Joey Jordison

Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison (April 26, 1975 – July 26, 2021) was an American musician.

He was the original drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he was designated #1, and the guitarist for the horror punk supergroup Murderdolls.

Jordison grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, with his parents and two sisters, and was given his first drum kit at the age of 8.

Jordison was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 26, 1975, to Steve and Jackie Jordison.

He had two younger sisters.

He grew up in a rural area outside of Waukee where he used to play basketball on the street in front of his house.

He embraced music at an early age, which he attributes to his parents' influence: "They always sat me down in front of the radio, rather than the TV."

He played guitar until receiving his first drum kit as a gift from his parents at age eight, and started his first band while in elementary school.

Jordison's parents divorced when he was young.

The children stayed with their mother.

His mother remarried and set up a funeral parlor where Jordison would occasionally help.

Jordison stated that he felt a sudden responsibility to be the man of the house.

During this time, he formed the band Modifidious, in which he played drums.

He later described them as "total speed-metal thrash".

The band helped Jordison break new ground, playing live as support to local bands including Atomic Opera, featuring Jim Root, and Heads on the Wall, featuring Shawn Crahan.

He also played at a bowling center his family owned, on a night called "Bowl-O-Rama".

After a multitude of lineup changes—including Craig Jones and Josh Brainard, who would reappear in Slipknot—the band released two demos in 1993: Visceral and Mud Fuchia.

After leaving school, Jordison was hired by a local music store called Musicland.

In March 1994, after a recommendation from his new friend, he got a job at a Sinclair garage in Urbandale.

Jordison worked the night shift, which he preferred, as it left his weekends free and allowed him to spend time with his friends and listen to music while working.

He performed with many bands early in his career; then in 1995, he joined a band called the Pale Ones, which would later change their name and become Slipknot.

In early 1995, Modifidious disbanded because of a shift in interest from thrash metal to death metal in America.

Following this Jordison joined a local band called the Rejects as a guitarist, with whom he only played a couple of shows.

Jordison was also involved in a band with future bandmate Paul Gray and vocalist Don Decker, named Anal Blast.

Gray also attempted to recruit him for another band, Body Pit, but he declined the invitation to remain in the Rejects.

In September 1995, Paul Gray approached Jordison while he was working, offering him a position in a new project called the Pale Ones.

Intrigued and at a point where he was "lost", Jordison attended rehearsals at Anders Colsefni's basement and immediately wanted to be part of this new band.

Speaking of this moment he said, "I remember trying so hard not to smile, so I didn't look like I wanted to join, I remained poker-faced, but I thought they ruled."

A lot of Slipknot's early development was discussed by band members while Jordison worked night shifts at Sinclair's garage.

Of the eventual nine members, Joey was the third to join the band.

During the forming period of Slipknot, Paul recruited Joey to join a punk rock band called the Have Nots in the Spring of 1996.

Joey would leave the Have Nots in February 1997 to "focus on Slipknot" but instead reformed the Rejects, which would play Des Moines up until Slipknot left to record their 1999 self-titled debut album, which Paul played in after the Have Nots broke up.

Of Slipknot's nine-member lineup, which lasted from 1999–2010, Joey was the third to join the band.

With Slipknot, Jordison performed on the band's first four studio albums, and produced the 2005 live album 9.0: Live.

Outside his major projects, Jordison performed with various other acts such as Rob Zombie, Metallica, Korn, Ministry, Otep, and Satyricon.

Jordison was also known for his session work, which included performances on various recordings for many artists.

Jordison used several drum brands including Pearl, and ddrum.

At the time of his death, Jordison was playing in the blackened death metal supergroup Sinsaenum.

Jordison played in Slipknot since its inception, helping form the band until his departure in December of 2013.

He was also the drummer and founder of Scar the Martyr, which formed in 2013 and disbanded in 2016.