Yep, there’s more drama in Camp Slipknot, just in time for new years. The estate of Joey Jordison is suing Slipknot for allegedly profiting from his death and apparently not returning Jordison’s equipment.
The lawsuit was filed in June by Steamroller, LLC but is now public knowledge, and claims the band never gave back about 22 of Jordison’s items, likely pieces of musical equipment, despite promising to return them. It specifically names Corey Taylor and Michael Shawn “Clown” Crahan.
The suit also alleges that the band used Jordison’s items in a traveling Slipknot museum for Knotfest and therefore profited from showing off said items instead of returning them to Jordison’s family.
“After abruptly kicking Jordison out of Slipknot in 2013, Taylor and Crahan expressly promised in a written agreement to return all of Jordison’s belongings in exchange for Jordison’s promise to release certain claims against them,” the suit claims.
“The agreement contained a non-exclusive list of broad categories of items that [Taylor and Crahan] represented were in their possession and that they would return to Jordison. [Taylor and Crahan] purported to comply with the agreement by returning certain items to Jordison but, unbeknownst to Jordison, [they] had executed the agreement with no intention of performing their obligations thereunder, and knowingly concealed from Jordison that they possessed numerous other items belonging to Jordison that they never returned to him.”
The suit goes on to detail that Jordison’s firing from Slipknot in 2013 was allegedly “callous,” essentially a low blow, since Jordison was known to suffer from acute transverse myelitis. It also alleges that Crahan and Taylor treated Jordison with “disdain.”
“The callousness of Jordison’s firing and other mistreatment at the hands of Crahan and Taylor have been widely reported and criticized by fans of the band. Since the 1990s, Jordison had dedicated his life to making Slipknot a metal sensation, from which Crahan and Taylor handsomely profited. It made no sense why Crahan and Taylor would treat Jordison with such disdain, especially in light of Jordison’s declining health.”
The suit also claims that Taylor and Crahan used Jordison’s name and legacy to promote their latest record, The End, So Far. This one is a bit trickier, as of course knowing a member has recently passed could drum up sympathy and interest in a new album. But the suit is claiming that, in contrast the receiving that support, the band members were callus about the actual mourning process.
“While family, friends, and fans mourned the loss of the legendary drummer, neither bandmate expressed condolences to Jordison’s family after his passing. Instead, Taylor and Crahan heartlessly sought to profit off of Jordison’s death. Slipknot released a new album in 2022 titled The End, So Far. Fan reviews of the album rarely miss the opportunity to lament Jordison’s absence.
“Taylor and Crahan callously used Jordison’s death as marketing for their new album. Taylor publicly dedicated The End, So Far to Jordison, claiming that the realization of Jordison’s passing ‘crept in’ while making the album. Taylor even acknowledged that he and Crahan had mistreated Jordison in an interview, telling fans that they ‘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.’
“Perhaps worst of all, Crahan and Taylor publicly lied to fans that they had contacted Jordison’s family to check on them and express their condolences and love for Jordison in the wake of his passing. This was utterly false and deeply upsetting for Jordison’s family to read such a blatant lie on the internet. It is clear that Taylor and Crahan did not actually care about Jordison or his family; they cared only about drumming up publicity and sales of the new album.”
There’s clearly a lot to unpack here. Its not really Slipknot’s fault if Jordison’s passing made fans want to buy the new record, and the band have every right to keep making music and express that they wish things had gone down differently with Jordison. But if there truly were no condolences expressed to Jordison’s family, and if his belongings haven’t been returned, we understand whey they might have a bone to pick.