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Slipknot’s Clown, the band’s co-founder also known as Shawn Crahan, has opened up on the grief he still deals with following the deaths of bassist Paul Gray and drummer Joey Jordison.
Gray passed away in May of 2010, while former drummer Jordison (who departed the group in 2013) sadly died in July 2021. This year, the band have been on the road for their 25th anniversary tour which honours their 1999 debut album, leading Crahan to look back on the friendships he had with his late bandmates.
Speaking to Kerrang! for a new cover feature, Crahan states, “When you talk to the Clown it’s got to be about more than selling magazines and hitting the obvious points. I don’t understand how I can speak about 25 years of that first album without bringing up Joey and Paul, or even Chris and Craig [who left the band in 2019 and 2023 respectively]. The grief is big,” he says.
“I don’t really have any regrets other than not having spent more time with those guys. But you don’t start a band looking at your brother thinking, ‘Dude, you’re going to be the greatest drummer of all time!’ It’s more like, ‘Dude, wake up, we have an in-store today!’ You’re chasing a dream, then living the dream, then all of a sudden someone is gone and it’s like, ‘Damn.’ That’s life.”
He adds, “Joey and Paul show up every night these days, in my energy at least, and I just go down a wormhole of thoughts. It’s a completely spiritual reminiscence and it’s wonderful. I spend a lot of time thinking, ‘Thank you!’”
Having gone through various lineup changes and losses, Crahan later expresses his pride in how Slipknot are still playing shows and are continuing to thrive: “Our legacy is that we’re still here,” he states. “We’re not having an interview where it’s all done and we’re talking about a band from the past. Slipknot are playing again tomorrow night. I’m proudest that we’re still in it. We’re still doing this. We still write. We still perform. We still thrive. We’re still together. And we’re going to keep going until this is done. There has never been anything like Slipknot. Not before. Certainly not after.”
Slipknot are due to play two more live dates this year in London. They then return to the stage in February 2025 for Knotfest Australia.