The family of former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison has released the following statement announcing that the iconic drummer has passed away. He was only 46 years old.
"We are heartbroken to share the news that Joey Jordison, prolific drummer, musician and artist passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 26th, 2021. He was 46.
"Joey's death has left us with empty hearts and feelings of indescribable sorrow.
"To those that knew Joey, understood his quick wit, his gentle personality, giant heart and his love for all things family and music.
"The family of Joey have asked that friends, fans and media understandably respect our need for privacy and peace at this incredibly difficult time.
"The family will hold a private funeral service and asks the media and public to respect their wishes."
Jordison exploded onto the scene as the drummer of Slipknot, becoming a huge star and fan-favorite among the pack. Eventually, he parted ways with Slipknot, and the band and he never quite went public with what happened. Jordison formed multiple other successful bands including Murderdolls, Vimic, Scar the Martyr and Sinsaenum. Corey Taylor made some allusions to what happened in 2014 in an interview on The Jasta Show.
At the time, Taylor said "There's legalities [that are involved which prevent me from talking about it], but at the same time — and people need to realize this — there's respect. I'm not gonna talk about Joey's life, because it's not my place, and people need to realize that. If Joey wants to talk about the situation, he can. I can only talk about how it pertains to this band, and the only way I've been able to sum it up — and this is the broadest term — is that sometimes you're on the same road, and you'll reach a T section, and sometimes you turn together, and sometimes you split. And this time we split. It was just that simple. We just weren't able to work anymore. And that's it."
He continued "I'm not gonna sit here and dog somebody that I spent 15 years building something amazing with — I'm not gonna do that. And the fans need to understand that. And I think for the most part most of them do, but there's always gonna be those people who just want a little more so they can talk shit. And that's the only reason why they want the full story — so they can talk shit."
At the 2016 Metal Hammer Golden Gods, Joey Jordison shocked the metal world by revealing his battle with transverse myelitis. The disease is a form of multiple sclerosis that affected his back, and most importantly for a drummer, his legs. In 2018, Jordison said he recovered 100% from the disease, although he faded from the public eye.
In a 2016 interview, Jordison complained he was fired in an email and that the band was confused about his diagnosis. "No band meeting? None. Anything from management? No, nothing. All I got was a stupid fucking email saying I was out of the band that I busted my ass my whole life to fucking create. That's exactly what happened and it was hurtful. I didn't deserve that shit after what I'd done and everything I'd been through."
"They got confused about my health issues and obviously even I didn't know what it was at first. They thought I was fucked up on drugs, which I wasn't at all. I've been through so many things with those guys and I love them very much. What's hurtful is the way it went down was not fucking right. That's all I want to say. They way they did it was fucking cowardly. It was fucked up."
Tributes have been pouring in from all over the rock world. Joey will be missed.
In 2020, marking the 20th anniversary of Slipknot's seminal debut album, Jordison wrote “It’s almost hard to believe how these years have flown by like blast beats. That album was & will always be some of the absolute best memories of my life. There’s nothing out there quite like it, and what it did for all of us & the Metal world. It made all of our dreams come true, and the overall reaction from the fans almost collapsed venues & stadiums worldwide. We didn’t expect it, but it absolutely exploded!
He continued "We were so determined, hungry, and ready to take on the world and we did. We feared no one, and it showed when we took the stage. It was just ‘that’ time. Total mystery it was. Thank you to Monte Conner, Dave Rath, and all at Roadrunner Records… Sophia John, Ross ‘The King’ Robinson & Chuck Johnson. To the fans, you guys made this happen for all of us, and I dedicate this anniversary to YOU!!! Metal Forever. Thank you eternally! Joey Jordison no.1. ??”
