Slipknot guitarist Jim Root wants the band to make their sixth album soon – and he’s already started writing for it.

He believes they should get back into the studio while they’re at their best following the derailment of their career with the death of Paul Gray in 2010, and their return to studio action with last year’s .5: The Gray Chapter.

Root tells the Des Moines Register: “We haven’t been able to do two albums back-to-back since our first one and Iowa.

“We’re at a point in our career where the band is on top of its game. If we take two years or however long away, who knows if we could come back? Someone might decide they want direct or write, or other bands’ projects might take priority.”

He adds: “I plan for the best and expect the worst. I started writing again – hopefully the songs will be on a new Slipknot record. If not, I’ll find something else to do with them.”

Root was fired from Stone Sour in 2013, and describes the experience as “like getting dumped.” But it meant he was able to focus fully on The Gray Chapter.

“It lit a fire under my ass,” he admits. “It definitely made me put my nose to the grindstone and hone my skills a little more.”

Slipknot headline the Download festival at Donington next month. Stone Sour streamed covers EP Meanwhile In Burbank last week.