Slipknot's mystery new drummer had to pay his respects to late bassist Paul Gray before he was welcomed into the masked rock act.

Percussionist Shawn Crahan tells Rolling Stone magazine he took his new bandmate, rumoured to be Jay Weinberg, to Gray's grave in a Des Moines, Iowa cemetery.

He explains, "I made him pay his respects and say hello. I told him what we're gonna do, and we got on a f**king plane and flew to f**king L.A."

The new drummer replaces former Slipknot star Joey Jordison.

Crahan and his bandmates insist they'll never reveal the identity of their new drummer.