Slipknot have always been known for putting on a very physical and aggressive performance at their shows, however, a lot of the time these acts take a pretty serious toll on the body.
In a new interview with Vulture, the Iowa metal band's co-founder and percussionist Shawn Crahan, aka Clown or #6, detailed the worst injury he has suffered on stage.
"There’s a lot, but the one that’s really done me in was when I ripped my bicep in half on stage by hitting a keg with a bat," Crahan revealed. "If you know anything about a bicep, it’s basically two wires, one on each side that holds the muscle in place — kind of like rubber bands that connect up by your shoulder. I ripped both those f**kers. So my bicep was actually on my forearm. Like, it just dropped down and my skin fell down with it."
That is some nasty stuff, from the sounds of it. But to see it, well, Crahan says it would likely force you to have an involuntary response.
"People would vomit when they saw it," he continued. "I had surgery, and I lost 25 percent of that arm. I’ll go to grab something on the top shelf in the fridge, think I’ve got it, and then whatever it is will just fall. It hurts. I have swelling on my right side where this dissolvable screw was. Out of all the injuries, that one really is a daily reminder."
Sharing the "best and nastiest" moments of the band's history, Crahan also discussed what he thought was Slipknot's greatest stunt, which involved him trying to hang himself.
"If you watch the video for 'The Devil in I,' it looks like I hang myself," he said. "Legally, they would not let me do that — it’s a stunt double — even though I offered. But it was too dangerous. I wanted to be on fire at the same time."
Crahan also revealed that the idea for the Clown character came from buying a clown mask in the adult novelty toy section of a Spencer's store when he was 14.
"I remember it exactly," he recalled. "I put it on and I immediately understood what it was like to disappear. I was gone and the real me had just shown up. It was so natural. From that day on, I molded my face to make my own masks. I have always been the Clown no matter how the mask has changed. The essences are always there."
You can read the full feature here.
Shawn Crahan of Slipknot shares the best, riskiest, grossest moments from the band’s history. ‘People would vomit when they saw it.’ https://t.co/pw6r2tR0V3
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