The Evolution of Slipknot’s Terrifying Masks Throughout The Years

Slipknot have undoubtedly been one of the biggest acts in metal since the beginning of the 21st century, and they’ve had quite a ride since then.

Back in the late ’90s, The Masked Nine from Iowa decided they wanted the focus to be entirely on their music and performance rather than the stardom that would be associated with their looks and their names.

“It was about being intimidating, obviously, but it was also much more of a creative thing,” Corey Taylor said during an episode of Q With Tom Power. “This was a way for us to kind of wear the music on us physically and create something that was striking.”

Thus, they identify themselves as numbers, ranging from zero to eight, and each wear a unique mask. Their masks have evolved throughout and between each album cycle since their 1999 debut full-length Slipknot. 

Before you Maggots get up in arms about some of the masks being absent from this gallery, each member has had several variations of each mask during each album cycle.

Craig Jones’ spikes got a bit longer and scarier with each record. Shawn Crahan went back and forth with different versions of his initial clown mask before getting newer, gorier ones. Taylor’s mask originally had dreadlocks, but has morphed a lot over time — his latest one covers his whole head.

There also have been lineup changes within the band since, including the untimely death of bassist Paul Gray in 2010, their split with percussionist Chris Fehn in 2019 and the hiring of “Tortilla Man” [Michael Pfaff]. Joey Jordison parted ways with the group in 2013, and then tragically died in July of 2021.

READ MORE: All 18 Musicians Who’ve Been in Slipknot

Since then, they’ve also split with Jones and drummer Jay Weinberg.

Nonetheless, this gallery consists of nine masks from each album’s era — one for each member. Feast maggots, and reminisce with the photos below as you imagine what horrific new faces the members will appear as they continue to tour and release new albums in the years to come.