Photo courtesy of Slipknot
Slipknot have announced that keyboardist Craig Jones is out of the band.
The revealed the news just before going on stage in Nickelsdorf, Austria on Wednesday. Their brief message on social media added “we wish Jones all the best for the future” but gave no reason for the split.
Jones — also known as #5 — was the third-longest serving member in the band behind guitarist Mick Thompson and percussionist co-founder Shawn “Clown” Crahan, who revealed early Wednesday that he wouldn’t be on the European tour to stay with his wife as she goes through some undisclosed health issues.
Jones joined in 1996 initially as a guitarist, but then switched over to keyboards and samplers and appeared all of the band’s studio albums to date.
The show in Austria Wednesday night is the first concert Slipknot has played without both Crahan and Jones since the spring of 1996. The band played “Yen” live for the first time and brought back two songs they haven’t played eight years — “The Blister Exists” and “Liberate.”
— Slipknot (@slipknot) June 7, 2023