As of today, the 6th of November, Jay Weinberg is no longer a part of Slipknot, after a solid ten year run. Upon finding out this news, I didn't really know how to react, so I thought I'd have a little think, talk about the announcement, and have a think about where this leaves the band, and how I'm feeling about Slipknots future.
(Jay Weinberg playing with Slipknot live - Image courtesy of Planet Radio)
Let's first talk about Jay's humble beginnings with this band. It started with the ousting of Joey Jordison way back after the All Hope is Gone tour cycle - with the bands members believing Joey to be strung out and therefore unable to perform, when actually he had debilitating health conditions he was attempting to fight, Slipknot showed him the door without second thought. Although there was some bad blood, the band rattled on, and with the announcement of their latest venture .5 The Gray Chapter and its leading single The Devil in I the new music video revealed two newbies in hessian masks and straightjackets being bought into the fold. At first, no one really knew who they were, until it eventually came out that alongside British bassist and replacement for the departed Paul Gray Alessandro 'Vman' Venturella was veteran drummer Jay Weinberg. With this announcement came sheer excitement, as Weinberg's pedigree was already known due to his time touring with Bruce Springsteen. For the next ten years he played valliantly, featuring on three studio albums and joining the band on their cutthroat live calendar too, each day developing his killer style behind the kit. Not only that, it's been said that Jay was a main creative driving force for Slipknot, encouraging the band to find new ground, and constantly changing and evolving himself. Honouring his long time love of the band Weinberg was often the one changing his mask and costume, much to fans delight, and seemed by The End, So Far to be truly ingratiated into the roster of the Nine, even after their parting with Craig Jones. You can imagine then the shock when this now deleted statement was released on Slipknot's social media pages:
Now, if you've been following Slipknot for the last few months, then you know this is a real shock. Not only was this statement deleted hours after it first came out, but the wording - to me - is so strange. Constant references to 'we/the band' and the reference to them 'evolving'. It seems to both underplay Jay's true impact with the band, while attempting to brush over the obvious question of 'What the fuck is going on?!' Are Slipknot going without a drummer moving forward? It seems, in my opinion this is more the band letting Jay go than him deciding to leave. Months ago he was at Palefest, stood Infront of Slipknot branded banners in full kit and mask meeting fans, not only this but the new music video for HIVEMIND came out three months ago with Jay's effigy used, and here we are, gone mere weeks later. In my head, this is a decision made by, most likely, Clown. I know it's easy to sling mud at the man, and I do hold a lot of respect for him and his art, but it is true that it feels that he runs the band simply as his creative vision and above all, business instead of dedicating itself to the music and culture it's created. It lines up both in mine and plenty of the fans heads that he could have some sort of hand in Weinberg's ousting - and people are not happy. Fans realise that Jay was the beating heart of Slipknot, and beside the original crew, shined just as, and in some cases brighter during live performances - all for them to undermine his work on the records by simply saying he 'contributed' - which comes across as a scolding 'A for effort'. It's left fans in a state of true shock, and for some in fear of the collapsing internal structure of the band. There are only five original members from the 'Self Titled' band, and only one if we're talking about the original original line-up - so where does the band go? Who knows, I guess we'll have to wait and see...and I have a couple of opinions about where my interest in this band may remain.
I don't think I'm going to be all too keen on Slipknot from this point on. I think the internal politics of the band are getting a touch exhausting to keep a track of, and it no longer seems like the music is what it's all about. That statement isn't true of all of the members, I'm sure, but I think a lot of people will agree that Slipknot hasn't felt the same for a while, and now, with this news, I reckon it'll be the final nail in the coffin for a lot of fans out there. Why remove someone from the band who was on the cutting edge of keeping this band there in the first place? Why so unceremoniously boot him off the roster when the man was a fan of the very band since childhood and was playing live with them on Friday? Something here feels unbelievably off, and quite honestly, I have neither the time, nor patience to keep up with it. Whatever comes next for this new and unfamiliar nine, deem me mildly uninterested from here on out - until we hear more at least.
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