NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – Grammy-Award-winning band Slipknot announced Sunday (November 5) that they have parted ways with longtime drummer Jay Weinberg. The band announced the split via social media (now deleted), but the message remains on Slipknot’s official website.
Weinberg is the son of fellow drummer Max Weinberg, longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, who joined the band in 2014, replacing their beloved original drummer, the late Joey Jordison, who left the band in 2013. Jay, a longtime fan of the band, brought an intensity behind the skins that quickly made him a Slipknot fan favorite.
Weinberg had played in various bands, including Against Me!, Madball, and Kvelertak, and had experience filling in for his father in the E Street Band before joining Slipknot. He played on the band’s last three albums,5: The Gray Chapter (2014), We Are Not Your Kind (2019), and The End, So Far (2022).
On November 11, Weinberg finally broke his silence regarding the news of the surprise split with the band. On his own social media, Weinberg wrote:
I sometimes wonder what it would be like to pay a visit to my wide-eyed, 10-year-old self — falling head over heels in love with a new and exciting sound and culture — and tell him all about the last 10 years. Even on the hardest days, I’d like to think he’d be stoked about the adventure that was in store for him.
I was heartbroken and blindsided to receive the phone call that I did on the morning of November 5th; the news of which, most of you learned shortly after. However, I’ve been overwhelmed by — and truly grateful for — the outpouring of love and support I’ve received from this incredible community I consider to be my creative and artistic home.
This is not the ending to the journey I’d dreamt of, and committed myself to seeing through — not by a long shot. But, despite the confusion and sadness, there is something that’s provided an equal amount of comfort. For many of you reading this: 10 years ago, we weren’t yet acquainted. And now, we are. For that, I’m thankful in ways I’ll never be able to fully express.
From its inception, Slipknot has had a carousel of characters in and out of the band. The most recent was Keyboardist Craig Jones, who departed the band in June 2023 after 27 years. Slipknot said at the time, “To our fans, Slipknot is announcing that we have parted ways with Craig Jones. We wish Jones all the best for the future.” No further details have emerged on the split.
However, shortly after Jones’ departure, the band debuted a new “mystery” member, keeping the musician’s identity a secret. Fans of the band have given him a weird nickname, “Greg Bones.” Fans have speculated that it is Jones returning as a new member or Zac Baird, who has toured with Korn and auditioned for Nine Inch Nails.
