Slipknot’s Clown Shares Photo of Sick ‘New’ Mask

Slipknot‘s Shawn “Clown” Crahan has shared a photo of a “new” mask. According to fans, it had previously only been seen in the band’s Knotfest Museum.

The percussionist shared a photo on his Instagram yesterday (March 10) wearing the mask under a hooded jacket with the caption, “I swore I wouldn’t let this happen.”

Though the comments on the photo have been turned off, fans have taken to the Slipknot Reddit page to discuss the mask. As many have pointed out, it looks very similar to one that has apparently been featured in their Knotfest Museum in the past. Thus, this is the first photo of Clown actually wearing it.

It appears to be another version of the west German mask that Clown wore throughout their 1999 self-titled album cycle and tour, but with burn effects on one side and a lot less hair. One fan on Reddit pulled photos of the mask from the Knotfest Museum and compared it with the photo Clown posted, and it seems to be the same mask.

“That looks genuinely (sic) as hell, I’m glad that he’s getting a new mask because his recent masks have been… interesting,” someone commented on the post.

The user who shared the photos wrote in the comments that the mask was designed in 2017 by special effects artist Ralis Kahn and his team, who created the band’s masks for the All Hope Is Gone album cycle. This mask, in particular, was featured in the Knotfest Museum in 2019 and 2020, according to the fan.

So technically, the mask isn’t new, but it’s new to anyone who hasn’t seen it in the museum.

With Slipknot touring later this year in support of the 25th anniversary of their debut album, fans have theorized that Clown will wear this mask to commemorate the record and their early tours. They’ve further speculated that the rest of the band members will have similar masks — deformed re-imaginations of the ones they wore 25 years ago.

This would be a bit difficult to accomplish as the band’s lineup has changed immensely since then. While Clown, Corey Taylor, Jim Root, Sid Wilson and Mick Thomson are still in the group, Paul Gray and Joey Jordison have since died, and Craig Jones and Chris Fehn are no longer associated with them.

READ MORE: Why Do Fans Think They Know Who Slipknot’s New Drummer Is?

There are two new members’ whose identities we don’t even know yet, after the departures of Jones and Jay Weinberg in 2023. However, it would be great if they paid homage to their legacy in that way, so stay tuned to see which other masks the members reveal throughout this year.

Slipknot’s first show of 2024 will take place at Las Vegas’ Sick New World Festival on April 27. As of now, their 25th anniversary Slipknot tour will kick off Dec. 5 in Amsterdam. See the rest of the dates at this location.