SLIPKNOT Guitarist Says TORTILLA MAN Is 'A Hell Of A Musician': 'He's Just Out Of His Mind'

SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root says that people will eventually figure out the identity of the band's newest member — the percussionist nicknamed "Tortilla Man."

Tortilla Man joined SLIPKNOT three months ago, when he was first featured in the video for comeback single "Unsainted". Since then, there has been much speculation about his name, with some SLIPKNOT fans getting quite obsessed with trying to work out the real identity of the band's latest recruit.

In a recent interview with "The Art And Span Show", Root said that he is surprised that SLIPKNOT's newest member has managed to remain anonymous for this long.

"I think we're just gonna let it ride," he said (hear audio below). "Eventually people will find out who he is; it's just inevitable in this day and age."

Offering a few hints about Tortilla Man's identity, Root went on to say: "He's a character, man. I didn't really know him very well before he started playing with us. But he's a hell of a musician, man. The guy is a world-class pianist; he's a great percussionist; he is schooled in music. He's not just a garage musician who came up and learned on his own. He obviously had natural ability, but he took it to another level and actually got a degree in music. So the guy is next level. Plus he's just out of his mind. I didn't think it was possible for anybody to match us. And I'll be standing there playing and all of a sudden I'll hear this thump next to me, and he'll have jumped down from his drum set. He's, like, next to me. And I'm, like, 'You're insane, dude. Your knees are gonna fucking just be done.' [Laughs]"

SLIPKNOT's other percussionist, founding member Shawn "Clown" Crahan, refused to reveal the identity of the band's mysterious new ninth member in an interview with Kerrang! magazine, saying it was "nobody's fucking business."

SLIPKNOT's previous percussionist, Chris Fehn, sued the band in March, claiming he hadn't been properly compensated for his years of touring and recording with the group. Fehn, a member since 1998, was officially dismissed from the band earlier this year.

In an interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1, SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor said Tortilla Man had won the respect of bands and fans. "He's doing great and is a great dude," he said. "He's killing it, man."

Asked how anyone becomes an official member of SLIPKNOT, Taylor said: "First of all, you've got to wear the tortilla on your face. And the audience has to figure out who you are. With Tortilla Man, it's kinda cool. It's brought this whole new energy to everybody as well, so it's a lot of fun to watch him as well."

SLIPKNOT's sixth studio album, "We Are Not Your Kind", arrived on August 9. The band kicked off its North American headlining tour on July 26 in Mountain View, California.