Early last month, Slipknot made a huge change in their lineup, replacing long-time keyboardist Craig Jones with some unknown dude seemingly moments before a show in Europe. And while fans were left wondering what the hell was going on in the ridiculously popular nonet, that didn’t stop them from trying to be their best internet sleuths and figure out exactly who was.
Well, it turns out they may have finally cracked the case, thanks to an image posted by Michael “Tortilla Man” Pfaff to his Instagram stories. Over on the band’s official subreddit, a photo was posted of Pfaff hanging out in the band’s dressing room. Of particular note was the shot that included the rack that contained the band’s stage clothes. On top of each hangar, there are signs posted to note whose clothes were on the rack. From left to right, you see Sid, Za-, Mick, Pfaff, and Corey. Now, we all know most of those names, but Za- is an incomplete name. The while name is actually cut off in the photo.
After weeks of speculation that the new keyboardist may actually be ex-Ghost keyboardist Zac Baird, fans now believe their instincts were right. Naturally, this isn’t ironclad, irrefutable evidence, but it’s something.
The original Instagram story has since been deleted, but given the permanent nature of the internet, the image still lives on. Hell, even we’ve published it below.
There’s been a lot of speculation swirling around the new keyboardist, who may have even been with the band longer than expected. Just a couple weeks ago, frontman Corey Taylor let it slip that Jones’ replacement had been there longer than a couple weeks.
“Obviously, any time you have a change like that, it makes you have to kind of lean into adversity a little bit. We took a little more time to kind of figure things out. Obviously, [him being a] new guy.
“[He’s] good — really good. He’s a total musician. But it took him a second to kind of find his way. But now he’s killing it; now he’s really, really good.”
So what do you think? Is this a slam dunk and we now know who it is? Or was this all just a red herring to make fans think they got it right? Let us know.
