Joey Jordison had to be carried onstage for his final Slipknot shows

Exclusive: Former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison opens up on his battle with transverse myelitis that robbed him of his ability to play drums

Joey Jordison has given more details on the illness that led to his departure from Slipknot.

Earlier this week, the drummer gave an emotional speech after being honoured at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards, where he revealed he was left unable to play drums in the months leading up to his departure from Slipknot because of transverse myelitis – a rare disease of the nervous system.

After the ceremony in London, Metal Hammer spoke with Jordison, who gave further details on his condition – and he says he was so ill at one point, he had to be carried to the stage to play live.

He says: “It was at the end of the memorial shows we did for Paul Gray. We were in Canada, at the end of my last run of shows with Slipknot, and something happened to me but I didn’t know what it was. I was super ill.

“You can be sick and still play, but this was something I’d never felt in my life before. We found out what I have is transverse myelitis – a neurological condition that hits your spinal cord, and it wiped my legs out completely. It’s like having your legs cut off, basically.

“I played those last couple of shows and it scared the living shit out of me. I didn’t know what it was.”