Although Joey Jordison had already contributed enough to the metal world by co-founding the legendary Slipknot, he was also working as a wildcard or ‘hero of the day’ whenever he had some free time. The metal soundscapes that the late drummer created with great skill and by breaking the rules during his years with Slipknot, continue to inspire many metalheads.
The late drummer, whose passion was evident with every drum beat, also became a name that people ran to when they were in a difficult situation. The people we are talking about are Metallica and Korn. He was a hero for those metal giants. When a band member was absent, he filled his place in such a way that he was declared a hero by the people he helped.
Jordison’s career as a wildcard began in 2004 when Lars Ulrich was hospitalized due to an unknown illness. Metallica was supposed to play at Download Festival, but without Lars, they wouldn’t be able to take the stage where thousands awaited them. But luckily, other metal friends playing at the event were there to support. Jordison was declared a ‘hero of the day’ by Metallica, playing eight out of thirteen songs.
He also helped Satrycon while Frost was absent. Then he came to the rescue of the Ministry in 2006. Joey Jordison’s chemistry was amazing with all the bands he played, which was probably related to those monstrous drum skills. Good music makes good friendships.
While our hero was saving shows like this, one day, his path crossed with Korn. When David Silveria decided to take a break, Korn was left without a drummer, and the timing was terrible. They were going on the Family Values Tour and didn’t have a drummer. It was a worst-case scenario because, as you metalheads know, finding a solid drummer is a tough task.
Just then, Joey Jordison came to their rescue. Korn was already interested in Jordison, and they were introduced through Clint Lowery. They started jamming to see if they could move forward together, but it didn’t take long for them to decide. Jordison was just on the third song when they stopped him and said he got the gig.
Then they went on tour together. Judging from what they said when the subject was brought up in interviews later, both sides remember this tour with very good memories. During the gigs, the late drummer brought his fast-paced and energetic beats from Slipknot to Korn, and as he later said, the Korn members were really digging it. Because when it combined with Munky’s mastery of the seven-string, it just made the perfect soundscape.
After a tour filled with solid metal music for both listeners and performers, their chemistry had held up so well that Korn didn’t want to lose contact with Jordison. In 2007, they were going to shoot the music video for their new single ‘Evolution’ from their new untitled album, and although Joey wasn’t playing the drums in the track, he was featured in the video.
During their tour, they had rehearsed several songs from the new album. However, the song they played together on stage was ‘Evolution.’ Even though Jordison didn’t play drums in the original recording, having him in the music video was perhaps a way they chose to keep those good memories from the tour alive. We won’t know, but still, metalheads who got the chance to watch them together probably had the wildest metal experience of their lives!
