I don't use a Beatmap; I don't use any click track. Any time I count off, it's just in my heart. Sometimes I'll go off the feel of a crowd, like if they way they're bouncing is a little quicker than the song, I might kick up the tempo a little bit. I see where the crowd is at. It's nothing drastic, but all the tempos are from my internal clock.
— Joey Jordison
'Blood Host' is super heavy. Especially on the verses, it has an industrial stomp. It's one of my favourite tracks just because the plot of it is so heavy. It's a total crushing tune; it doesn't get any heavier than that main riff, just a straight quarter-note powerhouse.
First and foremost, I make music to satisfy my creative urges, but at the same time, I know my fans are waiting, so they're the ones that push me to keep going.
A great drum record has to sound good; in fact, it should sound special. It should capture the richness and the actual tones of the drums themselves, regardless of who is playing.
A lot of the time, I will write a guitar riff first. I don't write drum riffs first.
Keith Moon was amazing as a drummer, but he was also a nut, and it reflected in his drumming. And the great thing about Who records is that you can almost get hold of the vinyl and feel his heart.
I got over the transverse myelitis stuff; I'm walking great, and I'm playing faster; I mean, I'm just playing all the time. I have to, just as exercise.
I'm lucky to have had the opportunity to perform with bands that have influenced me as a musician over the years.
One of the things I love about this job is meeting different people.
The music has always been the first and foremost element in our career.
I'm just as much into Emperor as I am Alice Cooper.
Slipknot is hard work; I don't care what anybody says.
I sleep music. I wake up, and there's a riff in my head. Every step I take, there's a riff, a beat, or something.
Without Metallica, I wouldn't be doing what I am doing. I have every Metallica record, of course, and I would spend hours on drums in my parents' basement with the stereo behind me, cranking those records and learning Lars' drum beats, beat by beat.
There is nothing whatsoever friendly about Slipknot. Corey may have a singing voice, but it's always been done with so much passion that it's always been brutal.
Basically, death metal, as a musician on my part, it just changed everything as far as the technicality and where you could take music.
Any kind of idea of fame - that has been shelved.
Slipknot's music is very technical and intense, and it's not easy to play, but that's what makes it special. What's so gratifying about playing a show that is that intense is when you get off the stage, and you know you really delivered at the top of your ability and performance; that is what makes it all worthwhile.
I was in band all the way through high school, and I played in jazz competitions all across Iowa.
If you only play metal, it's going to be very apparent that you're a one-dimensional drummer.
On the records that I grew up with and loved, every song was unique - it's almost as if you had a different journey every time - and the drums were big part of that story.
I got 'Reign In Blood' for Easter one year - how ironic is that?
The riffs, lyrics, and drums of 'Open Your Omen' will tell you a lot.
The communication within Sinsaenum is really, really cool. As extreme as the music is, you might not realize how much we respect each other and how much we coach each other and how well we communicate.
When I first heard Korn, they blew me away, and I've been a fan ever since.
'Vol. 3' is the most pleasing of our albums to me. And I want to keep making albums that are different from each other. And you can bet all our albums will have that twist that only Slipknot can do.
I'm not more into one scene than any other, and that's why I feel very lucky to be able to go into two different styles of music and be successful at both.
I actually played guitar before I played drums. And I always play guitar on the Slipknot albums as well, as well as being responsible for a lot of the songwriting.
The mask is a pain thing. It's clammy, and your body is moving all over, and you're locked into this thing, and you can't get out.
I don't pay attention to critics.
I just can't bring myself to see Sabbath without Bill Ward, because he was such an integral part of that band.
People lump us into the nu-metal category, and there might be a hint of that stuff, but if you really listen to a nu-metal band and then listen to Slipknot, it's so apples and oranges that it's retarded.
Metal music is a very fan-oriented, fan-protected music - very sacred.
Every day, I look at life different; I don't take things for granted.
There is no such thing as an easy Slipknot show. It doesn't exist. It's tough, but we wouldn't like it if it was easy.
Always try and play with as many people as possible, even if it's not your style of music, because you will learn a lot.
I love listening to old records. Stuff from the '70s, even disco and funk records and a lot of early rock albums - what's great about those recordings is that you can actually hear the true tones of the drums themselves.
The drum records that I like are ones on which the drumming didn't repeat itself. The players didn't stick to a format or formula.
I'm always in the right headspace! I live pretty much in isolation, so there are really no distractions. That's not a manufactured thing; it's just the way I live.
The power of music, and the power of your determination in life, especially when you're playing extreme metal like this... it just conquers. It conquers everything.
'My Swan Song' - that song is so depressing but uplifting at the same time, you know what I mean?
I'm so excited 'Doctor Who''s coming back. It's a great show, wild and exciting. I watched it as a kid, and it freaked me out.
'Vol. 3' has broken down more barriers for us. We worked with different styles on this album. It's more musically mature in arrangement and is conceptual.
What better to get all the anger and stuff out for what I do in Slipknot than to play the drums? You're punching everything, really fast, concentrated.
I've been a fan of Zombie's since the beginning. I've toured with them and have always wanted to play for them.
That's the way a musician is. You're isolated, in a weird way, because music is haunting you as much as it's loving you. It's non-stop.
I'm used to living out of a suitcase.
Proper Sabbath is Sabbath with Bill Ward. I'm sorry, it just is.
That's where I learned, basically, all my skills from the drumming that I do - most of my style comes straight from death metal.
Heavy music is really getting its due. With nu-metal fallen by the wayside, real metal has started to surface.
