discovers whether a loyal fan base is willing to accept them, and Hogarth had publicly admitted that he was “frankly terrified” at the prospect of his first UK tour. As bassist Pete Trewavas had accurately put it before a show at the St George’s Hall in Bradford: “We know that we are fighting for our survival.”

Apart from Hogarth, the difference between Marillion in 1989 and the sullen band that had appeared on the drawn-out Clutching At Straws tour was surprising. Clearly conscious of the hole that Fish had left, the band were making deliberate efforts to inject some energy into their set. Steve Rothery, who had previously preferred to remain static and rarely wander past his guitar pedals, was mobile and smiling as Hogarth karate-kicked his way through the set.

Rightly, Hogarth had been allowed free rein in selecting the Fish material he wanted to perform, and although the stilted banter between songs revealed his nervousness, he confidently recited the likes of Slainte Mhath, Script For A Jester’s Tear and Warm Wet Circles, and the bravely included Kayleigh, Lavender and Heart Of Lothian managed to convince too.

As for the new material, Easter was spellbinding and fresh; Berlin was heartfelt; Hooks In You was a reminder that Marillion were comfortable venturing into three-minute ‘heavy metal’.

Concluding the set, a speaker astride a stack some 20 feet above the stage, belting out a medley of Market Square Heroes and Alice Cooper’s School’s Out, Hogarth had proved both his rock credentials and that he was more than a Fish substitute – as his now 37-year tenure as lead singer is a testament to.

Back in 1997, many people noted the personnel involved in Flesh & Blood and assumed that the outfit had to be some kind of melodic rock supergroup. It was a forgivable enough error, given that the quintet’s rich pedigree came from such bands as Touch, Tyketto, Saraya and Asia.

In fact, Flesh & Blood came after former American Tears/Touch/Drive, She Said keyboard player Mark Mangold sat down to write blues songs for ex-Free/Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers. When Rodgers’ new band The Law (which paired him with The Who‘s former drummer Kenney Jones) recorded only one of those songs, For A Little Ride, on their eponymous debut album in 1991, Mangold had an embarrassment of riches remaining.

It took him six years to release them, by which time the music scene was still adjusting to the fallout from grunge; few people were disposed towards a band that sounded like the Black Crowes jamming with Creedence Clearwater Revival. Emerging via the independent Now & Then Records label, Blues For Daze created few headlines and failed to trouble the Billboard chart, but it certainly seduced those with a discerning ear.

Joining Mangold in Flesh & Blood were ex-Alice Cooper/Savatage/Asia and future Megadeth guitarist Al Pitrelli, Saraya drummer Chuck Bonfante and unknown bassist Mitch DeStefano, with former Waysted/Tyketto singer Danny Vaughn stepping into the picture at the last minute.

Vaughn sounds more relaxed, soulful and confident on Blues For Daze than he ever did before. Which is a considerable achievement considering that his vocals were added to the already recorded music, replacing those of another singer (to this day, both Mangold and Vaughn refuse to divulge the name of the mystery original vocalist).

For Mangold, Flesh & Blood was an opportunity to revisit his blues-enriched youth, pouring lashings of Hammond organ on Man Enough and Shake Ya Tail Feather. The swaggering power of the title track is the closest the album gets to hard rock, although Feel The Power is a great Cry Of Love-flavoured opening song that Mangold re-recorded in 2004 with his side project The Magic Freak Society. Bed Of Roses and Jenny Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, the latter a particularly moving lament to a late girlfriend, are its more introspective moments. Voodoo Moon, on the other hand, revealed some ersatz Cajun promise.

Though Pitrelli is regarded more as a metal-oriented shredder than a thoughtful bluesman, he’s in surprisingly restrained form throughout, his finest moment arguably being the Thunder-meets-Whitesnake of Sweet Sister Rose, some soaring playing bringing the song to a gospel-tinged climax. Unfortunately, because all except DeStefano had other commitments, Flesh & Blood never toured. In fact, it wasn’t until 2002 when Mangold joined Danny Vaughn and his band Vaughn on stage at a Belgian festival that any of the album’s material was played live.

“We got to kick out Feel The Power and Jenny Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, which was a fantastic experience,” Danny told Classic Rock. “In fact, Mark and I have talked several times about doing another Flesh & Blood album, but we’ve both been pretty busy. Still, never say never.”

This feature originally appeared in Classic Rock 53 (May 2003). Blues For Daze was reissued in 2021 by Bad Reputation Records, when Flesh & Blood reformed to record two new tracks for the release: a brand new song called Ready To Roll, and an acoustic version of the track Riverside, featuring Danny Vaughn on acoustic guitar and blues harp.