Slipknot Appears to Have Split With Longtime Member Craig Jones

Keyboardist Craig Jones, who joined the band in 1996, has reportedly left Slipknot. The masked metal outfit gave no reason for the separation in a social media post that they quickly deleted.

“To our fans, Slipknot is announcing that we have parted ways with Craig Jones,” the letter posted on Slipknot’s social media platforms on Wednesday, June 7th (before it was deleted) claimed. We wish Jones the best of luck in the future.”

The band recruited Jones (also known as #5 and distinguished by his Hellraiser-style spiked mask) as a guitarist to replace founding member Donnie Steele, but he swiftly transitioned to keyboards and sampling. While Jones was not a founding member of Slipknot, he joined a year into the band’s existence and appeared on all of their studio albums except the early demo full-length Mate. Feed, kill, and repeat.

The Iowa band’s roster underwent many changes during the last decade. Paul Gray died in 2010, and Alessandro Venturella finally became the bassist. Drummer Joey Jordison (who died in 2021) quit the band in 2013 and Jay Weinberg replaced him. The band fired percussionist Chris Fehn in 2019 and hired Michael Pfaff.

Jones’ apparent exit occurred shortly after percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan stated he would miss Slipknot’s forthcoming performances to care for his ill wife. At this point, it is uncertain who, if anybody, will replace Jones and Crahan for the band’s European tour, which begins Wednesday night (June 7th) in Austria at the Nova Rock festival.

Slipknot will perform at two festivals in the United States this summer (Rock Fest and Inkcarceration) and September (Blue Ridge Rock Festival).

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