SLIPKNOT’s M. CLOWN Says He Will Continue Wearing A Mask In Public After The Pandemic

Slipknot Clown 2021

In a new interview with Forbes, M. Shawn Crahan [Clown] talked about the atmosphere in the studio while he and his bandmates have been recording the next SLIPKNOT album.

“The general atmosphere has been very complex as of recently, and the main reason for that is an obvious one, we have been in a very different world with COVID and abiding by government laws,” Crahan said. “For instance, I think we had it very bumpy because when we were in the studio if we were in the control room and around the engineers that worked for the studio, we had to wear masks. If we were in the live room where we were recording around each other, and we had all been tested, we didn’t have to wear masks. But if an employee was in there we’d have to put them on. Now I think about nine months ago and it was even more restrictive, so it’s been very challenging to say the least.

He continued: “But I’m not ever going to stop wearing a mask, COVID or not. I’ve been in this business 25 years, and people are filthy all over the world. So when I had to be in the studio and I was asked to put on a mask, it didn’t bother me, it was business as usual. I mean I’m glad at least the majority of the world has been profoundly open to the idea of, ‘Hey, when you’re going to be out in public there’s a chance you could be around someone with pneumonia, the flu, or just a nasty cough. Why not wear a mask to just protect yourself?’

“We live in a filthy world, and we live in a world where people don’t wash their hands, they wipe their nose and they open the door and then you touch it. I have four children and I know what it’s like to drop your kid off at school and they come home sick and then you’re sick. It’s been a highly intense album making process because of COVID. There’s been lots of testing, there’s been different time frames and different restrictions, and it was business as usual. I don’t believe anyone in the band missed a beat.

SLIPKNOT announced a return to the road for its incendiary 2021 incarnation of the “Knotfest Roadshow,” Support will come from three Grammy-nominated heavy music luminaries, KILLSWITCH ENGAGEFEVER 333 and CODE ORANGE. Tickets for the tour are now available at this location.

SLIPKNOT released their latest album, We Are Not Your Kind, on August 9, 2019 via Roadrunner Records. Album was once again recorded at a Los Angeles studio with producer Greg Fidelman, who engineered and mixed SLIPKNOT‘s 2004 album Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) and helmed 2014’s .5: The Gray Chapter.