Craig Jones joined Slipknot in 1996 as a guitarist before quickly switching to sampling and keyboards. He was the second-longest serving member of the Band behind frontman Corey Taylor. 

His tenure, however, unexpectedly came to an end when the band announced his exit on Wednesday.  “To our fans, Slipknot is announcing that we have parted ways with Craig Jones. We wish Jones all the best for the future.”

The band would later delete the announcement and then posted a photo of a potentially new masked member, although some fans speculate that Jones might just be getting a new look. 

The band didn’t give a reason for the split, and the news came on the heels of the band announcing that percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan would be sitting out some of their upcoming tour to stay home to support his wife “through some health issues.” 

Taylor previously explained why Jones didn’t ever speak publicly. “There are several joke answers I can give you, one of which is that he’s an android. Another of which is that he’s secretly a serial killer. Which we all call him, like, you’re just a killer, dude. And he just goes [nods yes] and he doesn’t say a damn word.”

“The honest answer is that’s just the way he is. I mean, I’m talking about a dude who I knew before Slipknot was even a band, you know? We used to go to ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ back in the day. He would come out. He wasn’t really a part of the crowd that I ran with, but he knew people that I was friends with, and he would just show up and he’d just kind of sit at a table, you know? And it was like two years before we had an actual conversation.”

“I’m talking about a cat I sat at the same table with him… I can’t even remember if I ever just looked at him and said, ‘Do you say anything?’ You just knew he wasn’t going to say a damn thing. But when he did talk, it was like it scared the hell out of you. Like he’d pipe up and be, like, ‘That was a hell of a show.’ … Jesus Christ, really? I didn’t even know you were there! That’s just the way he is, man. He’s a guy that when he says something, you listen, basically. Because he doesn’t say anything. There’s a reason we call him the killer because you never know when it’s going to come.”

“So yeah, there’s no real reason that he doesn’t talk… He just doesn’t,” Taylor continued. “And if you asked him, he’d go [shrugs shoulder] and that would be it. He’d just move on his way.”