Slipknot's Clown says he would like the band to become a continuous entity that never dies

Slipknot's Shawn “Clown” Crahan recently spoke with Rolling Stone on both the band's legacy and future, (via Blabbermouth). He touched on the concept of Slipknot turning into “an actual culture, like an emperor, like a president or a king or a queen,” which would be made possible by future members replacing current ones, and then having the cycle continue on, potentially forever.

It's a very interesting idea, but is it practical? Could the current members find others who are as dedicated and share the same mindset to successfully carry the torch? Will future generations still be going to Slipknot concerts?

You said recently that you could see Slipknot going forward with a whole new lineup. When do you plan on replacing everyone?

What I've been saying is that only my mind – this is all from me, this isn't from anybody else – I look at it as I'm not going to be able to do this forever. I'm 45 years old. Hopefully I can do it until I can't walk. Sometimes I think to myself, because I have new guys and they're so young, the drummer, I could be his dad. He's 24 years old and my daughter is 24 years old. So I look at him and think, “Fuck, man, I could pound him into shape for the next 20 years and he'd still be fucking young.” And if I wanted to continue to do other things, I could step aside. And what better way to have the young'uns come in and learn the way? And what if Slipknot could be this recycled thought process that is completely on point and just keeps going for life? That would have to be up to all of us, of course, but if people had to step aside and could bust in someone new and it was all there, that would be this band. This band could be something that's never been in this life before.

I watch some of these fucked-up big bands that have so much decadent diva problems with each other and I laugh. Like, “You're a grown man and you can't figure out how to work your fucking art out with another person because of money or fucking ego? I hope you fail.” So wouldn't it be cool if this shit I'm involved in could just continue through life, like an actual culture, like an emperor, like a president or a king or a queen. The lineage keeps going on and on. And the thought process is intact and it's fabulous. I'm not gonna authorize anything that's fake or full of shit. I'm talking about real stuff. That's just a dream.

Well, for now, you seem happy to be in Slipknot.

We're still well beyond everybody else. Because I know every other band and fuck them all, man. I'm in the greatest band in the world, period. End of story. We're the best.