.5 The Gray Chapter (2014)
New members, new masks, new era. Slipknot's return with .5 The Gray Chapter came off the back of some of their most turbulent years, not least with the death of bassist Paul Gray and dismissal of drummer Joey Jordison.
Some of the sleek simplicity of Slipknot's masks from All Hope Is Gone remained, but otherwise the band's look seemed to harken right back to the creepy, unsettling aesthetics they had first emerged with over 15 years prior.
Corey Taylor
Taylor’s most human mask: an almost realistic two-piece human face but one that appears riddled with disease and disgust across its cheeks. “People like me, Clown, Sid change our masks drastically,” he said. “Because, for me, the mask is a representation of the person on the inside, and nobody stays the same over time.”
Mick Thomson
The mouth is as distinctive as ever – a five-bar grill across the teeth – but for Thomson’s latest mask, the forehead features more detailed frowning and angrier eyes.
Jim Root
Root’s mask remains similar – though the zipper mouth has gone to allow room for the long beard he grew for The Gray Chapter.
Craig Jones
Jones wears practically the same mask as he has done for the last three album cycles: a black, metallic-looking bowl with zipper mouth and huge spikes protruding all round.
Sid Wilson
The Gray Chapter brought another change, and Wilson’s mask was now a black leather hood, with circular metallic eyes and terrifying teeth that could be covered by a mouth protector.
Shawn Crahan
A return to a more traditional clown face, though one that looked like it had lost a back alley fight to a wolf, had been living rough ever since and was all set on tapping you up for a can of Tennents Super.
Chris Fehn
By The Gray Chapter, the hood was back and the mask was coloured a metallic gold. Though the long nose and zipper mouth remained, the eyes were droopier and sadder than before.
Alessandro Venturella
Gray’s replacement on bass, Alessandro Venturella, and Jordison’s replacement on drums were initially going to both get the same mask so as to include them in the band but not disrespect past members. In the end, though, Venturella was given a slashed-up, patchwork ogre-like mask
Jay Weinberg
The band’s new drummer was given a heavily textured mask, featuring a pentagram on the forehead and zip across the mouth
