Ex-Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg has spoken out for the first time since his departure from the band.

“I was heartbroken and blindsided to receive the phone call that I did on the morning of November 5th; the news of which, most of you learned shortly after,” Weinberg writes in an Instagram post. “However, I’ve been overwhelmed by — and truly grateful for — the outpouring of love and support I’ve received from this incredible community I consider to be my creative and artistic home.”

That news, which Slipknot announced in a since-deleted post to their website, was that the masked metallers “decided to make a creative decision, and to part ways with Jay.”

Weinberg, the son of E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg, joined Slipknot in 2014 and played on their last three records: 2014’s .5: The Gray Chapter, 2019’s We Are Not Your Kind and 2022’s The End, So Far. He was a big fan of the Knot before he joined; you may recall the viral photo of him as a kid dressed in a Slipknot mask and meeting the band for the first time.

“I sometimes wonder what it would be like to pay a visit to my wide-eyed, 10-year-old self — falling head over heels in love with a new and exciting sound and culture — and tell him all about the last 10 years,” Weinberg now says. “Even on the hardest days, I’d like to think he’d be stoked about the adventure that was in store for him.”

He adds, “I don’t know how, and I don’t know when, but I look forward to creating loud, passionate, and heartfelt music that we enjoy together again.”

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