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Drummer

Joey Jordison: Slipknot's drummer, decoded

Joey Jordison co-founded Slipknot in 1995 and drummed through 2013. Pearl Reference kit, Paiste cymbals, the modern extreme-metal drumming canon.

Slipknot · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·

Joey Jordison (born Nathan Jonas Jordison, April 26, 1975, Des Moines, Iowa; died July 26, 2021, age 46) co-founded Slipknot in 1995 and drummed through his 2013 departure. Pearl Reference kit, Paiste cymbals. Defining modern extreme-metal drumming canon, the rotating-kit theatrics + double-bass velocity were a foundational influence on subsequent metalcore + nu-metal drummers. Departed Slipknot in 2013 due to acute transverse myelitis (a neurological condition that temporarily paralyzed his legs); died in 2021 of complications from the same condition.

At a glance

Role

Drummer (historical)

Also known as

Nathan Jonas Jordison, #1

Active

1990s–2021

Based

Des Moines, Iowa

Genres

Affiliations

Notable credits

  • Slipknot, Slipknot (1999)
  • Slipknot, Iowa (2001)
  • Slipknot, Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) (2004)
  • Slipknot, All Hope Is Gone (2008)
  • Murderdolls, Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls (2002)
Sourcing2 citations · reviewed 2026-04-27· by Change Your Strings editorial team

Who Joey Jordison was

Nathan Jonas Jordison, born April 26, 1975, in Des Moines, Iowa, co-founded Slipknot in 1995 and drummed across the band's defining catalog (Slipknot, 1999, through All Hope Is Gone, 2008) before departing in December 2013 due to acute transverse myelitis. He played in Murderdolls (2002-2010, as the vocalist + co-founder), Scar the Martyr (2013-2014), Sinsaenum (2014-2021), and Vimic (2014-2021).

He died July 26, 2021, age 46, of complications from the same transverse myelitis condition that ended his Slipknot tenure.

Style signatures

Three things across the Slipknot catalog you can identify as Jordison's:

  1. Double-bass velocity at extreme tempos. The Slipknot debut (1999) and Iowa (2001) demanded continuous-double-bass technique at velocities most drummers spent years matching.

  2. Theatrical rotating-kit performance. The hydraulic 360-degree rotating drum platform was a Jordison signature; subsequent metal touring drummers borrowed elements of the spectacle.

  3. Compositional fill construction. Jordison's fills functioned as song-architecture pivots in the Peart / Portnoy lineage, adapted to extreme-metal arrangement complexity.

Related

The catalog. Slipknot, Slipknot (1999) through All Hope Is Gone (2008). Plus Murderdolls (2002-2010), Sinsaenum (2014-2021), Vimic (2014-2021).

Drummer hub. Drummers index.