Craig Jones Leaves Slipknot

8 June 2023 | 8:41 am | Mary Varvaris
Originally Appeared In

While no reason was given for his departure, Slipknot’s live shows go on.

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Slipknot (Credit: Jonathan Weiner)

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Craig Jones, the sampler and keyboard player of Slipknot, is no longer in the band. The spiky-masked star has been in the group since 1996 and has appeared on every release following their debut EP released in the same year, Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat

In his 27 years with the band, Jones has remained notoriously anti-press, hardly partaking in any kind of interviews. Slipknot stated his departure in a brief statement on social media, writing in a now-deleted Instagram post, per Metal Hammer:

"To our fans, Slipknot is announcing that we have parted ways with Craig Jones. We wish Jones all the best for the future."

While no reason was given for his departure, Slipknot’s live shows go on – they’re slated to perform at Nova Rock Festival in Austria today, and they’re headlining the Sunday at Download Festival this weekend at Donington Park. At the time of writing, there’s been no update as to whether Jones will be replaced for the shows.

In a disruptive 24 hours for Slipknot, Shawn 'Clown' Crahan also announced that he’s taking some time away from live gigs as he needs to be with his wife, who is dealing with unspecified health issues.

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“Hello to all of our fans, it’s the clown. I would like to take a moment to tell everyone that I’m back home supporting my wife through some health issues, and I’ll be back on the road as soon as I can,” Clown wrote on social media earlier today.

“We’ve been through this before and as always, we appreciate the love and support. See all of you very soon. Thank you. Clown”.


Slipknot were in Australia in March, headlining their namesake festival Knotfest for the first time down under. Kill Your Stereo’s review of Knotfest Australia concluded about their performance, “Slipknot, indeed, is the heirs-apparent to the Metal Throne as THE G.O.A.T. once Metallica calls it a day. 

“Blasting through tracks that spanned their entire career, this was an experience far more than simply a festival set. The maniacal bashing of beer kegs with flaming baseball bats, the slithering of members of the band over the separate levels of the set, the masks, the pyro, the theatricality of it, Corey Taylor’s purposeful hyping of the crowd that was so intent on the inclusion of everyone into the Slipknot family and more.” Read the full review here.