Corey Taylor Says Slipknot Were Hoping to ‘Mend Fences’ With Joey Jordison

Slipknot have endured their fair share of losses throughout their career. Though Joey Jordison had been out of the band for about eight years when he died last summer, he was still a huge part of their legacy, and Corey Taylor admitted that they had been hoping to "mend fences" with him.

Jordison co-founded Slipknot alongside Shawn "Clown" Crahan and Paul Gray in 1995, and was their drummer until 2013. He was found dead in his home in July of 2021, which became the second tragedy within the Slipknot camp after Gray died in 2010.

The Iowa legends just released their seventh studio album The End, So Far last week (Sept. 30), and Taylor acknowledged that the drummer's death had an effect on the creative process while they were recording it.

"It definitely crept in because it happened while we were working on some of this music. We dedicated the album to him. We hoped it wouldn't happen, and when it did it was a sad resolve that… for somebody that creative and explosive… I just wish we hadn't lost him this soon," the singer told The Fader ahead of the album's release. "We were hoping to mend fences with him, and it's one of those things that tells you: whatever you need to do, do it now, because you never know when you're gonna lose somebody."

Considering the losses of both Jordison and Gray, Taylor noted that the surviving members of the band have found a new appreciation for each other, especially because they know it won't be the last time they lose someone from the Slipknot family.

"They definitely woke us up a little bit, made us realize we’re on the other side of youth. There’s gonna come a time when we start losing each other again, and we should take advantage of the time we have right now with each other. I’ve tried to let these guys know how I feel about them and the music we’ve made together. We’re all such different people, and the fact that after all these years we’re still doing it together — and still doing it at this pace — you have to embrace each other after that."