Slipknot parts ways with DJ and keyboardist Sid Wilson after almost 30 years

After weeks of speculation, American metal band Slipknot officially announced on Friday, August 14 that DJ and keyboardist Sid Wilson is leaving the group. A statement appeared on social media reading: "Effective immediately, Slipknot will no longer be associated with Sid Wilson. We wish him the best in his future endeavors." The statement was published on the official accounts of both the band and Knotfest, the festival Slipknot founded in 2012, but was subsequently removed from the band's own page. On the Knotfest account, the post remained up.

Wilson, known within the band as number 0, joined the Des Moines, Iowa outfit in 1998 as its ninth member, brought on board for his impressive DJ skills. His arrival coincided with the band's rise to mainstream recognition: shortly after, they signed to Roadrunner Records and released their self titled debut album in 1999, which reached number 51 on the Billboard 200 in May 2000. Since then, Slipknot have landed six top 10 entries and three number one albums on that chart: All Hope Is Gone in 2008,.5: The Gray Chapter in 2014 and We Are Not Your Kind in 2019. Their most recent studio album, The End, So Far, came out in 2022 and peaked at number 2.

Rumors about Wilson's departure first surfaced in late July through a TMZ report claiming that Wilson had been told on July 31 that he was being permanently removed from the band. Guitarist Jim Root responded on social media at the time, urging fans to wait for official information: "Don't believe everything you read. Stop. Think. Take a breath. Sit with it for awhile." Exactly two weeks later, on the day of the official announcement, that call for patience finally got its definitive answer.

Wilson's departure is part of a series of lineup changes Slipknot has gone through in recent years. In 2013 the band parted ways with founding drummer Joey Jordison, who passed away in 2021. Bassist Paul Gray, also a founding member, died in 2010 while still an active member of the band. In 2019, percussionist Chris Fehn was removed from the group after he sued the other members, alleging he had not been properly compensated for his contributions to recordings over the years. Keyboardist and sampler operator Craig Jones departed in 2023, and later that same year the band also parted ways with drummer Jay Weinberg, which the band described as a creative decision. Wilson's successor behind the drum kit is Eloy Casagrande, with whom the band toured in 2024 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album.

Alongside his role in Slipknot, Wilson was also active outside the band. Last year he launched his own record label, Vomit Face Records, intended as a home for artists who operate outside the mainstream, including himself, J57, DEAD X HEDS, Rome Fortune, Ricardo Grimm and Mars Black. On the philosophy behind the label, he said it was about "tearing down walls" and that it was meant for artists who never fit in anywhere.

On a personal level, there was also notable news: Wilson and Kelly Osbourne, with whom he welcomed a son named Sidney in 2022, reportedly called off their engagement in March. He had proposed to her backstage at Black Sabbath's farewell concert Back to the Beginning in Birmingham, in the presence of Ozzy Osbourne and his family. Osbourne recently spoke out on social media about the situation, asking without naming anyone directly for child support for their three year old son, among other things. Those posts were later deleted. For Dutch fans of the band, Wilson's departure marks the end of an era: he was one of the few remaining original members from the band's early days, and his signature gas mask and turntable work had been a recognizable part of the Slipknot sound for decades.