Joey Jordison left an undeniable legacy in heavy metal with his work in Slipknot , where he was the drummer from the band's formation and was present on the band's most acclaimed albums to date, from Iowa (2001) to All Hope Is Gone (2008).
With Jordison's premature and unexpected death at age 46, his mysterious departure from the band he helped create after nearly two decades of collaboration has resurfaced. What happened back then?
The announcement of the separation between Slipknot and the drummer came at the end of 2013. In a statement without further explanation about the reason for the decision, the band only cited "personal reasons." The initial lack of information generated a series of rumors, including suspicions that the drummer was experiencing problems with alcohol and drug addiction.
When Joey Jordison first spoke about leaving the group , he denied any involvement in the decision. “I want to make it very clear that I DID NOT QUIT SLIPKNOT . This band has been my life for the last 18 years, and I would never abandon it or abandon my fans. This news shocked and surprised me as much as it did you,” he wrote in January of the following year.
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Initially, Corey Taylor didn't elaborate on his former bandmate's departure in the press, limiting himself to saying that Jordison hadn't participated in the creation of the band's next album because he was focused on his side project, Scar The Martyr , and explaining that he couldn't discuss the matter further.
Despite describing the moment as "painful," Taylor confirmed that he didn't speak to Jordison during those first few months. "It was one of the hardest decisions we've ever had to make," the vocalist said in September of that year . "We're very happy now, and we hope he is too. He's simply at a point in his life where we're not."
After some time without official information, the reason for this sudden change was finally revealed. Jordison suffered from transverse myelitis, a degenerative neurological disease that severely impaired his leg movements and prevented him from playing drums. The severity of the pain and lack of sensation in his lower limbs reached such a point that the artist had to be carried onto the stage on some occasions. “I wasn’t even drinking. Everything was as it should be. But I had to be carried onto the stage. The pain is something I’ve never felt in my life,” he told Metal Hammer .
“It’s a form of multiple sclerosis, which I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. And I managed to get up, go to the gym, put myself in therapy to overcome this shit,” he said upon receiving the Metal God award at the Golden Gods Awards. “For people who have multiple sclerosis, transverse myelitis, or something like that, I am living proof that you can beat it. (...). Just the fact that Metal lives in you, you can overcome anything.”
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In other interviews, Jordison said that only one Slipknot member visited him in the hospital and, shortly after, the news of his dismissal arrived by email , without a meeting with the other members or management. “That’s exactly how it happened and it hurt. They thought I was high on drugs, but I wasn’t at all,” the drummer lamented. “What hurt was the way things happened, which wasn’t right. That’s all I wanted to say. The way they did it was cowardly.”
Despite this turbulent period in their relationship, Joey Jordison harbored no resentment towards Slipknot, whom he considered "brothers forever ," and expressed gratitude for their time together in several interviews. If a reunion were ever in the band's plans, the drummer would participate without hesitation . "I'd love to see them, hug them, and feel that energy we had when we were young and all that. Time will tell."
Asked why he kept his illness a secret for so long, Jordison explained that he didn't intend to garner pity through the media and was focused on recovering from such a tragic disease. “All I did was focus on myself and my life, and what I wanted from my career. You know, it’s a very, very bad disease. It leaves you crippled, which is what I was. And sometimes you don’t come back from it. I did,” he told Loudwire in 2017 .
Following the news of the musician's death, the band went into a social media "blackout" for a few days and posted a video in tribute to the years they spent together. "His impact on Slipknot, on our lives, and on the music he loved, is immeasurable. Without him, we wouldn't exist," the group wrote
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