“Huge, tattooed men were crying”: Joey Jordison’s sisters reveal how they helped one of the late Slipknot drummer’s unreleased albums see the light of day

Four years after the death of former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison, an unreleased album by one of his former bands will finally see the light of day thanks to a Kickstarter set up by two of his sisters, Annie Gaster and Katie Riekena.

Formed from the ashes of Joey’s previous side project Scar The Martyr, Vimic was the first band the drummer had launched since his dismissal from Slipknot in December 2013. But their debut album, Open Your Omen, was repeatedly delayed by various label and personnel setbacks. Frustrated, Joey put Vimic on ice in 2018, and the album was shelved.

All that will change this year. In April 2025, a Kickstarter was launched by the Jordison Family Foundation, a group run by his sisters Annie and Katie to honour his legacy. Their aim was to finally release Vimic’s shelved debut album.

The Kickstarter was a huge success, not only meeting its initial goal of $25,000 within 24 hours but going on to quadruple it. Open Your Omen will finally be released on October 3 – the same day as the surviving members of Vimic reunite to play a special tribute show at LA’s Teragram Ballroom, where they will be supported by Joey’s Murderdolls bandmate Wednesday 13.

In this exclusive interview, Annie and Katie tell Metal Hammer how the resurgence of interest led to the release of the Vimic album – and look back on Joey’s legacy.

What was the idea behind launching a Kickstarter to fund the release of the Vimic album?

Annie Gaster: “When we lost Joey, he still had a lot of projects going on. It made sense to pick Vimic up because it was basically completed. We knew the most important thing in terms of honouring Joey and his music was making sure his music was always out there and it would always be available.”

Were you surprised when the Kickstarter hit its goal within hours?

Katie Riekena: “We managed to raise over $100,000 purely from fan support, and it’s just so touching. Joey’s fans are so dedicated, so loyal and the coolest group of people. They really love Joey and we really felt that, putting this whole thing together.”

Do you still get much contact from his fans?

Annie: “Last year we went to a festival and handed out t-shirts with Joey’s face on to a bunch of his fans. There were these huge, tattooed, bearded men, but they’d start crying when they talked to us. Doing that, I understood why Joey never went through the backdoor of a venue
after a show, why he’d stay after shows and meet his fans. It means a lot.”

Growing up, was there ever a sense of, ‘Whoa, my brother is a rock star’?

Annie: “Katie and I definitely became used to seeing people in awe of Joey when we were growing up, but watching him actually work, it became apparent just how big a part of him this was. We actually went into the studio with him to do a Puscifer album [“V” is For Viagra – The Remixes] and he brought a few of the family members in to play drums. It was one thing knowing he was famous, but seeing him directing and leading all these instruments… it was a totally different experience.”

What does the upcoming Vimic show mean to you?

Katie: “The thing with the Vimic guys is, it’s basically like working with four versions of Joey. They’re amazing people and we have meetings weekly to come up with new ideas to make sure this feels really special.”

Annie: “We’re doing this for the fans and we want to give them what Joey would give them, and Joey never did anything small!”

You’ve mentioned Joey had a lot of things he was working on – do you think any of that will see the light of day?

Katie: “Vimic was kind of easy because it was recorded and pretty much finished with a bow on. All we had to do was get the rights and put it out, right? From here on out, we’ll play it by ear, but there’s a lot of stuff – some of it we’ve been through and some of it we haven’t.”

Read the full story of the return of Vimic, and Joey’s other band Sinsaenum, in the brand new issue of Metal Hammer, on sale now. Order it online and have it delivered straight to your door.