Joey Jordison, Slipknot’s drummer from 1995 to 2013, made a soul-baring revelation at Monday (June 13) night’s Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. At the London ceremonies, the 41-year old detailed his fight with a seldom seen neuro-immune disorder while accepting the Golden God award.
“Towards the end of my career in Slipknot, I got really, really sick with a horrible disease called transverse myelitis,” Jordison said. “I lost my legs. I couldn’t play anymore. It was a form of multiple sclerosis, which I don’t wish on my worst enemy.”
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Gordon, a founding member of Slipknot, left the Iowa band in Dec. 2013. In an official statement, Slipknot said it was parting ways with Jordison for ”personal reasons.” On his Facebook page, Jordison countered by stressing he hadn’t quit the band and that he was “shocked and blindsided” by the news.
But in his speech last night, the drummer expressed no animosity towards his former bandmates. “I wish them nothing but luck and the best of praises,” he said, before describing his path to recovery.
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“I got myself back up, and I got myself in the gym, and I got myself back in f-cking therapy to fucking beat this sh-t. And if I could do it, you could do it. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, more than f-cking anything.”
Earlier this year, Jordison announced he was with a new band called Vimic, which plans to release a debut album though Roadrunner Records (also Slipknot’s label) in the near future. Slipknot’s current drummer is Jay Weinberg.
The Golden God title is given to “the mightiest, most important names in our world — those that have come to define heavy music over the past 40 years,” according to the show’s official site. Past winners include Dave Mustaine and Lemmy Kilmister.
Watch Jordison’s speech below: