Hours before taking the stage at Nova Rock 2023 in Austria tonight, June 7, Slipknot announced they had parted ways with longtime programmer and keyboardist Craig Jones. Or at least they announced it, and then removed it from all social media.

In the since-deleted social media post, Slipknot only commented: “To our fans, Slipknot is announcing that we have parted ways with Craig Jones. We wish Jones all the best for the future.” Jones played in Slipknot since 1996 until present day, and has performed on every one of the band’s releases from their 1999 self-titled album up until The End, So Far.

Now all of a sudden, and without a caption, we’ve got… this person. It’s not a mask we’ve ever seen before, and Slipknot hasn’t commented on anything to do with the post just yet. So enjoy the creepy photo below. It’s also pretty safe to assume that whoever is in the below picture has taken Jones‘ place, as they appear to be on stage with Slipknot in some of the below photos.

Stay tuned. This is gonna get weird. In the meantime, Slipknot‘s tour dates are as follows throughout Europe, and you can get your tickets here.

6/7 Nickelsdorf, Austria – Nova Rock
6/8 Hradec, Czechia – Rock For People
6/10 Interlaken, Switzerland – Greenfield
6/13 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
6/14 Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg – Rockhal
6/16 Copenhagen, Denmark – Copenhell Festival
6/17 Dessel, Belgium – Graspop Metal Meeting
6/20 Hamburg, Germany – Barclays Arena
6/21 Berlin, Germany – Mercedes Benz Arena