Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan has made a surprising return to Instagram activity with a cryptic post about Slipknot’s early days, as shown on Instagram.
Crahan recently deleted all his Instagram posts and left only a single video. He then shared a mysterious photograph from Safari Club in 1996.
“The Safari Club 1996,” Crahan wrote in the caption of his post.
The post has generated significant discussion among Slipknot fans on Reddit. They noticed an important detail in the photograph. Fans spotted Craig Jones, who left the band in 2023, visible in the background wearing a wolf mask.
One fan commented on the significance of the image: “Clown posted a 1996 Safari photo. Out of nowhere, Clown posted this on his Instagram today. The reason it’s significant is because you can see Craig in the back in the Wolf mask – everyone thought it was a one off for Hotel Fort. Turns out it wasn’t. Hope he’ll open his vault to some degree!”
Another fan referenced previous statements from Crahan about revisiting the band’s early material: “I recall when GOAT came out, Clown said he would one day revisit ST, then go in reverse through 98, 97, etc. I didn’t take him seriously, but here is to hoping he has something cooking.”
The Safari Club photograph holds particular significance in Slipknot’s history. It captures a pivotal moment in the band’s evolution during their formative years in Des Moines.
Setlist.fm documented that the Safari Club shows in 1996 marked Slipknot’s first concerts with Craig Jones performing on guitar. This makes the photograph even more historically significant for fans tracking the band’s lineup changes. During these early performances, only Clown and Anders wore masks. This highlights how the band’s iconic masked stage presence was still evolving at the time.
The Des Moines venue played a crucial role in Slipknot’s development. MFKR1.com’s chronology shows that throughout 1996, Slipknot played several gigs at the Safari Club. This established it as a key location in the band’s formative years. These performances helped shape the band’s sound and stage presence before they achieved mainstream success.
The timing of Crahan’s post has intensified fan speculation about potential archival releases. YouTube playlists already feature videos and recordings from these early 1996 Safari Club performances circulating among collectors. This underscores the potential value of any official releases from Crahan’s personal archive.
The post has sparked hope among fans that this could signal the beginning of releasing more archival material from the band’s early years. This is particularly significant given Crahan’s previous hints about revisiting the band’s pre-mainstream catalog in chronological reverse order.
