Former Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg has spoken in depth for the first time about the circumstances surrounding his sudden departure from the band in 2023, describing the moment as one that completely blindsided him after nearly a decade behind the kit.
Weinberg joined Slipknot in 2014, stepping into the role once held by founding drummer Joey Jordison. Over the next ten years he became a key part of the band’s modern era, performing on three studio albums and touring the world with the masked metal giants. For Weinberg, the position was more than just another gig — it was the culmination of a lifelong dream.
But by 2023, tensions inside the band had reportedly begun to grow. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Weinberg revealed that the final year of his time in Slipknot had been “extraordinarily tense,” with underlying issues building behind the scenes.
At the same time, Weinberg was dealing with a serious physical issue that had been affecting him for years. Since 2018, he had been experiencing increasing pain in his left hip. After medical tests, doctors diagnosed him with femoroacetabular impingement, a condition that had torn the labrum in his hip and made physical activity extremely painful. Despite this, Weinberg continued performing and touring with the band.
Eventually, his doctors advised surgery. Because Slipknot were not actively touring at the time, Weinberg believed the break would be the perfect opportunity to undergo the procedure and recover before the next run of shows. He informed the band and management about the plan and received approval to move forward with it.
According to Weinberg, the situation took a shocking turn shortly after the band’s final show together in 2023. After returning home, he received a phone call from the group’s management informing him that the band had decided not to renew his contract.
“I woke up the morning after traveling home from our last show together, and I received a phone call… the band had made a decision to not renew my contract at the end of the year,” Weinberg recalled. “My world just kind of bottomed out.”
The drummer said he immediately began asking questions, trying to understand what had happened. But the explanation he received was brief and vague. The decision, he was told, was simply a “creative decision.”
Weinberg later admitted that he still doesn’t fully understand the reasons behind the move. Reflecting on the atmosphere in the band during that final year, he suggested that internal tensions may have contributed to the situation.
“It took place at the end of a very difficult year within the band,” he said, adding that he sometimes feels he may have become “a scapegoat for certain things.”
For Weinberg, the emotional impact was immense. Slipknot had been the center of his professional life for a decade.
“This was my singular focus for ten years,” he explained. “I applied myself in every way possible… and I’m left with no explanation other than that it was a creative decision.”
The band officially confirmed the split in November 2023, thanking Weinberg for his dedication while stating that Slipknot intended to continue evolving creatively.
Despite the painful ending, Weinberg says he still values the years he spent with the band and the experiences that came with it. At the same time, he has begun focusing on the future. The drummer is currently working on several new musical projects, including a solo album featuring collaborators from bands such as Deafheaven and Code Orange.
For Weinberg, the chapter with Slipknot may have ended abruptly, but he sees it as part of a longer journey — one that began with a childhood dream and continues to evolve long after the masks came off.
