Former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison has died at the age of 46.
According to a statement issued by his family, Jordison “passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 26th, 2021.” A cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
“Joey’s death has left us with empty hearts and feelings of indescribable sorrow,” his family’s statement reads. “To those that knew Joey, understood his quick wit, his gentle personality, giant heart and his love for all things family and music.”
Jordison was a founding member of Slipknot and played in the band until his departure in December 2013. He later revealed that he suffered from transverse myelitis, a neurological disease that limited his the ability to play the drums.
The drummer suggested that his condition led Slipknot to fire him from the band, telling Metal Hammer in 2016 that the band “got confused about my health issues and obviously even I didn’t know what it was at first. They thought I was f**ked up on drugs, which I wasn’t at all.”
During his tenure with Slipknot, Jordison was an integral part of the band. Not only was he one of metal’s premier drummers, he was a key songwriter in the group, responsible for co-writing some of Slipknot’s best-known songs.
His drumming in Slipknot can be heard on 1999’s self-titled effort, 2001’s Iowa, 2004’s Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses, and 2008’s All Hope Is Gone, each certified at least platinum by the RIAA. He also appeared on the band’s pre-fame album, 1996’s Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat., which featured original singer Anders Colsefni, prior to Corey Taylor joining the band.
Joridison was replaced by current Slipknot drummer Jay Weinberg, who first appeared on the band’s 2014 album, .5 The Gray Chapter.
Following his dismissal from Slipknot, Jordison played in the bands Scar the Martyr, Vimic and Sinsaenum. While he was still in Slipknot, he also played guitar in the band Murderdolls.
In 2018, Jordison declared he was “100% back” as far as his health was concerned. “I’m … stronger than I’ve ever been — that sounds like a cheesy f–king line, I understand. But it took me a long time, man, to recover and get my strength back … It was the scariest f–king thing I ever went through in my life and I busted my ass, got the right trainers. I was not not gonna play drums again.”
Our condolences go out to Joey Jordison’s family, friends, and bandmates during this difficult time. See his incredible skills behind the drum kit during Slipknot’s performance of “Psychosocial” at the 2009 Roskilde festival in the video below.
This is a developing story…
