Joey Jordison, one of the founding members of Slipknot, has tragically died at the age of 46, BBC News reports.
The late drummer had founded the metal band back in 1995 with percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray.
The news of his passing was made public in a statement by his family, in which they explained that Jordison had died peacefully in his sleep.
Jordison's cause of death was not revealed, however, his passing naturally left his loved ones with "empty hearts and feelings of indescribable sorrow".
Per Rolling Stone, the full statement reads: "Joey’s death has left us with empty hearts and feelings of indescribable sorrow. 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."
According to the outlet, Jordison's family is planning to hold a private funeral service.
It has been well over two decades since he and his bandmates began their illustrious careers in the industry - and in that time, the group has sold millions of albums around the world and was awarded a Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2008.
Slipknot is known for its gothic style of performing, which often involves wearing horror-inducing masks.
Jordison had stayed with the band until 2013, revealing some years later that he'd left the group after he was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, a form of multiple sclerosis.
Per NME, he said to a crowd at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards in 2016: "I got really, really sick with a horrible disease called transverse myelitis; I lost my legs. I couldn’t play anymore.
"It was a form of multiple sclerosis, which I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. I got myself back up, and I got myself in the gym and I got myself back in f***ing therapy to f***ing beat this s***."
Crahan, as well as Slipknot's current lead vocalist, Corey Taylor, uploaded plain, black images to their social media accounts in the wake of Jordison's passing.
Our thoughts are with Jordison's loved ones and fans at this difficult time.
