Acclaimed Heavy Metal Act VIMIC Announce Kickstarter Campaign on Eve of Late Joey Jordison’s 50th Birthday) to Fund Highly-Anticipated Album Open Your Omen

Watch the Kickstarter Video: https://youtu.be/4jXk3IZHd2M 

"...These guys and this album pushed me to not only relearn how to walk, but how to play the drums again. Open Your Omen is the rebirth of the rest of my life.” 

- Joey Jordison (Revolver Magazine, October 2017)

(New York, NY—April 25, 2025) In a December 2016 interview with Shockwave Magazine, the late and famed Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison discussed the making of his other project VIMIC’s first album: "The way we wrote 'Open Your Omen', is exactly like how a garage band would do their demo tape. We went all the way back to the basics, and it was cool doing it like that because you didn't have the influence of your label, and the huge studio, and cars, hotels, and fancy dinners, all this b—---- that goes on along with being in the record industry. It was done literally in my home, organic, and we went out just to the studio not too far from my house and we just laid it down there. So, it was pretty much born in my home and then we just cruised up to the studio and just laid it down really quick."

Now, on April 28, 2025, days after what would have been Jordison’s 50th birthday, a Kickstarter will be launched to raise the funds needed to get the highly-anticipated VIMIC album Open Your Omen out to the public in September 2025.

After Jordison departed from Slipknot in late 2013, he shifted his focus to various other ventures. One of these projects, Scar the Martyr, released a self-titled album before disbanding, with some of its members going on to create a new band called VIMIC. The initial lineup of VIMIC included Jordison on drums, Kalen Chase as the vocalist, Jed Simon and Kris Norris on guitars, Kyle Konkiel on bass, and Matthew Tarach on keyboards. They debuted their first single, "Simple Skeletons," on May 6, 2016 via Sirius XM’s Liquid Metal and received high praise from Loudwire, New Noise Magazine, Blabbermouth, and NME, among others. Norris left shortly after its release and later that year, VIMIC introduced Steve Marshall as their new second guitarist.

VIMIC released four singles from the project between May 2016 and October 2017: “Simple Skeletons,” “She Sees Everything,” “My Fate,” and “Fail Me (My Temple),” the last of which featured Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine.

The band’s first album, Open Your Omen, was first expected to be released in 2018. Produced by Jordison and Kato Khandwala (The Pretty Reckless, Pop Evil), progress came to a standstill in 2018. Khandwala tragically passed away in a motorcycle accident on April 25, 2018, and Jordison, Konkiel, and Simon shifted their focus to Sinsaenum, Bad Wolves, and Imonolith, respectively. Jordison sadly passed away on July 26, 2021, further delaying the plans on the album.

After years of working to secure the rights to the music, the Jordison Family Estate is releasing Open Your Omen independently to get the album into the hands of the fans that have been asking for it for years. 

“Joey didn't do anything small,” the family states on the official Kickstarter page. “We want to release this album the way he would have wanted; with the designs he was so actively involved with creating for the CD, double LP, merch, and with the support of his fans to make the biggest splash we can upon release.

We have added personal items of Joey's to help raise the money needed to manufacture and distribute physical product, market the album, and host a night to remember as VIMIC reunites to perform an event honoring Joey's legacy. An evening full of iconic drummers on Joey's drum kit, special guests, and stories you've never heard.”

“The riffs, lyrics and drums of Open Your Omen will tell you a lot," Jordison said in a 2017 interview with Revolver Mag. "We started this record when I was coming out of the acute transverse myelitis condition. It's literally what saved me and helped me get back to where I'm healthier than ever. These guys and this album pushed me to not only relearn how to walk, but how to play the drums again. Open Your Omen is the rebirth of the rest of my life."

Jordison’s family, friends, and fellow band members are proud to release this project and honor his memory and that of Khandwala’s. You can contribute to the Kickstarter campaign HERE. 

Follow VIMIC Updates Online:

Website: https://www.VIMICmusic.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoeyJordison

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joeyjordisonfamily/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVOdolktnk0wQnjcDddqQuQ 

This is hard. Today marks one year since Joey left us. 

Our wounds from losing him are still very fresh. Our hearts are broken and the pain is constant. We will carry our scars forever. 

Today, we remember Joey, the musician, artist, jokester, son, brother, uncle and friend to many.

To describe Joey as an inspiration is an understatement. His life was short, but his impact was significant. He made such a difference to so many people and his reach extended far beyond aspiring drummers and musicians. Joey met and worked with a lot of people throughout his career, including not only people in the entertainment industry, but people from all walks of life. He captivated everyone around him with his genius talent, charm and humor. If you had the fortune of meeting him, you remember how he made you feel. You wanted to be around him. His personality was infectious. He was kind and sensitive and had a way of making you feel important. 

We will forever miss his voice, his laugh, and goofy sense of humor. If you knew Joey, you remember the wise cracks, practical jokes, impromptu skits (that just HAD to be recorded), his amazing talent for quoting his favorite movies in their entirety and, of course, his ridiculous, made-up one-liners and catch phrases that were so contagious, they left anyone that spent more than five minutes with him spouting his silly non-sense randomly.

“Croooooows.” “Let’s deuce!” “I need THIS!” “Dragon!” 

Then, of course, there was the music. Joey lived in music and music lived in Joey. Joey had notes and chords playing in his head 24/7. When out in public, he would pick beats and rhythms out of his surroundings and just start singing. Or drumming. He had an innate ability to write songs on the spot. And, they were actually good songs. Catchy songs. The kind of songs that would get stuck in your head for days or wake you from a dead sleep in the middle of the night. 

These are the things we will miss the most.

Many of you were used to seeing Joey on stage or in magazines. How magnificent and mesmerizing he was to watch when he was doing what he loved most-making music and performing for his fans. If you are reading this and you are a fan, please know this: JOEY LOVED YOU. He wanted nothing more than to make you happy. He really tried. You mattered to him more than anything. He talked about you all the time. He cared so much about what you thought of him and he always did his best to express his appreciation. He credited his whole career to you. 

Joey’s family has decided to share the video we put together for his memorial. It shows him as a brilliant musician, as well as the amazing human he was to us. We wanted to share it with the people that mattered to Joey most: his fans.

The songs that accompany the photos in this video include some of Joey’s favorites. He referenced these songs in many of the interviews he gave over the course of his career when asked about the songs and artists that played a part in shaping him as a musician. One that hits hardest is Led Zeppelin’s, “In My Time of Dying”, named by Joey as the song he wanted played at his funeral.

“This one definitely fits the funeral mood. It’s beautiful and chilling, and it’s definitely a good one to sleep to. Led Zeppelin were another band that were huge for me when I was younger. One of the first records I ever got was In Through the Out Door, and that record still blows my mind. In fact, if anyone wanted to pick a Zeppelin track to play at my funeral, I’d be alright with that. Knowing I was going out to that kind of soundtrack would be just fine with me.” – Dan Slessor. “Joey Jordison: The 10 songs that changed my life.” Kerrang Magazine, 26th Apr. 2021

In “Leader of the Band”, Dan Fogelberg says it perfectly:

The leader of the band is tired

And his eyes are growing old

But his blood runs through

My instrument

And his song is in my soul

My life has been a poor attempt

To imitate the man

I’m just a living legacy 

To the leader of the band

As Joey’s fans, you are his living legacy. He has left it up to you to tell the stories. To share the music. To do whatever you can to keep his memory alive. Joey’s family have ideas and plans to do the same and we promise to keep you all updated as we move forward. 

We hope you enjoy this video. This one’s for the fans. 

RIP Joey - Forever Our #1

Song List:

The Spinners – “The Rubberband Man”

KISS – “100,000 Years”

AC/DC – “For Those About to Rock”

Slipknot – “(Sic)”

Dan Fogelberg – “Leader of the Band”

Led Zeppelin – “In My Time of Dying”

*All photos are from Joey and his family’s personal collections.