Slipknot's bassist, Alessandro "Vman" Venturella, spoke about the revelation of his identity to the public before the release of the band's fifth album.
In October 2014, Slipknot dropped ".5: The Gray Chapter," which served as the first CD without its late bassist Paul Gray and founding drummer, Joey Jordison. The latter member was fired in 2013.
Before the release of the fifth album, the identities of Slipknot's new bassist and drummer were not shared with the fans. Instead, they were introduced while they were wearing the same mask with new designs.
But immediately after seeing the new bassist in the video, they immediately knew he was Venturella because of the tattoo on his hand.
In a new interview with Australia's Heavy Magazine, the interviewer asked him whether he got in trouble after his identity was confirmed before it was even announced.
"Oh, no. There was no trouble," he recalled. "It was a funny one, because I remember saying, 'Should I put some black tattoo gloves on or something like that?' And they were, like, 'Ah, no one's gonna get it.' [Laughs] And I was, like, 'Okay.' I've worked for quite a few high-profile bands."
Slipknot singer, Corey Taylor, shared a similar sentiment a few days after the album was released. Instead of feeling angry over it, he reportedly laughed about it while doing a radio interview.
Alessandro Venturella Says He Was Not a Bassist Before Joining Slipknot
Venturella scored the spot in Slipknot after receiving a call from Jim Root. At that time, he was reportedly working with Mastodon as he served as guitarist Brent Hinds's tech.
In an interview with Bass Guitar magazine, he said he turned down the band twice before agreeing to become its guitarist. At that time, however, he was not a bassist.
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Despite that, Venturella thought it would not be an obstacle but would need to make sure it was true.
He then made his debut with Slipknot at Knotfest in 2014, officially replacing Paul Gray, who died in 2010.
"My approach isn't the same as Paul's. I can't be him and never will be; every player is ultimately born different," he explained. "As the rhythm section, we're there to hold the fort."
Gray died at an Urbandale hotel, where he suffered a drug overdose, including fentanyl and morphine. His bereaved family ultimately blamed pain-relief specialist, Dr. Daniel Baldi, following his passing.
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