Clown Admits Slipknot Members Are 'Not That Close Anymore'

Slipknot 's currently on tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of their self-titled debut album, but a lot has changed since 1999. The band's members have grieved the deaths of bassist Paul Gray and drummer Joey Jordison and parted ways with longtime members Chris Fehn (percussion) and Craig “133” Jones (samples/keys), so the dynamic is not the same as it was back then. Co-founder Shawn "Clown" Crahan reflected on these changes during a recent interview with Metal Hammer .

“Brother, the band will never be like that again,” he admitted. “I can’t tell you how close we were then: we’re not that close anymore. People are gone. Craig’s out. Chris is out, Joey’s out, Paul’s out. The band is different. But, back then, there was nine guys that wanted to be in the same place, and we made it work. And we wound up here, and here is wonderful.”

“Joey and Paul… Oh my God, they wrote this sh*** man. Number 1 and Number 2," Clown continued. "The path changed for us after they passed, and we had to keep going, and take a new path, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t know where we came from, or ever forget what brought us here.”

Slipknot kicked off the North American leg of their 25th anniversary tour last month. See a list of remaining dates below.

Slipknot 2024 Tour Dates

Sep 17: Austin, TX - Moody Center #

Sep 18: Dallas, TX - Dos Equis Pavilion #

Sep 21: Des Moines, IA - Knotfest Iowa at Waterworks Park #

Oct 11: Sacramento, CA - Aftershock Festival

Oct 19: São Paulo, BR - Knotfest Brasil

Nov 08: Guadalajara, MX - Calle 2

Nov 09: Mexico City, MX - Parque Bicentenario

# w/ Special Guests Knocked Loose and Vended