SLIPKNOT has issued a statement regarding the passing of its former drummer Joey Jordison. The founding SLIPKNOT member’s family confirmed that Jordinson passed away “peacefully in his sleep” on Monday (July 26) of an unspecified cause. He was 46 years old.
Earlier today, SLIPKNOT released an eight-and-a-half-minute video tribute to Jordison featuring behind-the-scenes footage and performance clips shot during his time with the band. The video opens with the following words from the SLIPKNOT camp: “Our hearts go out to Joey‘s family and loved ones at this time of tremendous loss.
“Joey Jordison‘s art, talent, and spirit could not be contained or be held back. Joey‘s impact on SLIPKNOT, on our lives, and on the music that he loved, is incalculable. Without him there would be no us. We mourn his loss with the entire SLIPKNOT family. We love you, Joey.”
SLIPKNOT announced its split with Jordison in December 2013 but did not disclose the reasons for his exit. The drummer subsequently issued a statement saying that he did not quit the group.
Back in 2014, SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor told Metal Hammer that firing Jordison after 18 years was “one of the hardest decisions” the group ever made, adding that Joey is “in a place in his life” which is “not where we are.”
Taylor said he could not get into specifics for legal reasons, but admitted, “It’s when a relationship hits that T-section and one person’s going one way and you’re going the other. And try as you might to either get them to go your way or try and go their way, at some point you’ve got to go in the direction that works for you. This is me speaking in the broadest terms, with respect to Joey. I guess to sum it up, it was one of the hardest decisions we ever made.”
Taylor said that the band is “happy right now and we hope that he is . . . he’s just in a place in his life, right now, that’s not where we are.”
The singer would not answer whether drug use played a role in Jordison‘s dismissal, and confessed that he had not been in touch with his former bandmate. Taylor said, “I haven’t talked to Joey in a while, to be honest. That’s how different we are. It’s not because I don’t love him and I don’t miss him. And it is painful; we talk about him all the time, but at the same time, do we miss him or do we miss the old him? That’s what it really comes down to.”
