If you're feeling Psychosocial, check out the Duality between Slipknot's iconic masks and the musicians under them. Don't get Left Behind!
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00:00If you're feeling psychosocial, check out the duality between Slipknot's iconic masks
00:06and the musicians under them. Don't get left behind.
00:10More than 25 years after the band's debut, the only original member left in Slipknot
00:15is percussionist Sean "'Clown' Kran. Kran was one of the founders of the band in 1995,
00:21recruiting the other members to join him. In addition to being a percussionist, Kran
00:26also provides backing vocals on several tracks. He is known for eccentric onstage performances,
00:32which involve him hitting trash cans like drums, and he also has hurt himself a few
00:36times while going all out during a show. Apparently, he used to sniff the corpse of a crow before
00:42shows to get his adrenaline pumping.
00:44However, Clown is far from your typical metalhead, admitting in a 2022 interview with The Independent
00:50that he has a soft spot for the music stylings of one Ariana Grande. In 2019, Kran experienced
00:56a great personal tragedy when his 22-year-old daughter Gabrielle died. In addition, he also
01:02stated in the interview that the deaths of former bandmates Joey Jordison and Paul Gray
01:07were tough on him, calling it pretty heavy to be the last surviving original member of
01:12the band. The creepy smile on Clown's signature mask hides a man with a kind heart and a sensitive
01:18side.
01:19I came up with wearing the mask because I didn't want people to see my real pain.
01:26He may be known for being somewhat of a recluse. Not saying much, but Craig 133 Jones is one
01:32of the longest-tenured members in Slipknot. Jones originally joined as a guitar player,
01:37but he is also largely known for his sampling and keyboard work. Jones has appeared on every
01:41single Slipknot album since their 1996 debut, Mate, Feed, Kill, Repeat. Of all the masks
01:48in Slipknot, Jones' might be the most recognizable, though it has gone through variations and
01:53changes. Jones wears a G.I.T. mask covered in spikes. It's definitely one of the more
01:58intimidating masks in the band, as those spikes look like they could do some serious damage
02:03if they get too close. Jones is notorious for not talking in interviews, and bandmate
02:09Corey Taylor relayed during a Q&A session with fans that it's not an act. He's like
02:13that with the band, too. Taylor claimed he went two years without having a full conversation
02:18with Jones, which is pretty incredible considering they were playing together almost daily at
02:23times. Still, you can tell that Jones is beloved by his bandmates, even if he is the strong
02:28and silent type.
02:30One half of the electric guitar duo that powers Slipknot, Mick Thompson, has been in the band
02:35since 1996. He's known for his virtuoso guitar playing that includes both rhythm and solo
02:41work, as well as his affinity for Jackson and ESP brand guitars. He's also one of the
02:47most physically imposing members of the band, usually dwarfing the smaller members in photoshoots
02:52and onstage. Along with fellow guitarist Jim Root, Thompson writes all of his own guitar
02:58parts. According to an interview they gave in Guitar World, they don't typically do a
03:01lot of planning before getting into the studio, preferring to make things as organic and fresh
03:06as possible.
03:08Thompson's mask design has stayed relatively stable during his tenure in the band, but
03:12it has changed up slightly. Usually, the mask resembles a cross between an old-school
03:17hockey mask and a gimp mask, with his eyes shooting out from the cutouts like laser beams
03:22into the soul. In 2015, Thompson was charged with disorderly conduct following a violent
03:28altercation with his brother, but he's still shredding with Slipknot to this day.
03:34Of all the members of Slipknot, Corey Taylor has by far had the most success outside of
03:38the band. He has been the lead singer of Slipknot since 1997, and has appeared on every
03:44album since their self-titled release in 1999. His stage antics are widely known. He's definitely
03:50one of the band's more interactive performers, constantly getting the crowd involved in their
03:56performances.
03:57In addition to his work with Slipknot, Taylor is the lead singer for the band Stone Sour,
04:02which also features Slipknot guitar player Jim Root. Of all the masks in Slipknot, Taylor's
04:07has probably evolved the most. It started off with fake dreadlocks sewn into a largely
04:12gray mask that wrapped around his head, but eventually, he dropped the dreadlocks and
04:16made the switch to face-only masks. During an interview with Kerrang!, Taylor commented
04:21that the mask he unveiled in 2019 was purposefully designed to make fans uncomfortable, and that
04:27he wanted it to look less professionally designed and more authentic.
04:31There's gotta be an easier way. Look, I haven't aged a day.
04:37Outside of his life in music, Taylor is also a New York Times bestselling author. He has
04:42released several books, and has authored comic books and graphic novels.
04:47Besides Corey Taylor, Sid Wilson, the man behind the turntables and keyboards, might
04:52just be the most recognizable Slipknot member to the average fan. This is mainly due to
04:57his relationship with Kelly Osbourne, the daughter of metal god Ozzy Osbourne. They
05:01met all the way back in 1999, when Slipknot was just finding their footing. It's unclear
05:06when they started dating, but they revealed their relationship in early 2022. They welcomed
05:11their first child later that year, a boy named Sidney.
05:15Wilson's mask has undergone many changes throughout the years, starting out as mainly a gas mask
05:20before morphing into various skulls. He has also experimented with masks that look like
05:25the Transformers, as he is a big fan of the series.
05:28In addition to playing in Slipknot, Wilson has a solo career under the moniker DJ Starscream,
05:34a name that pays homage to his beloved robots in disguise. Wilson joined the band prior
05:39to the release of their self-titled album, and has been with them ever since. During
05:43an interview with Revolver, Wilson revealed that in order to make an impression on Clown,
05:48he headbutted him repeatedly at an early concert. That convinced Clown to make him a member
05:53of the band.
05:55If you play guitar and listen to rock or metal music, you've most likely heard of Slipknot
05:59guitar player Jim Root. In addition to his appearances on every Slipknot album since
06:04their self-titled release in 1999, Root has also appeared on albums for the band Mindless
06:09Self-Indulgence, the artist John 5, and Sid Wilson's solo project DJ Starscream. He was
06:16also one of the main guitarists in the band Stone Sour, which he played in with Slipknot
06:21vocalist Corey Taylor. Like fellow Slipknot guitarist Mike Thompson, Root is known for
06:26his incredible ability to play both rhythm and lead styles effectively. According to
06:30an interview Root gave with Guitar World, he is one of the primary songwriters in Slipknot,
06:35and is always looking for ways to evolve their sound. During the interview, Root also revealed
06:41that he was the main reason that bass player Alessandro Venturala joined the band following
06:46the death of longtime bassist Paul Gray in 2010.
06:49Root is known for having one of the more stable mask designs in the band. They usually feature
06:54an array of zippers and a jester's face, often with large sockets for his eyes. Some of his
06:59masks have almost channeled a Phantom of the Opera vibe, while others, like his Iowa-era
07:04look, are just downright sinister.
07:08Chris Fane was a percussionist and backing vocalist in Slipknot from 1998 until his departure
07:13in 2019 under acrimonious circumstances. Before his dismissal, Fane had appeared on
07:19every Slipknot album from the 1999 self-titled to 2017's live album Day of the Gusano. According
07:26to an interview Fane gave in 2008, his first years in the band were full of hazing, and
07:31it was hard for him to fit in. They refused to let him record on the albums, and did not
07:35give him a stage number like everyone else for what he felt was a long time.
07:40To understand Slipknot back then is really difficult because it's such, it's like such
07:44mental abuse, you know?
07:46In March 2019, Fane filed a lawsuit against the band and members Sean Cran and Corey Taylor
07:52over breach of fiduciary duty, breach of implied contract, and unjust enrichment. Fane alleged
07:59that Cran and Taylor had gone behind his back and created multiple companies and LLCs that
08:04sold Slipknot merchandise, and he claimed they did so in order to get out of compensating
08:09A year and a half later, in September 2020, the lawsuit was sent to mediation before it
08:14was withdrawn that November. It's unknown if his settlement was ever reached. Fane's
08:18masks have always been distinctive for their long, Pinocchio-esque noses and zipper mouths,
08:24which add a nuanced layer of psychotic horror to his persona.
08:29When Slipknot's original bass player, Paul Gray, died in 2010, the band was absolutely
08:34devastated. Fans wondered how the group would ever be able to continue, considering how
08:38Gray was such an integral and recognizable piece to their puzzle. Four years later, in
08:442014, Slipknot finally hired his replacement, Englishman Alessandro Venturilla. As he relayed
08:50in a 2019 interview with MusicRadar, the reason he got the job was in part due to longtime
08:56guitarist Jim Root. Root and Venturilla were friends, and Venturilla was working as a guitar
09:01tech for Brent Hines of Mastodon. One night while on tour in Atlanta, Root called Venturilla,
09:07a guitarist by trade, and asked if he could set the band up with any bass players to audition.
09:13Venturilla volunteered, learning to play bass on the fly just before the audition. In another
09:18interview Venturilla gave in 2023 with Heavy Interviews, he talked about how at first the
09:23band wanted to keep his identity a secret. However, after a few promo shots captured
09:28his distinctive tattoos, the word quickly got out, and everyone knew Venturilla was
09:33the new bass player. Having not been in Slipknot nearly as long as most other members, Venturilla's
09:38mask has not had the chance to evolve nearly as much. His first mask looked a bit like
09:43a cross between Michael Myers and Scarecrow from Batman, and it has slowly morphed into
09:48looking like it consists of only his face muscles stripped of skin. Definitely one of
09:54the more frightening masks in the group.
09:57For most people, their first jobs out of college are usually something temporary and
10:02ephemeral, quick stops on their way to their larger career. Well, most people aren't Jay
10:07Weinberg. Upon graduating from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 2013, with a business
10:12degree no less, one of Weinberg's first jobs was to start playing drums in Slipknot. Their
10:18longtime drummer, Joey Jordison, had just departed the band, so Weinberg immediately
10:23stepped in. Weinberg wasn't just any college kid, though. He was already a seasoned veteran,
10:29having previously toured with bands like Against Me. He also comes from drumming royalty. His
10:34father, Max Weinberg, played drums in Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
10:38He's taken my drumming, you know, whatever beats I play, and just gone so far beyond
10:43me. It's ridiculous.
10:46Weinberg first appeared on Slipknot's 2014 release .5, The Gray Chapter, and has played
10:51on all releases since. According to an interview he gave with Metal Injection in 2016, he was
10:57actually still in school finishing up his final tests when he got the call to potentially
11:01join Slipknot. Needless to say, he jumped at the opportunity. He had been a fan of the
11:06band since he was a teenager, and ended up being a big part of the writing process for
11:11their 2014 album. Like fellow newcomer Alessandro Venturilla, Weinberg's mask hasn't had as much
11:17time to grow. At first, they featured a zipper mouth and a pentagram on the forehead, before
11:22slowly morphing into an all-white face with a mouth sewn shut. He's also worn special
11:27masks for special occasions, like the black-and-white one he commissioned for Knotfest Japan.
11:34Slipknot welcomed their newest member in 2019, percussionist Michael Pfaff. He's lovingly
11:39known as the Tortilla Man, due to the interesting nature of his mask. Pfaff's story is a little
11:45different from the other newcomers in Slipknot, as the band was actually able to hide his
11:49identity for a few years. Where they failed with Alessandro Venturilla and Jay Weinberg,
11:54they succeeded with Pfaff, and his identity was not revealed until 2022. That year, Pfaff
12:01took part in a Reddit Ask Me Anything Q&A, where he revealed his secret identity for
12:05the first time. Previously, internet sleuths had fingered Pfaff as the Tortilla Man, but
12:11no one could definitively say so until he revealed himself for the Reddit AMA. Although
12:16he joined in 2019, Pfaff is apparently still new enough that security doesn't always recognize
12:22him, even when he's in full attire. Pfaff's mask features sinister vertical eye slits
12:27and a disturbing zipper mouth. Who knew Mexican food could be so scary?
12:33When Paul Gray passed away in 2010, a huge hole opened up in Slipknot. Gray had been
12:38one of the founding members and the group's bass player since 1995, appearing on every
12:43single Slipknot album until his death. He was one of the most beloved members of the
12:48band, and his loss severely impacted them, especially lead vocalist Corey Taylor, who
12:54eventually got a tattoo of Gray in remembrance during a very emotional episode of New York
12:58Inc. Gray's death was the result of a long struggle with substance abuse, which culminated
13:04in a tragic and fatal overdose.
13:06Yesterday, we lost our brother, and the world seems a little smaller because of it.
13:14Seen by many as the heart and soul of the band, Gray's masks went through some major
13:18changes during his time in Slipknot. First, it was a pig-face mask strapped to his head,
13:24which he eventually turned black. He later modified it to resemble the infamous Hannibal
13:28Lecter mask, and he looked truly deranged and possessed behind it.
13:33For many young metal fans, the reason they started listening to Slipknot was due in no
13:38small part to original drummer Joey Jordison, widely known for his virtuoso drumming. Slipknot
13:44concerts would often feature drum solos, with Jordison playing alone on his kit as it spun
13:49and flipped all over the stage. Along with Sean Crann and Paul Gray, Jordison was one
13:54of the original founding members of Slipknot, and he played on every album from 1996's
13:59Mate, Feed, Kill, Repeat, through 2008's All Hope Is Gone, departing the band in 2013.
14:06Though at first all that was said about him leaving the band is that it was for
14:09personal reasons. He later announced that he had been diagnosed with transverse myelitis,
14:15a neurological condition that comprised his ability to drum effectively with his legs.
14:20After recovering, Jordison continued to play in a number of bands,
14:24including Scar the Martyr, Murder Dolls, and Vimik. Tragically, Jordison died on July 26,
14:302021, at the age of 46. Jordison's mask remained relatively consistent
14:36during his time in Slipknot. It usually featured a lighter base with black paint,
14:41and his final look adopted a crown of thorns to adorn his horrific mask.
14:45It was unsettling, to say the least, just the way he liked it.