Jim Root was the first member of Slipknot to hit the studio to begin working on new music earlier this year. Corey Taylor said as late as last week that the music is going to sound exactly how you want it to, whatever that means. But, perhaps Root was spending too much time focusing on Slipknot and not enough on his other band, which coincidentally also features Corey Taylor.
Today, we got word that Root got the boot from Stone Sour. The news first spread on Root's Instagram when a fan asked why Root won't be playing the three Stone Stour gigs booked this summer. Root let it out that the reason is because he was asked to step away from the band:
Due to the news slipping, Stone Sour acted fast and made the firing official:
"As some of you might have heard by now, Stone Sour and Jim Root have indeed parted ways. We were trying to wait until the completion of the new SK album, but in light of recent events, we are going to confirm this information and move on. We feel it's best for both bands and hope that is reflected in the days to come. We will give you more information when the time comes."
What an odd situation Corey Taylor must be in. I have to think he didn't have much to do with the decision of Stone Sour parting with Root, otherwise that would make for some awkward Slipknot sessions. I still can't decide which is more unexpected… this or Joey Jordison getting the boot from Slipknot.