Joey. Chris. Craig. Jay. And now Sid.
Bloody hell, mun.
Slipknot have officially confirmed that longtime DJ and turntablist Sid Wilson — #0 himself — is no longer part of the band, ending a run stretching all the way back to 1998.
And while lineup changes are hardly unusual in rock and metal, when you look at what has happened inside the Slipknot camp over the last 13 years, the list of departures is becoming longer than the queue for the bogs at Download after six pints. 🍺😂
For fans who grew up with the classic nine, another instantly recognisable mask has disappeared.
So grab your boiler suit, stick Iowa on at an irresponsible volume and join The Riff Report as we look at how Slipknot’s once seemingly inseparable lineup has gradually changed — and ask the slightly terrifying question:
Who the hell will actually still be in Slipknot when the band eventually calls it a day?
🎧 SID WILSON — 2026
Let’s start with the latest bombshell.
Sid Wilson joined Slipknot in 1998, becoming the manic turntablist known as #0 and completing the nine-man configuration that would become synonymous with the band’s breakthrough era.
And calling Sid a “DJ” has always felt hilariously inadequate.
This was a bloke who treated a Slipknot stage like a combination of a nightclub, wrestling ring and poorly supervised adventure playground.
Jumping from equipment?
Yep.
Fighting with Shawn “Clown” Crahan?
Obviously.
Throwing himself around like gravity had personally insulted him?
Absolutely.
Sid’s chaotic physical presence became part of the Slipknot experience.
But in August 2026, Slipknot confirmed that Wilson was out.
The band’s statement said that, “effective immediately,” Slipknot would no longer be associated with Sid Wilson.
The announcement was subsequently deleted, although the statement was later posted through Knotfest.
And just like that…
#0 was gone.
Twenty-eight years.
Multiple generations of Maggots.
Countless tours.
Some of the biggest metal albums of the modern era.
Done.
And his departure has once again got fans looking backwards at just how dramatically Slipknot has changed.
🥁 JOEY JORDISON — 2013
For many fans, this remains the departure that changed everything.
Joey Jordison wasn’t simply Slipknot’s drummer.
He was one of the architects of the entire bloody machine.
That drumming on People = Shit.
The ferocity of Disasterpiece.
The instantly recognisable opening of (sic).
The songwriting.
The mask.
The rotating drum riser.
Joey was a massive part of what made Slipknot, well… Slipknot.
So when the band announced in December 2013 that they were parting ways with Jordison, the metal world collectively went:
“WAIT… WHAT?!”
Slipknot initially said the split was for “personal reasons”.
Joey, however, made it clear that leaving hadn’t been his decision.
He said he had not quit Slipknot and had been shocked by what happened. Years later, Joey revealed that he had effectively been fired from the band via email.
He subsequently revealed that he had been suffering from transverse myelitis, a neurological condition that seriously affected his ability to play drums.
Joey eventually returned to performing with other projects before tragically dying in 2021 at the age of 46.
Whatever happened behind the scenes, his legacy within Slipknot is untouchable.
There was only one Joey Jordison.
#1 forever. ❤️
👃 CHRIS FEHN — 2019
Then came another enormously recognisable member of the classic nine.
Chris Fehn.
You know the mask.
We know the mask.
Your nan probably knows the mask.
👃
Fehn joined Slipknot in 1998 and spent more than two decades providing percussion, backing vocals and another layer of absolute lunacy to the band’s live performances.
Then everything exploded in 2019.
Fehn filed a lawsuit concerning the band’s finances, and shortly afterwards Slipknot announced that he was no longer part of the group.
The band’s response included the rather ominous line:
“Chris knows why he is no longer a part of Slipknot.”
Oooof.
It was hardly the quietest divorce in rock history.
Fehn’s departure meant another familiar mask from Slipknot’s golden era was gone.
His position would eventually be occupied by the mysterious figure fans initially nicknamed “Tortilla Man”, later revealed as Michael Pfaff.
Slipknot continued.
But the classic nine had taken another hit.
📌 CRAIG JONES — 2023
And then things got properly weird.
Because if there was one member of Slipknot who could leave the band without saying anything…
…it was obviously Craig Jones.
😂
The famously quiet sampler and keyboard player — #5 — had been part of Slipknot since 1996.
For decades he stood there in that terrifying spiked mask looking like someone had turned a medieval torture device into an IT technician.
Then, in June 2023, Slipknot announced they had parted ways with Jones after 27 years.
That was basically it.
No enormous explanation.
No lengthy farewell.
No dramatic interview.
Slipknot simply announced that they had “parted ways” with Craig.
Then things became even stranger.
The announcement was deleted shortly afterwards.
Craig Jones entered Slipknot mysteriously…
…and somehow managed to leave even more mysteriously.
Classic Craig.
Even his departure announcement disappeared into the shadows.
🥁 JAY WEINBERG — 2023
Only a few months later came another shock.
Jay Weinberg had been handed one of the most difficult jobs imaginable when he stepped behind the kit following Joey Jordison’s departure.
Replacing Joey?
Good luck with that, butt.
But Jay didn’t simply survive.
He absolutely smashed it.
He joined Slipknot in 2014 and became hugely popular among a new generation of Maggots.
Then, in November 2023, Slipknot announced another departure.
The band described the move as a “creative decision” as Slipknot continued to evolve.
Jay’s reaction painted a very different emotional picture.
He said he had been heartbroken and blindsided by the phone call informing him of the decision.
Jay later suggested that he wasn’t given much of an explanation beyond that.
Once again, Slipknot fans were left scratching their heads.
Craig and Jay.
Gone within months of each other.
By this point, you’d forgive the remaining members for quietly checking whether their keycards still worked at Slipknot HQ every morning.
👀
🎧 SID WILSON — 2026
And now we’ve reached #0.
After 28 years of decks, samples, stage dives, masks, madness and general Sid Wilson chaos, another member of that iconic lineup is gone.
For longtime fans, this one feels particularly strange.
Sid wasn’t just standing behind some turntables pressing buttons.
He was one of the most visually chaotic members of an already visually chaotic band.
Which is quite an achievement when you’re sharing a stage with eight masked lunatics smashing beer kegs with baseball bats.
His departure means yet another piece of the Slipknot many of us discovered during the late ’90s and early 2000s has disappeared.
💀 THE CLASSIC NINE
For a generation of Maggots, this is Slipknot:
#0 — Sid Wilson
#1 — Joey Jordison
#2 — Paul Gray
#3 — Chris Fehn
#4 — Jim Root
#5 — Craig Jones
#6 — Shawn “Clown” Crahan
#7 — Mick Thomson
#8 — Corey Taylor
Nine masks.
Nine numbers.
One gigantic wall of noise.
That lineup became one of the most visually recognisable groups in metal history.
Then tragedy struck.
Bassist Paul Gray died on 24 May 2010, aged just 38.
His death was devastating not merely because Slipknot had lost their bassist, but because they’d lost one of the fundamental personalities responsible for creating the band.
Paul could never simply be “replaced”.
And from there, the classic lineup gradually began disappearing.
📉 WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Look at that legendary nine-man lineup today and the scale of the change becomes pretty staggering.
Paul Gray — died in 2010 ❤️
Joey Jordison — departed in 2013; died in 2021 ❤️
Chris Fehn — departed in 2019
Craig Jones — departed in 2023
Sid Wilson — departed in 2026
Meaning the remaining members from the famous nine are:
🔥 Corey Taylor
🤡 Shawn “Clown” Crahan
🎸 Mick Thomson
🎸 Jim Root
Four.
Just four members remain from the lineup most fans immediately picture when somebody says “classic Slipknot”.
And yes…
We know what you’re thinking.
👀 MICK AND JIM RIGHT NOW…
“Nobody answer the phone.”
😂😂😂
Imagine Slipknot HQ ringing.
Mick:
“Don’t look at me.”
Jim:
“I’m not picking it up.”
Corey:
“Whose phone is that?”
Clown:
“I’ve got an artistic concept—”
EVERYBODY:
“NO.”
🤘 BUT IS SLIPKNOT BIGGER THAN ITS LINEUP?
Here’s where things become genuinely interesting.
Slipknot has always felt different from an ordinary band.
It’s almost become an entity.
The masks change.
The costumes change.
Members change.
The music evolves.
But Slipknot somehow continues.
Alessandro Venturella stepped into the bass role.
Michael Pfaff joined the percussion assault.
After Jay Weinberg’s departure, former Sepultura powerhouse Eloy Casagrande joined on drums in 2024.
And Slipknot continued flattening arenas and festival fields.
That’s why the question of Slipknot’s eventual ending is so fascinating.
Could Slipknot theoretically continue without any of the classic nine?
Could the band eventually become something closer to an institution where musicians inherit masks and roles?
Or does there come a point where too many original ingredients have disappeared?
Because there is one lineup change that feels almost impossible to imagine.
🎤 COULD SLIPKNOT EXIST WITHOUT COREY TAYLOR?
That’s the massive one.
Slipknot without Corey Taylor?
You could change drummers.
You could change bassists.
You could change percussionists.
You could change DJs.
But replacing that voice?
The scream.
The melodies.
The stage presence.
“If you’re 555…”
You already finished the sentence in your head, didn’t you?
😂🤘
Corey’s vocals are embedded into Slipknot’s identity.
And then there’s Clown.
Shawn Crahan has been there since the beginning and remains one of the driving creative forces behind the entire Slipknot universe.
If Corey is the voice, Clown might be the keeper of the mythology.
Which makes us wonder whether those two will ultimately determine when Slipknot ends.
🎸 DON’T FORGET MICK AND JIM
Then you’ve got perhaps metal’s most terrifying guitar department.
Mick Thomson and Jim Root.
Absolute riff monsters.
They’re not necessarily the members doing endless interviews or generating headlines every five minutes.
They just turn up looking terrifying and unleash riffs capable of removing your eyebrows from 200 yards.
And perhaps that’s exactly why they’ll survive until the end.
Keep your head down.
Play Surfacing.
Go home.
Repeat.
Job security, mun. 😂
💭 WHEN DOES A BAND STOP BEING THE SAME BAND?
Slipknot aren’t alone here.
Rock history is full of bands that have continued despite enormous lineup changes.
But Slipknot’s situation feels particularly emotional because the nine-member identity was such an enormous part of their mythology.
Those numbers mattered.
Those masks mattered.
Those personalities mattered.
Fans didn’t merely follow Slipknot.
They had favourite members.
Favourite masks.
Favourite eras.
Favourite numbers.
You could spot Sid moving around the stage from half a festival field away.
You could recognise Joey behind the kit instantly.
You knew Craig’s silhouette.
You knew Chris’s mask.
You knew Paul.
That’s why each departure feels bigger than simply changing personnel.
It’s another piece of the Slipknot many of us grew up with disappearing.
❤️ THE MEMORIES AREN’T GOING ANYWHERE
Whatever happens next, nothing changes what that classic lineup created.
Slipknot.
Iowa.
Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses).
All Hope Is Gone.
The boiler suits.
The masks.
The numbers.
The chaos.
The festival headline sets.
The pits.
The ridiculous percussion rigs.
The beer kegs.
The flames.
And thousands upon thousands of Maggots screaming every word back at the stage.
Those memories belong to metal history now.
Nobody can fire them.
Nobody can delete them.
Nobody can replace them.
🔥 THE RIFF REPORT VERDICT
Sid Wilson leaving Slipknot marks another huge changing of the guard.
Slipknot can continue evolving.
That’s what they’ve always done.
But there’s no escaping the fact that the Slipknot lineup staring back at us in 2026 is very different from the nine masked lunatics who exploded into mainstream metal consciousness at the turn of the millennium.
From that legendary classic nine, we’re now down to:
Corey.
Clown.
Mick.
Jim.
So naturally there’s only one question left.
👀 WHO WILL ACTUALLY STILL BE IN SLIPKNOT WHEN IT FINALLY ENDS?
Will Corey and Clown turn the lights off together?
Will Mick Thomson somehow outlast everybody and still be standing there silently playing riffs at 87?
Will Jim Root wake up one morning in 2045 and realise he’s accidentally the only member left?
Or could Slipknot eventually continue with an entirely new generation behind the masks?
Over to you, Maggots.
Who do you reckon will be the last classic member standing?
And while we’re asking dangerous questions…
Which departure hit you hardest — Joey, Chris, Craig, Jay or Sid?
Sound off.
We’ll be over here checking Mick and Jim’s phones haven’t started ringing.
👀📱
Stay loud. Stay masked. And somebody PLEASE make sure Mick’s contract is safe. 🤘🔥
The Riff Report — Proudly Welsh. Proudly Loud. Zero Apologies. 🏴🤘
