Joey Jordison is not ready for his swan song just yet. The accomplished drummer, songwriter, producer and artist — praised for his contributions to the modern metal genre as a founding member of Des Moines act Slipknot — was at the height of his career three years ago when he was diagnosed with transverse myelitis. The condition, which involves inflammation in the spinal cord, can be debilitating and often permanent, causing paralysis in the legs. And for any drummer that can be a death sentence.
VIMIC When: 7:30 p.m., Dec. 28 Where: Bottom Lounge, 1375 W. Lake Tickets: $18 in advance Info: ticketweb.com
“I wasn’t going to allow my musical ability to be shelved because of a disability; I knew, no matter what, this will not beat me,” says an impassioned Jordison from his home in Iowa, where he still lives and is in final preparations for an upcoming record release and world tour with his new band Vimic. It’s a project he’s referred to as his personal and professional rebirth.
When it’s released in early 2017, Vimic’s debut, “Open Your Omen,” will be Jordison’s first album since completing a successful rehabilitation program that led to a full recovery from the disease — and also his first since abruptly departing Slipknot for reasons he won’t exactly specify.
“I have an answer but just cannot do it right now,” he says, though the timing has been circumspect, around the same time he got sick (he’s revealed in past interviews he had to be carried onto stage to play some of his final shows with the band). Regardless, Jordison says he’s forever grateful for the work he did and recognition he’s received as a part of Slipknot, including over the summer when he took home “Metal Hammer’s” prestigious Golden God Award after giving a moving speech about resiliency.
“The work I did with that band will be with me until my last breath, it’s embedded in my soul,” he says, admitting that a reunion, from his end at least, is not out of the question. “I’m so proud of what I got to accomplish in creating the group, and the new avenues it has let me take in my life.”
That includes Vimic, which grew out of the ashes of his former side project Scar the Martyr, and has virtually the same lineup, including guitarist Jed Simon, bassist Kyle Konkiel, and keyboardist Matthew Tarach, along with vocalist Kalen Chase (a former backup singer in Korn).
Listening to the heavy opuses on the album, like early singles “She Sees Everything” and “My Fate,” which premiered over the summer on SiriusXM Octane, Jordison says, “I can see how much I’ve grown as musician and as a person, and it feels like exactly where I’m supposed to be right now.” (He also has another side project Sinsaenum that also emerged in 2016).
Vimic wrote and recorded “Open Your Omen” largely holed up in the drummer’s basement in Iowa — a process, he says, that is identical to the early days. “What’s really cool is that I get to have that feeling again, a feeling I haven’t felt like since 1999, to just be in a basement head banging, slamming, crushing out these songs, smelling each other’s sweat, that’s how it used to be.”
In keeping with the nostalgia, Vimic is kicking off its first shows in small clubs in the Midwest, coming to Chicago’s Bottom Lounge on December 28, before heading to Europe next year. Says Jordison, “It only feels right to kick it off here where I’m from and it all began.”
Overall, he says his mentality now is just different, with little victories meaning the most. For a musician that used to playing some of the world’s largest stages and festivals, one of the most humbling moments in recent years was being able to press down on the kick drum again for the first time during his rehab after the staff at the hospital had brought in a kit to his room to encourage him.
“Every day I look at life different; I don’t take things for granted. Any kind of idea of fame, that has been shelved,” Jordison says. “I look at my band and my family and determination to keep this going and it’s paying off because of hard work. I’m absolutely in the best shape I’ve been in probably since, maybe even before Slipknot, and I’m very grateful to be back.”
Selena Fragassi is a freelance music writer.
