Founding Slipknot member and acclaimed drummer Joey Jordison dead at age 46. Joey Jordison, best known as the former drummer, co-songwriter, and co-founder of influential alternative metal band Slipknot as well as the guitarist for horror-punk group Murderdolls, has died, according to a statement released Tuesday afternoon by his family. A rep for his family said he died “peacefully in his sleep” but did not specify a cause of death.  “Joey’s death has left us with empty hearts and feelings of indescribable sorrow,” reads a statement from Jordison’s family. “To those that knew Joey, understood his quick wit, his gentle personality, giant heart, and his love for all things family and music. The family of Joey have asked that friends, fans, and media understandably respect our need for privacy and peace at this incredibly difficult time.” The family intends to hold a private funeral service. Jordison was the motor that kept Slipknot’s music running in their early days. His stoic presence behind the drum kit and virtuosic drum solos, like the one captured in the band’s Disasterpieces film where his riser ascended to the heavens, made him a favorite member for fans. Behind the scenes, Jordison was instrumental to Slipknot’s songwriting, and his neck-rattling rhythms and death-metal blastbeats were a crucial ingredient to the band’s sudden success. The drummer was playing with a group of Des Moines, Iowa metalheads who called themselves the Pale Ones and later Meld when he suggested they change their name to Slipknot in 1995. Within a few years, the band’s lineup expanded to nine members who wore nightmarish masks and fused metal and rap aggression that placed them at the vanguard of the nu-metal explosion. Thanks to steady touring and explosive live shows on Ozzfest, their 1999 self-titled debut went double-platinum. Nathan Jonas Jordison was born in Des Moines on April 26th, 1975. He grew up nearby in the small town of Waukee, where he got bad grades in school and considered himself an introvert. He discovered Kiss and Black Sabbath in the early Eighties and his parents nurtured his interests in music. He started his first band while in elementary school; Jordison played guitar with a friend who wasn’t very good at drums, prompting the musician to switch instruments. His parents surprised him with his own drum kit when he was in fifth grade and he continued to play with friends. This is so sad our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.