Craig Jones Departs Slipknot After 27 Years

It’s been a confusing morning for Slipknot fans as the nine-piece announced that Craig Jones, the group’s keyboard player and sampler of the last 27 years, left the band, and then subsequently deleted that announcement from social media.

Now, the plot thickens as Slipknot have seemingly replaced Jones. An hour ago, Slipknot posted a photo of a new masked being to Instagram. Donning a black mask with a zipper over the mouth and creepy eye sockets, this new figure is a menacing one confusing the hell out of fans.

“Girl what the fuck is this,” one fan asked, while another added, “So you announce the separation and remove it just as quickly and replace it with this? Give Craig justice for having been a part of the band for 27 years.”

Another fan hopes that this whole incident has been a ruse – that Jones hasn’t left the band and instead changed his whole appearance – and wrote, “I’m hoping they made us think Craig left only to have him dramatically switch his mask and still be in”.

That theory pops up a few times in the comments, with another fan writing, “The eyeholes and the way the zipper goes across is an exact resemblance to Craig’s old mask. Maybe it’s a parting to Craig’s mask he’s had the same for years now and starting a new persona.”

The commenter youngswaglord had a question, too: “We gonna address the elephant in the room?”

Earlier this morning (8 June), Slipknot stated Jones’ 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."

The shock announcement arrived hours after Shawn 'Clown' Crahan revealed 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.

“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”.