“We would like to thank Jay Weinberg for his dedication and passion over the past ten years,” an announcement posted to Slipknot’s Instagram account stated on Nov. 5, 2023.
“(…) But as ever, SLIPKNOT is intent on evolving. The band has decided to make a creative decision, and to part ways with Jay. We wish Jay all the best and are very excited for what the future holds.”
And that’s the closest thing to an explanation that fans have received: No reason, no spilled tea, just a “creative decision,” ending a nearly decade-long partnership with the 33-year-old drummer and son of Bruce Springsteen’s percussionist Max Weinberg.
The motivation behind the split is a mystery. Just two months ago, Weinberg was voted Modern Drummer’s Metal Drummer of the Year, and he had played with Slipknot in concert a mere two days before the announcement was made.
Weinberg has yet to release a statement on his departure from the band. For their parts, fans on social media expressed disappointment, as well as skepticism at the unusually buttoned-down language employed by the performers of “Wait and Bleed.”
Weinberg joined Slipknot in 2014, following the 2013 departure of the band’s original drummer, Joey Jordison, reportedly due to medical problems. He would spend the next year performing masked, more or less incognito, with the band refusing to officially identify him by name until May of 2015. His time with the group saw the release of three full albums – .5: The Gray Chapter in 2014, We Are Not Your Kind in 2019, and The End, So Far in 2022. He also appeared on Slipknot’s 2017 live album, Day of the Gusano. Slipknot has yet to reveal which member of The Batman’s rogue’s gallery is next in line to play drums for them.