Slipknot percussionist M. Shawn Crahan has revealed that he requires heart surgery following a medical discovery made shortly after the band’s last touring cycle. The 56-year-old musician discussed the physical toll of his decades-long career and his upcoming medical procedure during a recent appearance on the “Tetragrammaton With Rick Rubin” podcast.
Speaking with producer Rick Rubin, the percussionist explained that the issue was identified when a nurse struggled to get a proper reading during a routine electrocardiogram. He noted that his resting heart rate drops dangerously low, a physical adaptation he attributes to the intense demands of his live performances.
“You know Slipknot is good for me, always has been. And I hate that. I hate that it keeps me alive. You know what I mean, Rick? Like it keeps me alive. It makes me drink water. It makes me… It gets the bad smoke that I had once out of me. It gets the tox… you know, it keeps me alive. It gives me desire. It gives me will. Gives me purpose. And I can’t stand it. It’s such a priority of existence. And I have to do it,” Clown began (as transcribed by theprp).
“I have a skipping heart and I got to get a surgery,” he continued. “And I found this out after my last tour. I went in, I wasn’t feeling good, and I went in and the nurse was trying to get an EKG thing going on me or whatever and it just wasn’t happening. I kind of fell asleep and I woke up. I’m like, ‘Are you going to get this thing?’ And she’s like, ‘Oh, it’s not working.’ They thought I was having a heart attack right there. Anyway, my heart skips and apparently I’ve taught myself to be like a cross country runner.”
“So, I’m overweight and my brain is so strong that it tells this stuff what to do. So, my standing heart rate at night is 43 and during the day I get down to 33. [It] hasn’t happened since I’ve been here with you, which is good, because I’ll go from ‘on’, to just straight up I feel like I’m dying. So, I got to get a surgery. It’s a very easy surgery. You’re usually out on the same day. It’s not like they rip you open. This is something about the electricity,” Clown explained.
“But at first, they thought maybe I needed a pacemaker. And I was like, ‘Doc, listen, I get a pacemaker. I’m done, right? Touring, Slipknot?’ So he goes, ‘Oh, no. You’re going to feel better.’ And I just I lost it. I was like, I can’t get out of this to save my life. I’m like, there is nothing, not even my heart. It’s going to be better because of Slipknot.”
He concluded: “I got a concierge doctor because I’m in Slipknot and I’m able to go to levels and they’re like, ‘No, you’re going to feel better. You better get in shape because you got to do more now at 56.’ And it’s just like I just can’t believe it, man, that this was me. It’s wonderful. I’m lucky.”
Slipknot surprised fans on Record Store Day with an exclusive physical release of their long-shelved experimental project, Look Outside Your Window.
The material was originally recorded concurrently with the sessions for the 2008 album All Hope Is Gone. Representing a significant departure from the band’s trademark aggression, the psychedelic and experimental tracks were created by Shawn Crahan alongside vocalist Corey Taylor, guitarist Jim Root, and turntablist Sid Wilson. Shawn Crahan previously explained in 2018 that the project stemmed from creative downtime during the studio sessions, allowing the four members to explore new musical avenues without the heavy expectations associated with a traditional Slipknot release.
While Look Outside Your Window was initially framed as a Record Store Day exclusive, new evidence suggests a wider rollout is imminent. Fans online reportedly discovered a hidden listing on the Record Store Day website pointing to a global release scheduled for Friday, June 12 at 8:00 a.m. The leaked information also indicated a “Go Live” date of Tuesday, May 19, which could serve as the timeline for an official announcement and pre-orders. Currently, the listing only mentions CD and vinyl formats, with no official word regarding its availability on streaming platforms.
Taking to the Slipknot subreddit in April, under the username ‘InsuRn’, one fan shared their initial reactions after spinning the record. They noted a distinct “slowness” to the music that reminded them of Pink Floyd, while also dropping a massive revelation: Lacuna Coil frontwoman Cristina Scabbia provides guest vocals on “one (maybe two?)” tracks. This collaboration tracks perfectly with the timeline, as Scabbia was in a relationship with Jim Root during the 2008 recording sessions.
Addressing the overall sound, that person clarified that the album is “not very electronic.” Attempting to categorize the unique atmosphere, they explained, “hard to name a band with the same sound, but the vibe is definitely Slipknot except no screams, no double bass drum.” They also drew a direct parallel to the melodic closer “Til We Die“, a track originating from these exact sessions that was ultimately attached to the deluxe edition of All Hope Is Gone.
Interestingly, the fan pushed back against the long-standing narrative that the project heavily channels Radiohead.
“Some elements here and there, but overall not that much,” the user stated. Instead, they found a much stronger connection to an earlier era of the band’s own catalog: “The first thing that I thought was that most of these songs would really fit on [2004’s] Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses. They have the same vibe.”
Later in April, while speaking with Rolling Stone, Shawn detailed how Scabbia ended up contributing to two specific tracks: “Christina” and “Is Real“. At the time of the 2008 recording sessions, the Italian singer was in a long-term relationship with Slipknot guitarist Jim Root, making her a frequent presence around the band’s camp.
“Jim and she were dating,” Clown explained at the time. “She’s a talented artist, and she was up in the house. I had to go to Jim, like, ‘Hey, what do you think about getting Cristina on?’ And he said, ‘Absolutely.’”
For the track “Christina“, the percussionist tasked the vocalist with a highly specific, conceptual spoken-word performance in her native language.
“The first thing I did was make her write a poem, a letter of intent in Italian. I told her to make it about batteries that are dying that cannot be recharged,” he said. “And she’s like, ‘OK.’ I have the piece of paper in Italian, and she did her best to read it to me, but I’ve never read it since then or memorized it. I just like to hear it the way it is. Jim and I were producing her, really making her get conviction. By the end, you could just feel it.”
Scabbia also lent her singing voice to “Is Real“, a move that reportedly caught Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor off guard in the studio.
“He had already sung on the song,” Crahan said. “So he thinks she’s just doing the poem, but then she busts into that vocal, singing, going for it. I just remember Corey going back a little bit and he goes, ‘OK.’ He loved it, but it really surprised him in a good way.”
