We could be seeing the end of the greatness that is Slipknot
By Lee Vowell
Craig Jones played on every Slipknot album made. He joined the band in 1996 and played keyboard, did sampling, and played percussion. But now, he is no more.
Oh, wait. I didn’t mean that to sound so dire. I just meant Jones was either kicked out or quit Slipknot, the band announced on Wednesday. And judging from the band's succinct and short-worded reason for Jones leaving, we might never know how or why he left. The social media posts simply said, “To our fans, Slipknot has announced that we have parted ways with Craig Jones. We wish Jones all the best for the future.”
But did they actually break with Jones after nearly three decades? Try finding those social media posts now, and you may not find them. The band deleted the posts on Wednesday, the same day that they said Jones was gone.
Slipknot says Craig Jones is no longer with the band
So let’s assume Slipknot did not make a weird mistake and that Jones is still actually leaving the band. He was the second-longest active member of the Iowa band after Shawn “Clown” Crahan. Jones initially joined as a guitarist but the band found other special talents in him and he was used in various ways. He was one of the more recognizable members on stage as he had the pinhead helmet that could not be missed.
It's interesting to also note that Clown himself is sitting out the group’s current shows as he is helping deal with a health issue with his wife. Jones' departure also came on the same day (June 7th) that Slipknot was set to kick off a bunch of European dates. Weird timing for Jones to leave with Clown being out at this time and the band starting their European gigs.
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Frontman Corey Taylor also said he plans to spend much of next year touring in promotion of his new solo record, CMF2, which is set to be released on September 15th. Taylor is already set to hit a lot of towns beginning in late August as a solo act. My point is, with all the changes taking place with Slipknot, one might rightfully wonder if we have seen the last of the band.