Fans and listeners have been very critical of the band since Slipknot’s abrupt breakup with Jay Weinberg. A local rocker also made a comment regarding the split recently. On the most recent Let’s Get Heavy Podcast episode, Sister Shotgun singer Chloe Ozwell talked about Weinberg’s exit from Slipknot. Ozwell concurred and offered her own comments when the host discussed the breakup and mentioned that Slipknot is now more of a business band than a metal band. Says she:
“Slipknot isn’t a band anymore. It’s a company, a brand. Yes. especially considering that Knotfest is currently everything and has evolved from a festival to more of an online news source. In my opinion, Slipknot has become a lot like Kiss in the sense that they are creating an empire and a company for themselves and putting their names on a variety of products. I believe Slipknot to be the next Kiss.
Reasons for Firing Jay Weinberg. When it comes to the drummer’s departure from the band, the two sides give conflicting accounts. In Weinberg’s statement, he said he was informed that he was leaving the band via phone early on November 5 and had no knowledge of the decision made by the band. Nevertheless, the rock star expressed gratitude to his former bandmates and said that his ten years with the group had been nothing but happy. The band stated in a since-deleted statement that they made the decision to “make a creative decision” and parted company with their drummer, in contrast to the rocker’s explanation. Along with their statement, they mentioned that Joey Jordison, their late drummer, was missed and that not even Weinberg could bring him back.
Comments regarding Slipknot vs. Weinberg. Hate mail and discussions about whether Slipknot was fired or took the decision on his own soon overflowed their postings after they announced the breakup. It was eventually disclosed that he had been sacked a week later. A few fans brought up the prior dismissals of its former members, Chris Fehn, who left in 2019, and Craig Jones, who was let go in June of this year. Says the user:
“Chris was accurate. Joey was accurate. Craig refuses to discuss anything, but let’s see—after utilizing him in a video and all of the previous promotion, they announced his departure an hour before a show. One more fan stated: “Slipknot, you just committed the biggest error in your boys’ history. Jay truly exemplifies class. He filled the vacuum left by Joey, which we miss.
Weinberg received a lot of kind and encouraging remarks on his comment section, despite the terrible feedback Slipknot received. The drummer got feedback from other drummers in addition to his admirers. In response to his remark, drummers Austin Archey of Lorna Shore, Tre Cool of Green Day, Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater, and Mario Duplantier of Gojira expressed their support. His father, Max Weinberg, the drummer for Bruce Springsteen, also expressed his sentiments with his son in addition to other rock stars.
