Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has opened up about the passing of former bandmate Joey Jordison for the first time since the drummer’s death in July. 

While the band made an official statement regarding Jordison’s death, Corey Taylor had yet to comment publicly on his own.

Now, Corey Taylor has told Sirius XM’s Eddie Trunk (via Consequence of Sound) that it’s “been tough” to process the death of Joey Jordison, who was just 46 years old.

“Our first concern was obviously his family, so we reached out immediately to make sure that they were okay, to let them know if they needed anything from us, they could absolutely ask. It’s a damn tragedy. He was way too young, and he was way too talented to lose him like this,” he said.

Slipknot parted ways with Jordison in 2013, which he later claimed was due to the band mistaking his neurological disorder, acute transverse myelitis, for a drug and alcohol addiction.

“They thought I was fucked up on drugs, which I wasn’t at all,” he told Metal Hammer back in 2016.

In his new interview, Taylor said that he would rather focus on honouring Jordison’s legacy than explaining why he left the band.

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“I know a lot of people wonder about the circumstances that led to him not being in the band anymore, and it’s, like, we’re not gonna talk about that, because I’d rather talk about his legacy, which is that he helped create this band that we all have fought to keep out there and keep going,” he said.

“Just the fact that he’s not here now, it’s still — I still can’t believe it.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Taylor revealed that Slipknot were 80-per cent through recording their new album and hinted that new music could be released within the next month.

For more on this topic, check out the Metal Observer.

Check out ‘Psychosocial’ by Slipknot:

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