Joey Jordison of Slipknot Dead at 46

Slipknot's founding drummer died Monday at age 46. Joey Jordison's family says he died "peacefully in his sleep," but no further details were given. "Joey’s death has left us with empty hearts and feelings of indescribable sorrow," their statement reads. Rolling Stone notes that Jordison was a huge presence in the band and a fan favorite due to his "virtuosic drum solos" and "neck-rattling rhythms and death-metal blastbeats," while Pitchfork calls him an integral part of the songwriting team. Jordison, Shawn Crahan, and Paul Gray formed the metal band in Iowa in 1995, and it later expanded to nine members.

Jordison left the band in 2013, saying he had been fired. As Billboard explains, that was around the time he started suffering from transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder that, he said, his bandmates confused with substance abuse. "I couldn’t play any more. It was a form of multiple sclerosis, which I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy," he said. In 2018, he said he'd completely recovered, and joined the band Sinsaenum. He also played in groups including Murderdolls, Vimic, Scar the Martyr, and more over the course of his career. (Slipknot's founding bassist died in 2010.)