Joey Jordison Reveals He Had Rare Neurological Disorder Towards the End of His Career In Slipknot
When drummer Joey Jordison left Slipknot in 2013, everyone (including the writers at MetalSucks) began asking what went down. Did Jordison quit, or was he fired? Was the band’s then-new single, “The Negative One,” about Jordison? Rumors flew, theories were suggested, but overall it just seemed like Jordison and the rest of the band were uninterested in working with each other.
Until yesterday, at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. While Jordison was receiving the “Golden God” award, he revealed that towards the end of his career in Slipknot, he was suffering from transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder caused by an inflammation of the spinal cord, which, he claims, robbed him of his ability to play.
You can see Jordison’s speech at the 16:30 mark on the video below, but here’s the meat of it:
“Towards [the] end of my career in Slipknot—and I want you all to give praise to them as well. We accomplished a lot in life, every one of them, and I wish them nothing but luck and the best of praises. Cause what we created in the basements of Des Moines, Iowa will never be matched. It’s one thing that is fucking absolutely fucking unbeatable. I love those guys very much…Towards the end of my career in Slipknot, I got really, really sick with a horrible disease called transverse myelitis. I lost my legs. I couldn’t play anymore. It was a form of multiple sclerosis, which I don’t wish on my worst enemy. I got myself back up, and I got myself in the gym, and I got myself back in fucking therapy to fucking beat this shit. And if I could do it, you could do it. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, more than fucking anything.
“To people with multiple sclerosis, transverse myelitis, or anything like that, I am living proof that you can fucking beat that shit. And fucking metal and all of these fans will do it for you. This is the fucking world right here. You can beat this shit; no joke. Just the fact that metal lives in your heart, you can fucking accomplish anything.”
This is obviously very tragic, and we’re glad Jordison overcame the disorder that was robbing him of his ability to play.
Now, to be fair, Jordison never said that his transverse myelitis was the reason he left Slipknot, though it certainly feels implied in the way he tells this story. But if this is true, it makes some of the statements surrounding his departure from Slipknot–his insistence that he didn’t quit but was fired, Corey Taylor’s remarks that suggested it was Jordison’s personality and drug use that forced them to part ways–seem a little fishy.
So, what actually happened? Maybe Jordison didn’t tell his bandmates about his condition, which seems super weird though in some ways understandable. I understand keeping your pride and all, not wanting to show weakness, but if Jordison and Slipknot had come out saying, “Joey’s incredibly sick, he can’t do it anymore,” I feel as though the fans would have responded with understanding and condolences. Maybe Slipknot wanted to go ahead with the new album, and Jordison wanted them to wait for his recovery? All I know is, this opens up a whole new can of worms.
You can watch Jordison’s speech below. At least he didn’t make bad racist remarks during it.
[via]
