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Jun 26, 2023

Shawn 'Clown' Crahan to miss Slipknot's headline performance at Download Festival

He's released a statement Slipknot percussionist Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan has

He's released a statement

Slipknot percussionist Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan has announced he's taking time out from touring to look after his wife.

Ahead of Slipknot's appearance at Nova Rock Festival in Austria tonight (Wednesday 7th June), Crahan released a statement confirming he's not taking part in the band's imminent European shows as he's currently in the US.

Slipknot headline Download Festival on Sunday night (11th June) in what will be their fifth bill-topping appearance at Donington Park.

"Hello to all of our fans, it's the clown," Crahan's statement read. "I would like to take a moment to tell everyone that I’m back home supporting my wife through some health issues, and I’ll be back on the road as soon as I can.

"We’ve been through this before and as always, we appreciate the love and support. See all of you very soon."

It's currently unclear whether Slipknot will be drafting in a replacement for their European tour dates.

Speaking to Kerrang! Radio's Loz Guest last month, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor hailed Download as "the daddy" of music festivals.

"Any time I get to be a part of Download is special man. It's my favourite festival ever," Corey enthused. "It's nothing against the other festivals that I've been a part of or even the one that I co-own (Knotfest), it's just Download is the daddy, man. For me it always has been."

Reflecting on his Download Festival debut at the inaugural event in 2003, Corey said: "When I first played there was with Stone Sour in 2003 on the first album. I didn't even play there with Slipknot first, I played there with Stone Sour.

"And I remember I made this horrible wife beater (T-shirt) that I used a Sharpie and I tried to redo the Union Jack so it's just really crappy Sharpie marker and it's the Union Jack kinda. It said ‘Donington’. But I was so big at the time, and it was so messy that it was just kind of stretched.

"I just remember being on that stage going, ‘if nothing else happens, I can say that I was a part of this festival.’"

Corey added: "Luckily (Download have) had us back multiple, multiple, multiple times, and every time we take to that stage whether it's headlining with Slipknot or headlining the second stage with Stone Sour, or hopefully being able to play it next year maybe with CMFT, it's special, and it will always be special for me."

Slipknot wearing trademark white boiler suits and their horrorshow masks in 2000

Slipknot on the sleeve of their fearsome, self-titled debut album in June 1999.

Slipknot standing in a stairway in early 2000, obviously.

Slipknot's Shawn 'Clown' Crahan and the late-great Joey Jordison in their fetching masks in 2000

Slipknot's Sid Wilson in his gas mask in 2000

Corey Taylor with his dreadlock mask in 2000 - a very different mask to his look today.

Slipknot's Jim Root in 2000 in his Jester mask.

Slipknot's Craig Jones in his bizarre spiked helmet mask in 2000. This would soon evolve into a spiked gimp mask.

Slipknot's formidable and towering Mick Thomson in 2000 in his horror hockey mask.

The late-great Paul Gray of Slipknot in his Pig Mask in 2000

Slipknot's Chris Fehn in 2000. His pointy-nosed Pinocchio-esque mask has been a mainstay of his entire career with Slipknot. The mask is dubbed the Liar Mask.

Slipknot's Craig Jones in 2001. His part Hellraiser/part Gimp mask has also remained largely unchanged over the decades, except for the odd tweak.

Slipknot's Shawn 'Clown' Crahan in 2001. Although all of his masks have been clown related, the percussionist has tweaked his mask more than any other Slipknot member.

Slipknot's masks in June 2001

Slipknot's Joey Jordison and Corey Taylor in 2001

Slipknot's Sid Wilson in June 2001. Another variant of his gas mask.

Slipknot's Jim Root in 2001

A close-up of Slipknot's Shawn 'Clown' Crahan in December 2001

Slipknot and their masks in December 2001

Slipknot's Chris Fehn in his Liar Mask in 2002

Slipknot's Corey Taylor in 2002. The dreadlocks still remain.

Slipknot's Shawn 'Clown' Crahan in August 2002. This mask is more 'fairground clown' than his previous guises.

Slipknot's Corey Taylor in May 2004. This delightful look is known as The Scab Mask.

Slipknot's Paul Gray in 2004. Not quite a pig mask but still animalistic.

Slipknot's Shawn 'Clown' Crahan in June 2004. This time he adopted a bloody bandage mask.

Slipknot in May 2005. Sid Wilson had dropped the gas mask in favour of a skull mask.

Slipknot on the 2006 Grammy Awards red carpet. Sid Wilson on the far right opted for a death mask, while Shawn Crahan wore a grey mask and eye-catching pink boiler suit.

Slipknot return with new masks for All Hope Is Gone in 2008, including, most notably, Joey Jordison's crucified Jesus mask. Corey Taylor wore a new Blank Face Mask.

Slipknot's Mick Thomson and Jim Root in their masks in 2008.

The late Joey Jordison's iconic crucified Jesus mask was brought in for the 'All Hope Is Gone' era in 2008. A crown of thorns and warped stitches were added to his Kabuki mask, whilst some truly off-putting twigs or branches seemed to grow out of his fingers in place of nails. One of the most creepy Slipknot looks of all time, as demonstrated in this incredible photo of Joey on stage at Hammersmith Apollo in London.

Slipknot's Paul Gray, Corey Taylor and Jim Root at the Kerrang! Awards in 2008.

Slipknot suited and booted in December 2008 at the MTV Video Awards.

Slipknot's Shawn 'Clown' Crahan in May 2009. His long hair perfectly compliments his 'female mask'

Slipknot's Corey Taylor pulling tongues in his Blank Face Mask in July 2009

Slipknot's Sid Wilson and Shawn 'Clown' Crahan in July 2011

Slipknot's Shawn 'Clown' Crahan in his Devil Clown Mask in July 2012

Slipknot's Mick Thomson in August 2012

Slipknot's Jim Root in his Jester Mask in 2013

Slipknot's Corey Taylor at Download Festival 2013

Slipknot's Chris Fehn in 2013 in his tradmark Liar Mask

Slipknot's Shawn 'Clown' Crahan in January 2014

Slipknot's Corey Taylor in November 2014; the same year he debuted his new Skin Face Mask.

Slipknot's Mick Thomson in November 2014. Formidable as always.

Slipknot's Sid Wilson in his new Steampunk Gas Mask in 2015

Slipknot's Alessandro Venturella in 2015. The bassist joined Slipknot in 2014 and adopted his chilling burlap mask.

Slipknot's Shawn 'Clown' Crahan in 2015. Since 2014 his guise has been various versions of his .5 Clown mask.

Slipknot's Corey Taylor in 2015 in his Skin Face Mask.

Slipknot's Sid Wilson in October 2015 in his slightly tweaked Steampunk Gas Mask.

Slipknot's Jay Weinberg in 2016. The drummer joined Slipknot two hours earlier and adopted an almost tribal burlap mask.

Slipknot's Corey Taylor in 2016 in his slightly tweaked Skin Face Mask.

Slipknot's Chris Fehn in July 2016. Fehn's Liar Mask is complimented by his long flowing locks.

Slipknot's Jay Weinberg flicking the V's in 2016

Slipknot's Shawn 'Clown' Crahan in 2016

Another mask worn by Slipknot's Shawn 'Clown' Crahan in 2016

Yet another mask adorned by Slipknot's Shawn 'Clown' Crahan in 2016

Slipknot unveiled their fearsome new masks for new album 'We Are Not Your Kind' on 16th May 2019.

Slipknot's mystery new percussionist, strongly rumoured to be Michael Pfaff from Clown's side-project Dirty Little Rabbits, was dubbed Tortilla Man by maggots in 2019 because, you guessed it, his mask looks like a tortilla.

Corey Taylor unveiled his nightmarish new mask at Rocklahoma Festival in September 2021 - the band's first concert in almost 19 months.

Jay Weinberg unveiled his fearsome new mask to maggots around the world at Knotfest Los Angeles in November 2021.

Sid Wilson unveiled this freaky new look in the video for 'The Dying Song (Time To Sing)' in July 2022.

Reflecting his love for disco music, Slipknot percussionist M. Shawn 'Clown' Crahan debuted this mirrorball mask in the video for 'The Dying Song (Time To Sing)'.

Slipknot's newest band member went from Tortilla Man to Squashed Tortilla Man in July 2022.

In April 2023, Jay Weinberg revealed a striking new mask to coincide with the band's performance at Knotfest Japan. He wrote on Instagram: "It's an honour to collaborate with Japanese painter Solid Blackline for my mask this weekend, specially designed for Knotfest Japan. The organic, flowing shapes of his high-contrast designs evoke feelings of mysticism and beauty, balanced within the duality of chaos and order one feels as a visitor in this wondrous country."

In May 2023, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor unveiled a slight tweak to his 'The End, So Far'-era mask. It features a crudely sawn-off cranium to expose Corey's luscious locks.

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