Slipknot’s Clown Posted a Photo of a Mask + Fans Are Losing It

Slipknot‘s Shawn “Clown” Crahan has shared a photo of a mask on social media, with absolutely no context, and the band’s fans are losing it.

Is the photo of a new mask for himself? Is it a mask for a new member, or is it a tribute to a former member? Slipknot fans on Reddit have some theories as to what the post may be, which Clown uploaded yesterday (Dec. 13) on his Instagram without a caption. The comments for the post have also been turned off.

In the past, the members of Slipknot sometimes teased their new masks on social media, but this one doesn’t look clown-like at all, so it would be surprising if that’s what Clown was hinting at with the photo.

Two musicians were dismissed from Slipknot this year as well — longtime keyboardist Craig Jones, and Jay Weinberg, who joined the group in 2014. Slipknot shared a photo of the mask of Jones’ replacement shortly after he parted ways with them, however the new member’s identity has not yet been revealed. We also haven’t seen a new drummer with Slipknot yet, as their next performance isn’t until Las Vegas’ Sick New World Festival at the end of April.

Many fans have pointed out the mask’s strong resemblance to the mask worn in the band’s early years by late drummer Joey Jordison, who founded the group with Clown and Paul Gray in 1995. As mentioned by some commenters on the Reddit page, Slipknot shared a statement announcing they were parting ways with Jordison on Dec. 12, 2013, so it’s been a full 10 years since the split. Thus, a lot of people are speculating that Clown’s post is a tribute to Jordison, who sadly died in July of 2021.

Slipknot have just announced a round of dates in late 2024 to celebrate the 25th anniversary release of their 1999 self-titled album, so some have even further mused that the band plan on wearing the masks from their first album cycle on the anniversary tour.

See it below, and read some of their reactions to the post.

“Either remembering Joey or auditioning new drummers. Or both. Nobody knows what goes on in that man’s head,” the top comment on the Reddit thread read.

READ MORE: Slipknot Announce First Dates for 2024 25th Anniversary Tour

“If they go back to the 1999 masks, they should have memorials to Paul and Joey somewhere onstage like they did back when Paul passed,” another person suggested.

“Really thought Joey was coming back for a second. Still can barely believe it man,” someone else wrote.

One more person theorized, “The next tour will be without a real drummer. Instead, they’ll play with Joey’s drums samples.”