Eminem wants to surprise fans with his new album.

Slaughterhouse members Royce Da 5' 9'' and Joell Ortiz - who are signed to the rapper's own Shady Records label - believe the "Not Afraid" hitmaker is deliberately keeping quiet about his upcoming eighth album because he doesn't want to give anything away until he's completed the final edit.

"Em's whole thing is the element of surprise. That's how it's always been with him," Royce said.

"He gets in to his own world. I too am like him in a way. I like to go in to my cave and get the meat and potatoes of my album done before I venture out because I've gotta figure out the sound. So I'm sure that's probably what he's doing," Joel added.

The 40-year-old superstar has yet to announce a release date or a title for the hotly-anticipated record, but photographs of him in the recording studio with comedian Chris Rock and rappers Big Sean and Kendrick Lamar have surfaced.

Eminem has also released a track, "Survival," which features on computer game Call of Duty: Ghosts and is expected to make the new album's tracklist.

The hip-hop icon is known for his spontaneous collaborations and recently released a record with Royce as duo Bad Meets Evil, an experience the Slaughterhouse star is already planning to follow up. "With the first Bad Meets Evil album - the one we just did - we didn't plan that one. We didn't know what was gonna happen and if it was gonna happen. It could end up being a situation where his album is out and Slaughterhouse's album is out and we have some free time together. I could see it accidentally happening. But we never plan anything," Royce said.