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List of Slipknot band members

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Slipknot is a heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa.

Slipknot
Slipknot performing in 2008.
Slipknot performing in 2008.
Background information
GenresNu metal, alternative metal, heavy metal
Years activeSince 1995
MembersCorey Taylor (lead vocals)
Mick Thomson (guitar)
Jim Root (guitar)
Shawn "Clown" Crahan (percussion)
Alessandro Venturella (bass)
Michael Pfaff Eloy Casagrande (percussion)
Sid Wilson (turntables)
Past member(s)Paul Gray
Donnie Steele
Anders Colsefni
Greg Welts
Josh "Gnar" Brainard
Brandon Darner
Jay Weinberg
Joey Jordison
Chris Fehn
(percussion)
Craig "133" Jones (samples)

History

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The band started in 1995 by vocalist and percussionist clown, guitarists Donnie Steele and Josh "Gnar" Brainard, bassist Paul Gray, drummer Joey Jordison,and percussionist Shawn Crahan.[1] Before the band released its first album in 1999, Slipknot has gone through many line-up changes. After their first album, the line-up has stayed the same. The band is known for having a lot of members. The current members include a lead singer, two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, two percussionists, a sampler, and a turntablist.[2]

In 1996, when the band finished recording their demo album Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat., Slipknot saw its first line-up change when guitarist Donnie Steele left the band and was replaced by Craig Jones. Shortly after, drummer Jordison said they needed a full-time sampler and Jones took the position as "he liked doing that anyway."[3] Mick Thomson then joined the band to be the new guitarist. After Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. was released, the band continued working on new songs which needed more singing melody and the then-lead singer Colsefni had a hard time with this.[4] In 1997, Corey Taylor was asked to join the band and after practicing with Slipknot "everything just clicked."[5] Because of that, Colsefni was moved to backing vocals and percussion. However Colsefni was unhappy with his new role and left the band a month later.[6]

Since the band wanted to keep their percussive sound, Greg Welts joined the band to replace Colsefni. Towards the end of 1997, each band member picked a number to identify themselves.[7] In 1998, Welts was kicked out of the band. He was replaced temporary by Brandon Darner and was replaced permanently by Chris Fehn. Slipknot wanted to have a DJ in the band, but had a hard time finding one because "the people [they] knew who were DJs all sucked!"[8] Sid Wilson approached the band after seeing them live. He proceeded to impress the band with his ability and his antics; Wilson was considered "Slipknot material" and his hiring brought the band's line-up to nine members.[9] The final change in the band's line-up came at the latter stages of the recording process of the band's debut album, Slipknot, in 1999. While the band took a break from recording the album, Brainard decided to leave the band and was replaced by Jim Root.

Paul Gray died in May 2010 and was replaced in 2011 by Donnie Steele. Joey Jordison left in December 2013. In early 2014, Steele was replaced by Alessandro Venturella, and Jordison was replaced by Jay Weinberg. Chris Fehn was fired from the band in mid 2019. He was replaced by Michael Pfaff, who was originally dubbed by fans as "Tortilla Man". The band parted ways with Jones and Weinberg in 2023. Craig was replaced by Zac Baird before getting replaced by Jeff Karnowski while Weinberg was replaced Eloy Casagrande.

Current members

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  • Corey Taylor (#8)
    • Active: 1997–present
    • Plays: lead vocals
    • Performed in: all Slipknot albums from Slipknot (1999) to present
    • Taylor was asked to join the band in 1997. Slipknot's music needed more melodic singing, which vocalist Anders Colsefni wasn't very good at. At first, both Taylor and Colsefni sang lead vocals. However, the band decided that Taylor would sing lead vocals alone and Colsefni was moved to backing vocals.[10] Colesfni would then leave the band.
  • Mick Thomson (#7)
    • Active: 1996–present
    • Plays: guitar
    • Performed in: all Slipknot albums from Slipknot (1999) to present
    • Just after Craig Jones joined the band as a guitarist, the band decided that he would move to samples. Thomson then joined the band to be the new guitarist and has always played guitar.[3]
  • Sid Wilson (#0)
    • Active: 1998–present
    • Plays: turntables
    • Performed in: all Slipknot releases from Slipknot (1999) to present
    • The band wanted to add a DJ to their line-up but decided not to because they didn't know anyone they thought was good enough. After seeing Slipknot perform live, Sid Wilson said "I knew I was born to be in this band."[9] Wilson later met with the band to ask joining the band. After going to rehearsals and head-butting all the band members before a show, he was called "Slipknot material" and has stayed in the line-up.
  • Jim Root (#4)
    • Active: 1999–present
    • Plays: guitar Performed in: all Slipknot albums from Slipknot (1999) to present
    • Jim Root joined the band in 1999 during the end of recording their first album, Slipknot. He was brought in to replace Josh Brainard on guitar and is the last member of the band's current line-up to have joined.[11] While Brainard recorded most of the first album, Root played guitar on Purity.
  • Alessandro Venturella
    • Active: 2014–present
    • Plays: bass, backing vocals
    • Performed in: all Slipknot albums from .5 the Gray Chapter (2014) to present
    • Venturella Joined the band in 2014, replacing Donnie Steele on bass guitar.
  • Shawn Crahan (#6)
    • Active: 1995–present
    • Plays: custom percussion, backing vocals
    • Performed in: all Slipknot albums
    • Shawn Crahan was a member of the original band formed in 1995 and was originally the only drummer for a short time.[1]
  • Michael Pfaff
    • Active: 2019-present
    • Plays: custom percussion, backing vocals
    • Performed in: We Are Not Your Kind, The End, So Far.
    • Introduced after percussionist Chris Fehn left in early 2019, he is best known as "the tortilla man" due to the appearance of his mask. In a Reddit AMA, he revealed he is Michael Pfaff, a skilled pianist and percussionist.
  • Jeff Karnowski
    • Active: 2024-present
    • Plays: samples, keyboards, media
    • Performed in: Long May You Die (Not yet released)
    • Karnowski is not confirmed in the band, but is believed to be the new member.
  • Eloy Casagrande
    • Active: 2024-present
    • Plays: drums
    • Performed in: Long May You Die (Not yet released)
    • Casagrande was brought in to replace Jay Weinberg in 2024.
  •  
    Vocalist Corey Taylor
  •  
    Guitarist Mick Thomson
  •  
    Guitarist Jim Root
  •  
    Bassist Paul Gray
  •  
    Drummer Joey Jordison
  •  
    Percussionist Shawn Crahan
  •  
    Percussionist Chris Fehn
  •  
    Sampler Craig Jones
  •  
    DJ Sid Wilson

Slipknot band members performing in 2008.

Former members

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  • Joey Jordison (#1)
    • Active: 1995-2013
    • Played: drums
    • Performed in: Every Slipknot record up until All Hope Is Gone (2008)
    • Joey was the first drummer and one of the founders of the band, and was kicked from the band in December 2013, later revealed to be complications due to Transverse Myelitis, which cost him the ability to play the drums for a while. He died in July 2021. He was replaced for .5, by Jay Weinberg.
  • Paul Gray (#2)
    • Active: 1995-2010
    • Played: bass, backing vocals
    • Performed in: Every Slipknot record up until All Hope Is Gone (2008)
    • Gray was the original bass player, as well as a founding member of Slipknot. He died in 2010, and was temporarily replaced by Donnie Steele on tour, until the band found a permanent replacement.
  • Donnie Steele
    • Active: 1995–1996, 2012-2014
    • Played: guitar, bass
    • Performed in: Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. (1996)
    • Donnie Steele was a member of the original band formed in 1995.[1] In February 1996, during the mixing process of Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat., Steele decided to leave the band. Steele said he was a "devout Christian" and realized that the band was no longer something he could be a part of.[12] He rejoined in 2011 to replace the late Paul Gray but left the band in 2014.
  • Josh Brainard (#4)
    • Active: 1995–1999
    • Played: guitar, backing vocals
    • Performed in: Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. (1996), Slipknot (1999)
    • Josh Brainard was a member of the original band formed in 1995.[1] Brainard left the band while they were recording Slipknot in 1999. No one knows why Brainard really left, it was widely thought to have been because of family problems. However Brainard denies these rumours, saying that; "some decisions were made that I wasn't particularly happy with."[11]
  • Anders Colsefni (Andrew Rouw)
    • Active: 1995–1997
    • Played: lead vocals, custom percussion, backing vocals
    • Performed in: Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. (1996)
    • Anders Colsefni was a member of the original band formed in 1995.[1] In 1997, Corey Taylor joined the band to share the lead vocals. Later the band decided that Taylor would sing lead vocals alone and Colsefni was moved to backing vocals.[10] Unhappy with his new role in the band Colsefni left the band.[6]
  • Craig Jones (#5)
    • Active: 1996-2023
    • Played: samples, keyboards, media, guitar
    • Performed in: Every Slipknot record up until The End, So Far (2019)
    • Most recognizable by his spiked mask, Craig Jones was one of the most iconic members of the band for famously always being silent. Craig left the band on June 7, 2023.
  • Greg Welts (#3)
    • Active: 1997–1998
    • Played: custom percussion, backing vocals
    • Performed in: Slipknot Demo
    • After Colsefni left the band, Greg Welts was brought in to replace him on percussion and backing vocals.[13] In 1998, before the band was signed on to Roadrunner Records, Welts was kicked out from Slipknot.[14]
  • Brandon Darner
    • Active: 1998
    • Played: custom percussion, backing vocals
    • Performed in: nothing
    • After Welts left the band,Brandon Darner was brought in to replace him temporarily on percussion and backing vocals for two shows.[13] He was replaced later by Chris Fehn.
  • Chris Fehn (#3)
    • Active: 1998-2019
    • Played: Custom percussion, backing vocals
    • Performed in: Every Slipknot record up until We Are Not Your Kind (2019)
    • Chris was the percussionist of Slipknot for over 20 years. After suing Shawn Crahan and Corey Taylor over unpaid royalties, he was fired from the band, being replaced by an enigmatic new member. His lawsuit was dropped in 2021.
  • Jay Weinberg
    • Active: 2014-2023
    • Played: Drums
    • Performed in: Every Slipknot release from .5, The Gray Chapter (2014) to The End, So Far (2022)
    • After the departure of longtime drummer Joey Jordison, Slipknot brought in drummer Jay Weinberg to fill in. Jay played with the band on .5: The Gray Chapter, We Are Not Your Kind, and The End, So Far. Jay was fired from the band on November 5, 2023
  • Zac Baird (Speculative)
    • Active: 2023-2024
    • Played: samples, keyboards, media
    • Performed in: nothing
    • Zac Baird is believed to have replaced Craig Jones temporarily in 2023, but it is unconfirmed.

Timeline

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References

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  • Arnopp, Jason (2001), Slipknot: Inside the Sickness, Behind the Masks, Ebury, ISBN 0091879337
  • McIver, Joel (2003). Slipknot: Unmasked (Again). Omnibus. ISBN 0711997640.
Notes
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Arnopp 2001, p. 40–42
  2. ↑ "Allmusic Slipknot biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Arnopp 2001, p. 57
  4. ↑ Arnopp 2001, p. 70
  5. ↑ Arnopp 2001, p. 74
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 McIver 2003, p. 44–45
  7. ↑ Arnopp 2001, pp. 80–81
  8. ↑ McIver 2003, p. 50
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Arnopp 2001, p. 91–93
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 McIver 2003, p. 41–42
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 McIver 2003, p. 61–63
  12. ↑ Arnopp 2001, p. 50–51
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 McIver 2003, p. 47
  14. ↑ McIver 2003, p. 54
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