Korn guitarist James “Munky” Shaffer is remembering the “amazing musician” Joey Jordison following his death at the age of 46. The founding Slipknot drummer’s family confirmed this week that Jordinson passed away “peacefully in his sleep” on Monday of an unspecified cause, his death leaving many in the music community, including Shaffer, “in shock.”
Just hours after news of Jordison’s passing broke, with his family saying that his “death has left us with empty hearts and feelings of indescribable sorrow,” Shaffer told TMZ that he “can’t believe it.” Adding that “it’s very sad that he’s gone so young,” Shaffer remembered Jordison as “such a f–ing warrior. Loved drums, loved music, loved playing – would jump in and play with anybody…He just loved heavy music. He loved playing his instrument… What an amazing f–ing drummer. What an amazing drummer. The most energy I’ve seen any drummer have ever.”
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He also reflected on one of his favorite memories of Jordison from more than a decade ago when he joined them on tour. “So, we did a tour back in I think 2005, and he had his own bus with another backing singer of the band…they became very close. Their bus was called the Dragon Bus and our bus was called the Pirate Bus,” he recalled. “And it was always like, ‘Who partied harder? The Pirates or the Dragons?’ And he’d be like ‘Dragons,’ and then we’d go like, ‘Pirates.’ It was an inside kind of thing that we did on tour.”
Reflecting on Jordison’s legacy, Shaffer said the musician will “always be remembered by me as somebody that’s caring, compassionate, and an amazing musician.” He went on to share a message to those who knew Jordison, telling TMZ, “I would like to tell his family and his bandmates that I’m truly sorry that we’ve lost him. And I’m in shock and I can’t believe it. I just want to send them all of my love.”
Born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, Jordison co-founded Slipknot along with percussionist Shawn “Clown” Crahan and bassist Paul Gray in 1995. After nearly two decades together, Jordison left the band in 2013, with Jordison at the time describing his departure as being due to “personal reasons.” He revealed years later that he’d been diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a neurological disease that impacted his ability to play drums near the end of his time with Slipknot.
He passed away on Monday, with his family saying, “to those that knew Joey, understood his quick wit, his gentle personality, giant heart, and his love for all things family and music. The family of Joey have asked that friends, fans, and media understandably respect our need for privacy and peace at this incredibly difficult time.” Following his passing, Slipknot and the band’s current members honored Jordison by blacking out their social media with a black circle as the icon and an all-black square that was shared with no caption across their various social media platforms.
