Slipknot's Clown Needs Heart Surgery, Discusses Health with Rick Rubin

Slipknot percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan revealed that he needs heart surgery in a new conversation with producer Rick Rubin.

The revelation came during an appearance on the podcast Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin. In the interview, Clown discussed his seeming inability to exit the band even if he wanted to, with not even this potential heart surgery able to dislodge him from the long-established masked metal act. As transcribed by ThePRP , Clown said the following:

“I have a skipping heart and I got to get a surgery. 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.

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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.

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.”

Elsewhere in the same interview, Clown also reflected on on late Slipknot bandmates Paul Gray and Joey Jordison.

Clown said of Gray, “He’s the whole reason I’m sitting here. He hijacked me from my art career. So many people innately wanted to say, so blindly, well, ‘You know, Paul would want you to go on’, and I wouldn’t say much. And then finally, I had enough. And I’m like, did anyone think that maybe I might not want to go on without my friend?”

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The wide-ranging interview also covers Clown’s intensity regarding Slipknot, the development of the initial sound of the band starting with inspiration from Mr. Bungle, and Slipknot’s long-lasting relationship with their fans.

Listen to Clown’s full conversation with Rick Rubin below.

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_Originally reported by [Consequence](https://consequence.net/2026/05/slipknot-shawn-clown-crahan-needs-heart-surgery/)._