Slipknot's Issues Threat

Slipknot percussionist Sean ‘Clown’ Crahan, who started the band with tragic bassist Paul Gray, says the outfit will come back stronger and leaner as a result of his death.

Gray’s body was found in a hotel room in May after falling victim to an accidental overdoes of subscription painkillers. The band have sent crossed signals about their future since then – but now Crahan has issued a threat on his colleagues’ behalf.

In an emotional heart-stirring speech he tells Sirius XM: “Starting the band with Paul, I have a heavy responsibility to think about what he would have liked for what we started together. It wasn’t just Paul and I in this band, let’s make that clear, but we started something together.

“He’s so big right now, so it’s time for the rest of us to get what we’ve always needed. The big bands need to get the fuck out of my face. The industry needs to get the fuck out of my face. Everybody needs to get out of our way because we’re going to spread the seed.

“It’s going to take time, but this is a threat. Today is a threat, a new beginning. And that’s how I want it to be.”

Crahan says coming to terms with the loss of Gray has helped him understand more about what Slipknot are as a group of artists. He believes the loss will act as the strongest motivation they’ve ever had.

“It’s horrible, but he speaks in volumes,” the percussionist explains. “As bad as this sounds, everything happens for a reason – and I’m going to miss him every day of my life. There’s not going to be a day I don’t mention Paul Gray.

“But every day I wake up is a blessing, and I want to remember that. I want everybody in the world to remember that. The world is on its way out and we’ll be the band that will play the music for its way out.

“We will never be the same. You will never be the same. Here’s to the future and our continuing evolution.”

In recent months various members of the now eight-strong band have voiced support for continuing its career, with the notable exception being frontman Corey Taylor, who’s refrained from committing himself, insisting it’s too early for him to understand how he feels.