Jay Weinberg, known for his thunderous drumming with Slipknot and now Suicidal Tendencies, is finally bringing a long-gestating personal project into the light. Speaking on the Podioslave Podcast, he opened up about the creative process behind his upcoming solo work, though “solo” is a loose term in this case.
“I’ve been working on, for lack of a better way of putting it, a solo album, but it’s certainly not solo in the terms of it’s not just me,” he explained (via Blabbermouth). “I’m playing all the instruments on it and I’m collaborating with many different vocalists who I’ve been inspired by.”
The album has been over a decade in the making. Collaborations with vocalists, many of them long-time friends and artists he’s admired, are central to the vision. One example is his ongoing collaboration with Conner Sullivan, a.k.a. Argus, which will be partially unveiled at Colorado’s Field Of Vision festival this August.
“I’ve always wanted to do something like this where, like with my friend Conner… there are many people in life that we always meet, and it’s, like, ‘Dude, you’re so rad. Let’s start a side project or something like that.’ And it isn’t easy. We all have lives… but I think it’s more easily manageable if I write a song and I’ve come up with it and I’m, like, man, ‘Vocally this direction, it could be really great with this guy, this girl on it,’ who’s a friend of mine that I’ve always wanted to work with.”
For Weinberg, this project isn’t just about drums or stepping into the spotlight. It’s a multifaceted creative mission, musically and visually. He’s composing, playing guitar, bass, keys, and even painting the artwork himself.
“But, yeah, that’s been a huge undertaking that I’m really excited about, hopefully getting out there starting in the fall or so,” he said. “I made kind of a deal with myself that this material that I’ve been writing and rearranging and working on for years — I was unable to do anything with it, but now that I have the freedom and the ability to exercise all this stuff, it’s been an incredible creative endeavor.”
One song in the collection even dates back to 2011: “I have a demo of one of these songs that dates back to 2011. And I’ve always found working on guitars, I’m surrounded by the guitars I play with, that helps reinforce or reinform how I approach the drums.”
This broader perspective has shaped how he hears and arranges his music, listening as a guitarist, a drummer, and a producer simultaneously.
“I’m listening to what I’m making, not just from wearing my drummer’s hat and, like, ‘Oh, just make the drums louder. That would be awesome.’ It’s not just that. I’m listening to this because I have such a heavy hand in all of it. Myself, the guitar player, has to respect myself as the drummer and vice versa.”
Even the visual components are in his hands. “And as the painter who’s going to be doing the artwork and stuff like that, it’s all undertakings that I’m taking on. So it’s slow going, but I’m very proud of it, and I’m hoping that some of that stuff starts to see the light of day, hopefully this fall, is kind of like the deal that I’ve made with myself. So we’ll see. Knock on wood. We’ll see what happens.”
Sonically, he’s drawing from a set of influences that have rarely had space in his more public musical output. The solo material reflects a personal palette shaped by acts far outside the Slipknot or Suicidal Tendencies universe.
“Sonically, it’s all stuff that I’ve always wanted to dive into. I think my influences from Neurosis and Interpol, and My Bloody Valentine show their face in this kind of material more so than it has in other music that I’ve been a part of writing or recording in the past. So I’m very thrilled to get this stuff out, for sure.”
Hints of this solo effort first surfaced in early 2024, when Weinberg posted that he’d revisited music written years ago, material that had been dormant since a 2017 attempt to assemble a band during touring downtime.
“I haven’t touched these songs since then, until recently feeling inspired to pick the guitar back up and kick this stuff around again. It’s been a fulfilling experience, and I’ll tell you — I’m starting to like where these songs are headed. It feels good to finally set the intention of releasing some of this new music in the coming year.”
While busy supporting Metallica with Suicidal Tendencies this spring and summer, he’s carving out time to finalize his vision.
“I’m equally pumped to spend considerable time in the studio, especially working on this collection of songs. Stoked for you to hear them. When they’re ready, you’ll know.”
