Corey Taylor is one of the Slipknot band members who changes masks more than the others, and he does so because he believes it reflects how people change over time. According to Kerrang Radio, the singer says, “People like me, Clown (Shawn “Clown” Crahan), Sid (Wilson) and a couple of others, we change ours drastically … nobody stays the same over time — that’s my belief.”

In the early days, Taylor wore a bondage mask but had issues because of his dreadlocks, which he threaded through holes cut in the mask. Yet after a year of this, the singer did not like what was happening to his hair and scalp, so he severed his dreads and attached them to the mask, creating his signature look for both the band’s self-titled and “Iowa” albums.

By the “All Hope is Gone” album cycle in 2008, Taylor released an entirely new, featureless face mask, arguably more eerily terrifying than Joey Jordison’s Kabuki masks for its blank expression. The singer’s last two masks have also been quite unique, with almost no connection to his previous masks.

When it came time for the intimidating guitarist to choose, Mick Thomson initially went for the look of the iconic hulking mass murderer Jason Voorhees from the classic horror franchise “Friday the 13th.” This meant that he easily found a hockey mask at the store, but it involved very little imagination. So, after wearing the hockey mask for the cover of their first album in 1999, the guitarist quickly set it aside in exchange for a black leather mask that shortly after had his own metallic design, says Alternative Press.

Thomson’s masks have all been based on his original hockey mask idea, albeit with some major tweaks to incorporate his own style. The guitarist’s masks have evolved, but for over a decade, the changes have been minor, so his signature look has remained relatively the same during the last few album cycles. The metallic grill over the mouth is something he has stuck with and made his own, yet it is also the way his newer masks are linked to the original.

As one of the band members who has modified his mask the least, Thomson summed up his feelings on the matter when he said, “If you know who you are, you don’t need change. I think I pretty much nailed it with this one for being able to get across how I am,” when discussing the mask of the “Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses” era in 2004.

Craig Jones’ first mask was basically just underwear over his face until he got more creative for the release of Slipknot’s first album. Most likely inspired by another popular horror franchise, “Hellraiser,” Jones is known for wearing a mask with nails sticking out of it, similar to the horrifying villain Pinhead. The sampler initially stuck the nails to an old helmet and added a flashlight as well. However, he switched it up to a spiked leather mask for the release of “Iowa.”

Since Jones is notorious for his silence during interviews, he also put a zipper on his mouth slit that he could slowly zip shut with glee when asked to speak, says Metal Hammer. From then on, Jones’ bondage Pinhead look has become his own with even fewer changes in style than Thomson and Root. In fact, the only real change is that the nails have gotten longer.

Chris Fehn is notorious for wearing a long, Pinocchio-like nose on his masks that he says reflects his comedic personality. It is a common sight to see the drummer rub the nose in a rather vulgar manner during performances. When discussing his first mask, Fehn notes, “I chose it for the bondage factor,” referring to its gimp look with a zipper over the mouth. For the “Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses” era, the drummer’s mask had the fascinating characteristic of often changing colors, according to Alternative Press. The mask first looked like it had started to rust and then eventually became all red.

As opposed to Sid Wilson, Fehn’s masks changed very little, with only minor alterations. For example, sometimes he wore a hood over the back of his head, while he did not for other album cycles. Fehn used the same mask for Slipknot’s self-titled debut album and “Iowa,” and the drummer noted how bad of an idea that was due to how bad the mask ended up smelling.

As a child, Joey Jordison was thoroughly creeped out by the blank look of Japanese Kabuki masks after he witnessed his mother wearing one when she came home from a Halloween party. So, Jordison kept this style for his masks throughout his years with the band, only with slight alterations. The drummer’s last mask for the “All Hope Is Gone” cycle was the most creative, appearing like a demonic Christ with a crown of thorns and stitches across the face, according to Metal Hammer.

Even though the utterly blank expression of the Kabuki masks frightened him the most as a kid, it has become one of his favorite features as an adult. As Jordison noted, “You feel however you want to feel; scary, evil or perverted. All those things held in one mask.” But like Chris Fehn and other members, the drummer has had issues playing in the masks: “It’s very difficult to play in the masks sometimes. You feel like you’re locked in hell.”

Joey Jordison sadly passed away in his sleep on July 26, 2021.

In the most recent round of Slipknot masks, Alessandro Venturella and Jay Weinberg have been allowed to wear masks that are entirely their own. This is especially beneficial for the new bassist, who arguably has the coolest mask out of all the new ones, says Metal Sucks. Venturella’s mask (pictured) pays homage to Paul Gray’s with a pig look but also incorporates his own samurai design.

On the other hand, Corey Taylor’s mask ended up being a huge letdown after all the hype leading up to its release. Renowned makeup artist and SFX master Tom Savini (“Dawn of the Dead,” “Friday the 13th”) helped design and create the mask, so there was a lot of built-up excitement and expectations for greatness. Instead, the high hopes were quickly dashed once the mask was revealed, with many posters on Reddit and other platforms ridiculing it for its comically large cheeks and chipmunk look.