Joey Jordison’s estate has settled its lawsuit against Slipknot

Joey Jordison
(Image credit: Roadrunner)

Joey Jordison’s estate has reached a settlement with Slipknot, after suing the nu metal nine-piece last year.

The estate of Jordison, who died of undisclosed causes in July 2021 at the age of 46, sued Slipknot in June 2023. The suit accused the band of profiting off the drummer’s death after firing him in 2013. It also alleged that Slipknot had failed to return “at least 22 items” belonging to the drummer, despite the band promising to give back all of his personal effects.

Now, according to documents obtained by Blabbermouth, the estate of Jordison and Slipknot reached an unconditional settlement in Los Angeles County Superior Court on September 17. A request for dismissal of the suit was filed the same day. The terms of the settlement are unknown.

Jordison joined Slipknot during the band’s formation in 1995. Other members at the time were percussionist Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan, bassist Paul Gray and vocalist Anders Colsefni, who was replaced by Corey Taylor in 1997. According to the Jordison estate’s lawsuit (per Blabbermouth), the drummer entered into a partnership agreement with Crahan, Gray and Taylor in 1999, the same year Slipknot released their groundbreaking debut album.

Jordison was dismissed from Slipknot in 2013. In a 2016 Metal Hammer interview, the drummer said he was fired via email because the band believed he was on drugs. He stated at the Metal Hammer Golden God Awards the same month that his drumming had been affected by a neurological condition called transverse myelitis, “which I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy”.

Per the suit, Jordison reached a deal with Crahan and Taylor in 2015 that let Slipknot buy out the drummer’s interest in their partnership (Gray died of an overdose in 2010). The agreement included the return of Jordison’s belongings kept by Crahan and Taylor, which they allegedly failed to follow through on. The suit claimed that Slipknot included these effects in a travelling museum dedicated to Jordison following his death.

Earlier this month, Crahan told Knotfest that Jordison may have rejoined Slipknot were it not for his death. “There might have been a chance we would have gotten back together,” he said. “I don’t know. I can’t tell you yes or no, but there’s a better chance [of] yes [than] not because of friendship and growing older and talking and being able to understand things.”

Slipknot are currently touring to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their debut album, performing it in full. They have a series of festival dates set for October and November, and will tour the UK and Europe in December. See dates below.

Slipknot 2024 tour dates:

Oct 11: Sacramento Aftershock Festival, CA
Oct 19: São Paulo Knotfest Brasil, Brazil
Nov 08: Guadalajara Calle 2, Mexico
Nov 09: Mexico City Parque Bicentenario, Mexico

Dec 05: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands
Dec 06: Dortmund Westfalenhalle, Germany
Dec 08: Stuttgart Schleyerhalle, Germany
Dec 09: Leipzig Quarterback Immobilien Arena, Germany
Dec 11: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Dec 12: Paris Accorhotel Arena, France
Dec 14: Leeds First Direct Arena, UK
Dec 15: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Dec 17: Manchester Co-op Live Arena, UK
Dec 18: Birmingham Utilita Arena, UK
Dec 20: London O2 Arena, UK
Dec 21: London O2 Arena, UK

Matt Mills
Contributing Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Prog and Metal Hammer, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Guitar and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.