AceShowbiz -

Four years after the death of bandmate Paul Gray, Slipknot returned to Billboard 200's No. 1 with a tribute album to the bassist. Opening with 132,000 copies, the LP titled ".5: The Gray Chapter" marks the band's second effort to have topped the chart.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, the band's vocalist Corey Taylor revealed that it wasn't easy for them to work on a new album after Gray passed away from accidental overdose in 2010. The members focused themselves on their respective side project before they finally began writing songs for "The Gray Chapter" last year.

"We're more of a freaking football team than a band," Taylor said. "I think it just happened spontaneously. One day, we just started talking and it was like, 'Well I've got some stuff.' And we just started sending ideas to each other. Getting on the same page can be very difficult with this band, but it just came from conversation."

On December 2013, the band announced they'd parted ways with founding drummer Joey Jordison, who later said he got fired. The real reason behind the split remains unknown until now, because the band always refuses to comment on it.

To fill the void left by Gray and Jordison, Slipknot hired two musicians for their new album. Their identities have been kept under tight wraps, but fans believe the new drummer is Jay Weinberg, the son of longtime Bruce Springsteen drummer Max Weinberg. Fans also speculate that Allesandro Venturella is the new bassist after they recognized the tattoo on his hand in the music video for Slipknot's "The Devil in I".

For the group, making ".5: The Gray Chapter" was a major part of the band's healing process. Taylor said it's the most honest and introspective album he and his mates had ever made. "I don't think I've ever been this honest," he explained. "I don't think I've ever been this introspective or focused. I was trying to show that just when you think the hardest part is losing someone, it's sometimes even harder to move forward."