Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor recently spoke to Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe and revealed why he feels regretful about his relationship with late bandmate Joey Jordison.
On July 26, 2021, Joey Jordison died in his sleep at 46. The drummer had left Slipknot in 2013 after working with them for 18 years because he couldn’t play drums due to Transverse myelitis. After this tragic news, many of Jordison’s fellow musicians grieved for the drummer’s untimely passing, including Metallica‘s members, Mike Portnoy, Brann Dailor, and Maynard James Keenan.
Sadly, Joey Jordison wasn’t the only member Slipknot lost on the way. Paul Gray, the band’s bassist, and founding member, also passed away on May 24, 2010, after losing his battle against addiction. After Gray’s passing, his Slipknot bandmates even considered disbanding. However, they then decided it would be best to move on as Gray would want them to continue.
In one of his previous interviews, Corey Taylor had expressed his feelings about losing Paul Gray. He stated that he forgot to care for the people around him because he focused on his career and expressed his regret for not giving credit to Paul when he was alive. After this, Slipknot dedicated their fifth studio album ‘.5: The Gray Chapter’ to the bassist.
Recently, the frontman joined Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe for an interview and reflected on Joey Jordison’s passing. Taylor stated that he talked with Jordison throughout the years but regretted that they didn’t tell each other what they needed to tell each other. The singer also claimed they did everything to be there for Jordison and Gray, but it’s a shame they lost them.
Corey Taylor said the following about Joey Jordison:
“Me and Joey, we had talked over the years every now and then — it would just be random — but we never said to each other what we needed to say to each other. At least I didn’t say it to Joe. But the complicated thing about Joey was that he was so many different people in one person, but it was hard to get a beat on what was going on at any given time. He had demons that would’ve killed normal people. He was one of the true musical geniuses I’d ever met. He was just complicated.
Everybody likes to sugarcoat a lot of shit after the fact, but you don’t realize that what you’re doing is you’re dehumanizing them. And I can’t do that because I f*cking lived with these guys. And the goddamn tragedy of it is that we did everything we could to try and be there, not only for him but for Paul Gray. I mean, we would rally, and we would rally, and we would rally, and it’s just a shame, man. The world is less cool without him in it.”
According to Corey Taylor, Joey Jordison had demons that would have killed ordinary people. He argued the drummer was a complicated person but also a musical genius, which is a tough combo. As it appears, Taylor has regrets about both Paul Gray and Jordison but still feels like they did everything they could to be there and help them.
