Slipknot co-founder and percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan is reflecting on the band’s historical past in a brand new subject of Metal Hammer and he is made positive to offer credit score the place it’s due, acknowledging the efforts of the band’s previous members who’re now not with the group.

Given that the band are celebrating the twenty fifth anniversary of their self-titled 1999 breakout album, it is a notably reflective time for the musician who has been taking inventory of how their profession has performed out up to now.

Shawn Crahan’s Reflections on Early Slipknot

“Brother, the band will never be like that again,” acknowledged Clown in reference to their 1999 period of the group. “I can’t tell you how close we were then: we’re not that close anymore. People are gone. Craig’s [Jones] out, Chris [Fehn] is out, Joey’s [Jordison] out, Paul’s [Gray] out. The band is different. But, back then, there was nine guys that wanted to be in the same place, and we made it work. And we wound up here, which is wonderful.”

Elsewhere within the interview, Clown turned his focus to 2 of the members who’re now not with the band – Joey Jordison and Paul Gray.

“I’m doing these 25-year anniversary interviews and not a lot of human beings are asking me about them,” mentioned the percussionist, then stating, “You can’t talk about any of this without talking about them.”

“They’re greatly missed, and every day that I go through this 25-year anniversary, I miss them more, but also appreciate, love and just acknowledge who they were to all of this. It’s very important for me to say that because these are two gentlemen that should be talking to you and they can’t.”

Gray, the band’s bassist and certainly one of their songwriters, died 14 years in the past on May 24, 2010 on the age of 38. Jordison, the band’s drummer, handed away on July 26, 2021 on the age of 46.

The Contributions of Joey Jordison and Paul Gray

“Joey and Paul… Oh my God, they wrote this shit man. Number 1 and Number 2. The path changed for us after they passed, and we had to keep going, and take a new path, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t know where we came from, or ever forget what brought us here,” continued Crahan.

On Slipknot’s self-titled 1999 album, Jordison both wrote or co-wrote the lyrics for “Surfacing,” “Spit It Out,” “Prosthetics,” “Only One” and “Scissors.” Gray was credited on “Spit It Out” and “Only One.”

READ MORE: Slipknot’s Clown Addresses Whether Band Might Have Reunited With Joey Jordison

Jordison can also be credited for lyrical contributions on “People = Shit,” “The Heretic Anthem,” “Sulfur,” “Psychosocial,” “Vendetta,” “Gehenna” and “All Hope Is Gone” off latter albums, whereas Gray obtained songwriting credit on “The Heretic Anthem,” ‘”Psychosocial,” “Gehenna” and “All Hope Is Gone.”

Slipknot In 2024

As acknowledged, Slipknot have been celebrating the twenty fifth anniversary of their 1999 self-titled main label debut on tour, taking part in the album in full. The present North American leg is wrapping up this week with exhibits in Austin and Dallas, Texas, although Knotfest Iowa, Louder Than Life and the Aftershock Festival will hold them stateside into mid-October.

A South American run of dates begins in mid-October with Knotfest Brasil and continues by means of early November. Then it is off to Europe and the U.Okay. for December dates to complete out the yr. They’ve additionally introduced a handful of European festivals for June 2025 as properly.

See all Slipknot dates and get ticketing info by means of their web site.