Sid Wilson and Slipknot: after 28 years, the masks finally come off

For almost three decades, Sid Wilson was one of the most recognizable—and unpredictable—figures inside Slipknot, and now, his long and often chaotic journey with the band appears to be over.
Slipknot recently announced that it had parted ways with its longtime DJ and turntablist, only for the announcement to be deleted shortly afterwards. The confusion was heightened by a cryptic message from guitarist Jim Root, who urged fans not to jump to conclusions. But Wilson has now offered perhaps the clearest confirmation possible: he quietly changed his Instagram biography from identifying himself as part of Slipknot since 1997 to the stark notation “@slipknot 1997-2026.”

No detailed explanation has been given by either side, and that silence is particularly striking considering how many dramatic departures have shaped Slipknot’s history.
Sid Wilson joined the group in 1998, just before the explosion of their self-titled debut album. He became the man behind the turntables and samples, eventually adding keyboards to his duties, while also developing one of the band’s most spectacular stage personas. His number, #0, became synonymous with an almost cartoonishly dangerous energy: Wilson was famous for throwing himself into the action, climbing, jumping and occasionally putting his own body through things most musicians would sensibly avoid.
And there have been also some extraordinary moments.
In 2024, for example, he suffered serious burns in a bonfire accident at his Iowa property. He later described an explosion occurring directly in front of his face and was hospitalized with burns to his face, mouth and arms. Even then, the notoriously eccentric musician managed to maintain his sense of humor and insisted he intended to return to performing.

His departure also places another uncomfortable milestone in Slipknot’s complicated history of lineup changes.
Slipknot’s history is, in many ways, a history of people disappearing behind the masks. The band that once became famous as the terrifying “Original Nine” has been gradually reshaped by death, dismissal, lawsuits and decisions that were often explained only in the vaguest possible terms.

The first and most painful change came in 2010, when bassist and founding member Paul Gray (#2) died from an accidental overdose at just 38. Gray was not simply the bass player: alongside drummer Joey Jordison and percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan, he had been one of the architects of Slipknot in its earliest days. His death left a hole that could never really be filled, and the band eventually continued with Alessandro “V-Man” Venturella on bass. Years later, Clown would still speak about Gray as one of the members whose absence fundamentally changed the group.

Then came the split that shocked Slipknot fans almost as much as Gray’s death. In December 2013, the band announced that it had parted ways with Joey Jordison (#1), its founding drummer and one of its principal songwriters. The statement was remarkably brief and did not explain why. Jordison later revealed that he had been suffering from transverse myelitis, a neurological condition that severely affected his ability to play drums, although the exact relationship between his illness and his departure has remained a complicated and disputed part of the story.

There was also something almost surreal about the timing of what happened next. Jay Weinberg, who would eventually replace Jordison, auditioned for Slipknot in December 2013 without initially even knowing exactly which band he was auditioning for. In a 2026 interview, Weinberg recalled that he first jammed with the group just 24 hours before Slipknot publicly announced Jordison’s departure—and that he learned the news himself the following day.

The lineup continued to unravel in 2019, when longtime percussionist Chris Fehn (#3) left after a bitter dispute over the band’s business arrangements. Fehn had filed a lawsuit alleging that he had not been receiving his proper share of income from Slipknot-related touring and merchandising companies. The dispute eventually ended his 20-year association with the band, and he was replaced by Michael Pfaff, better known to fans as “Tortilla Man.”

Then came an extraordinary one-two punch in 2023.
In June, Slipknot announced that it had parted ways with Craig “133” Jones, the masked sampler and keyboard player who had been with the band since 1996. The announcement was deleted almost immediately, while the band appeared onstage in Austria that same day with an unidentified musician wearing a new mask. Months later, in November, Slipknot announced the departure of Jay Weinberg after nearly ten years behind the drums. Once again, the original announcement disappeared from social media. The band described the decision as an “artistic” one, thanking Weinberg for his dedication, but offering little detail. Weinberg later said that he was “heartbroken and blindsided” by the decision.

That pattern makes Sid Wilson’s exit particularly striking. Wilson is not a late-era recruit or a touring replacement: he has been part of Slipknot since the band’s formative years and helped define its sound and visual identity. His departure means that, with Paul Gray gone and Joey Jordison having died in 2021, only Corey Taylor, Shawn Crahan, Mick Thomson and Jim Root remain from the lineup that conquered the world with the classic nine-member era.
For a band whose entire mythology was built around the idea of nine masked individuals becoming something larger than the sum of their parts, that is perhaps the most remarkable story of all: Slipknot has survived, but the Slipknot that millions of fans first discovered in the late 1990s has almost completely disappeared.

Even the band’s earliest history was marked by departures. Original guitarist Donnie Steele left during the recording of Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat., while vocalist Anders Colsefni departed in 1997 after only a handful of shows following Corey Taylor’s arrival. Greg Welts, the original #3, was also gone by 1998, shortly before the band signed its major record deal.
Yet Wilson was different. He survived the band’s transformation from an Iowa underground phenomenon into one of the biggest metal acts on the planet, through multiple albums, deaths, lawsuits, replacements and reinventions.
For fans who grew up with the classic nine-member era, #0 seemed like one of the permanent fixtures.

That is perhaps why his new Instagram biography feels so strangely powerful. There is no farewell speech, no long explanation and no dramatic statement—just two years separated by a dash: 1997–2026.
For a band built on masks, mystery and controlled chaos, it is a remarkably fitting way for another chapter to end.
What comes next for Slipknot—and who, if anyone, will step into the role of #0—remains unknown. For now, after nearly three decades, Sid Wilson has quietly confirmed what the band’s deleted announcement first revealed: his time with Slipknot is over.