Music lovers and fans of blackened death metal outfit Sinsaenum had their pain tempered somewhat earlier this year when Joey Jordison‘s drum tech and personal friend, Andre Joyzi, was announced as the drummer to fill the void left by Jordison in the band.
It was a romantic and logical choice to not only continue Jordison‘s legacy, but also to carry Sinsaenum into the exciting future they have always been destined for. But amid the public scrutiny and acceptance, Joyzi suddenly found himself answering to demons of his own when personal doubts and the weight of public expectation quickly replaced the sense of loss and grief that had dominated both the musical landscape and the waking thoughts of a person who had lost more than a friend. He had also lost a mentor, a muse, and someone who had played a major role in his musical journey.
Despite his best efforts to concentrate on the future, Joyzi found himself living in the past, unable to fully embrace the plethora of options and possibilities that had now attached themselves to his life. What should have been a time for celebration, Joyzi’s newfound path left him feeling vulnerable, lost, and perhaps a little scared. His grief became a walking time bomb with no thought for rhyme or reason, while the world around him seemed to move on.
Now, for the first time, Joyzi is ready to share his story with the world. Share his feelings, but more importantly, purge his grief. A long-time friend of Joyzi‘s, HEAVY found ourselves in the unique position of being one of the outlets for his pain. A pain that also affected fans as far out as Australia, and one which needed to be discussed openly. Needed to be discussed without judgment. And needed to be voiced out loud. The result was a deeply personal and emotional interview for both parties, and one which Joyzi has granted permission for us to share with you.
Like most drummers of the modern generation, Andre Joyzi was heavily influenced by Joey Jordison in his formative years behind the kit. But, as fate would have it, Joyzi would one day get to do the unthinkable for many aspiring musicians when he got to not only meet the man who had helped forge his path in music, but also work with and alongside that same person. It was a journey that quickly transformed into a friendship, but looking back on the day that in many ways changed his future, Joyzi still has that same twinkle in his eye that must have caught the attention and trust of Joey Jordison when they first met back in 2018 after Joyzi accepted the highly sought after position as Jordison‘s drum tech in Sinsaenum.
“It was in France on the first pre-production day of rehearsal for Sinsaenum‘s tour,” Joyzi recalled, his eyes smiling almost as brightly as his lips. “I arrived and the band was already in the rehearsal space. When I got there Fred (Leclercq, who Joyzi had worked previously with in Dragonforce) came out and looked at me. We never really talked too much about the factor as in, ‘oh my God, you’re going to work with Joey‘ (laughs). It was just like, okay, I’m going to go and do my job. I was the tour manager as well, so I couldn’t really let Joey know that I was a huge fan. That was the top priority. I kept telling myself on the whole journey that, as the tour manager, Joey cannot know that you’re a huge fanboy. So I got there and I’m outside the room with my bags and Fred comes out and he just looked at me and he said, he’s over there.
I’m nervous as fuck to meet my hero but thought all right, here I go, and then I just walked in. I started speaking to Joey like I didn’t know who he was. ‘Hey, man. So how’s it going? Let’s set up your drums’, and he was just really nice and easy to do everything with. So, yeah, I perfectly remember. We started setting up his drums straight away, just him and I, talking like two normal people.
This process took two or three hours, and I was already past the, ‘okay, I’ve just met my hero part’ so I was in work mode. I said, ‘Joey, do you mind sitting there and trying it? Trying your kit?’ And he did and I remember I was looking somewhere else and Joey hit the snare and immediately I felt like, holy fuck, this is the guy I’ve been listening to my whole life. This is Joey Jordison! I can try to hit the snare – anyone in the world, you can hit the snare – but you will not sound like Joey. So at that moment I was like, ‘fuck, this is the guy from all the Slipknot albums!’ That was a really, really special moment, just unique. I’ll never not be grateful for this opportunity.”
From there the relationship between Jordison and Joyzi became more personal, an inevitable friendship of two kindred spirits forged by time spent on the road together and a common love for music. Which is what made Jordison’s passing in 2021 so much harder for Joyzi who had lost more than a collegue. He had also lost a close friend, ally and confidant. Respectfully, we ask Joyzi to describe Jordison as a person and what having him in his life meant.
“When I met Joey he had already gone through a lot,” Joyzi recalled, his gaze distant. “By the time I met him he had had his years in Slipknot and been on top of the world. He had already left Slipknot and done a few other things and he was in a different place than that period. But essentially, he was the most positive person you could you could meet. It was all about love and he was a really friendly person. He knew that a small gesture from him meant the world to me or to any of his fans, and so he did it all the time. I think it was the first thing on his mind, making sure that if he could do something to make someone’s day, he would. He was a really, really, really good person and he was incredibly passionate about music.
If you wanted to get Joey talking bring up a name of a band – like Morbid Angel – and away you go (laughs). As a person he was a funny guy, with a great sense of humor, and his musical knowledge was incredible. Just a really positive person, really easy to work with. A lovely guy with a great heart and it’s a very sad loss.”
Joyzi found himself in the unique position of having the best seat in the house to witness the spectacle that was Jordison‘s professionalism night after night. While his drumming will mean many different things to many different people, Joyzi put a large part of Jordison’s universal appeal down to one factor.
“Personality,” he replied without hesitation. “I think that is part of what’s lacking in modern drummers; everyone sounds the same. (But) Joey sounds like Joey. That’s it. He has his style. First of all, he revolutionized the world of metal drumming. Sometimes younger people may not know that, but Joey was the drummer that everyone my age looked up to. He changed the world of drumming.
I was a nu metal basic drummer before I first heard Slipknot and immediately the goalposts changed by hearing Joey – and not just for me, but millions of people around the world. On the Sinsaenum tour I got a glimpse of what Joey‘s life was like. Every day, hundreds of fans wanted to tell him that they started playing drums because of him. You just cannot compare Joey to anyone else. He was a revolutionary drummer that changed metal drumming. But yeah, it was that moment when I heard him hit the snare for the first time… I think what was more special about his drumming is that he still sounded like himself. You know, that’s what it is. But at the time he revolutionized metal by incorporating loads of different styles and doing things that hadn’t been done until he came out.”
With Jordison‘s passing came a time for not only grief, but also reflection. Reflection on the man, his life, his legacy, and his music. Little thought or discussion was initially given to finding a replacement for him in Sinsaenum, with the mere suggestion that life could continue quickly as a band being incomprehensible. Such was the respect shown – and deserved – for Jordison that, for once, the rumour mills and speculations that generally surround the replacing of a fallen comrade in a band were rightfully quiet, with the decision on even if to continue being left to his bandmates without media scrutiny.
When the news came in June 2025 that Sinsaenum would continue, it also came with the announcement of a new album – In Devastation – and a renewed commitment to do Jordison‘s life and memory proud. The man named to fill the void?
Andre Joyzi.
While the official announcement was welcomed by fans and peers the world over, the process of getting to that point was not easy for Sinsaenum or for Joyzi. It was never a matter of finding a fill in or like for like replacement. It was more about finding someone who could continue the upward trajectory of Sinsaenum while still paying respect to the band’s original drummer. While it was not a decision made lightly by either the band nor Joyzi, it was one which Joyzi embraced with both hands, determined to pay homage to Jordison and his drumming in every conceivable way.
“To me there was no decision to be made,” Joyzi shrugged. “The second Fred asked… all he said was, ‘I wonder what Sinsaenum would sound like with you on drums’? But it was very complicated for me because the band wasn’t auditioning other drummers. It was just either I can do it or I can’t. And that was worse. I would rather lose to someone who’s a better drummer than have a chance that’s all yours and then you fuck it up (laughs).
So I think there was a lot more pressure, but for me there was no decision to be made. I got the message from Fred and I said to myself, you either accomplish this, or you give up and you’re a piece of shit. You’re a useless drummer. So that’s the standard I set, you’re either a shit drummer or you got this and you put everything into that. So that’s what I did and I immediately changed my life around it. I had help from my family, because it was during the pandemic and it was a very rough time for me. It was the worst. I had lost everything. So my family helped me out and immediately I changed my daily schedule from whatever I was doing. That’s (the rough patch) all over. Now I do six hours a day of drumming my fucking ass off, trying to get faster and trying to be worthy drummer for Sinsaenum.
So, yeah, there was no decision to be made. There was only a goal to accomplish and that was super easy in terms of making that decision.”
Of course, it wasn’t just the normal feelings of replacing someone of the calibre of Jordison in a band setting, for Joyzi it was also the personal feelings that come with stepping in for someone you love and respect.
“A hundred percent,” he affirmed. “It was very emotional at the start because Joey was my hero when I was young. He changed my drumming when I was just a kid in Portugal. I remember exactly where I was when I first listened to Slipknot and how that changed my mind. I thought okay, Superman is real, and he plays drums for this band. I still remember that. He was a huge influence to me.
I think the first thing I couldn’t believe was seven or eight years ago when I got called to work with Sinsaenum. And when the time actually came a few weeks before the tour, I was like, ‘holy fuck, I’m going to meet Joey, you know, and I’m going to work with him. It’s incredible’. And then two days before the tour Fred called me and said, by the way, we have this song with percussions so you’re going to play that with Joey. And I’m like, holy fuck, I’m going to play alongside Joey! This is crazy, out of this world kind of stuff.
Eventually I got to know him (Jordison). And obviously, if you know Joey you know there was zero arrogance in him. He was the nicest guy. Everyone says that about everyone, but it’s true. He really was the nicest guy and the easiest fucking celebrity I’ve ever known to work with. Everything was always good. And very quickly we went from colleagues to friends because that’s how he was. He was that kind of guy. When he passed away I was completely devastated. And the last thing that crossed my mind is that I would be asked to do it (join Sinsaenum). I swear on my life, it didn’t even cross my mind. I always just thought if that happened it would have to be some huge drummer celebrity guy to take over. And it wasn’t immediately after he passed away, it was quite a long time after that.
It was during the pandemic and I was going through my lowest because I had toured for a living for many years and now there was nothing. I was practicing some Lamb of God covers for fun and Fred saw that. He saw me play a fast song and he reached out and I just couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe the whole thing. It’s the greatest honor of my life. Seeing my name and his name in the same sentence still means the world to me. I’m in my 40s now and I’ve definitely realized now that all I ever wanted was to do something special and there’s nothing more special than this. It’s incredible.”
Now, after nearly six months becoming accustomed to his role as drummer for Sinsaenum, we ask if Joyzi can see, hear and feel much of Jordison‘s influence in his own drumming for the band.
“Well, that’s not a very simple question,” he measured, “because on one hand, if Joey hadn’t existed as a drummer in Slipknot, I wouldn’t be the drummer that I am today. He had a direct influence on my drumming when I was younger. So when I was 18, 19, and throughout the period that he was in Slipknot, my life was essentially waiting for the next Slipknot album so I could learn more. I didn’t go to music school. My music school was Slipknot and other bands like that.
So the new album would be a new book for me to learn. Joey had a huge influence on my drumming. But in regards to Sinsaenum, I think not as much, because when this whole thing came about it was very complicated for obvious reasons. But at some point Fred had to tell me; just listen to the music and play drums to the music and stop thinking and stressing who you’re taking over from because it wasn’t helping. It was just a lot of pressure, but Fred said the right thing. Just ignore that. Listen to the songs and play what the songs need. I was very concerned for the first few months thinking people are going to be comparing me to Joey as well. I dreaded those comparisons because the Internet is a horrible place, but in the end it all worked out well.”
We ask if there was one specific time or moment where Joyzi realised that he had made the right decision in joining Sinsaenum.
“Yeah, I do. I do,” he smiled warmly. “The whole thing was such a journey. When I had the first contact from Fred, I had a few weeks – not to be the perfect drummer for Sinsaenum – but to show that I could do it, and that was the first thing Fred asked me. Those first few weeks were a nightmare, just absolute stress. As I said before, I put the bar very high for myself. Either you can do this or you quit. So all the pressure of all the work I’ve done in my life came down to this one moment and this one thing. So yeah, the pressure was very high. And I didn’t get a final yes from Fred until we played together, which was about six months after that. It was six months of extreme anxiety and emotions. Okay, but can we do this? Can I do that?
For the first part the Joey factor was a huge motivating force, of course. But as the time came closer that I was going to jam with Fred and the band, then that became the crippling factor as well. But as I said before, Fred told me just don’t worry about that, focus on the music and when we played… afterwards we went to a cafe and he said ‘alright man, welcome to Sinsaenum. And I think I reacted badly that time (laughs), because I couldn’t believe it so I was just like, ‘okay, cool, man’. That was it! But when I got home I just started crying. I couldn’t believe it after everything I went through my life. My life has been a lot of ups and downs, just like everyone’s, I guess. But when I was 20, 23 years old, I decided I was going to do this live music thing and there was no plan B. And it was always about drumming.
And when Fred said that, I think I just remember a lot of the good and a lot of the bad that I went through to get to that point. I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing, that I was going to play with Fred because I’ve worked with him for a long time in Dragonforce as well and we always got on really well musically, especially as friends. And that was something I always wanted was to play with Fred, or more so, to be good enough to play with him because he is a perfect musician. Whatever is wrong, it’s you. It’s not him and I love that. It makes you want to be better. We don’t play to a metronome. Fred is the metronome. He’s the right hand and I’m just paying attention to it. I’ll follow this guy and I’m sure everything is good. And when that confirmation happened, it was just incredible. I got home and I started crying.
But again, more than anything, it was about the honor and the privilege to be the one who gets to carry part of Joey‘s legacy. I can’t think of anything else bigger or better than this.”
We ask Joyzi if he believes Jordison would be at peace with Sinsaenum‘s decision to continue without him.
“He always said that this (Sinsaenum) is not a side project,” Joyzi stressed. “He always made a point of saying that many, many times during the tour. I don’t know how to say this, but I know he would have wanted us to carry on and I think he would have been happy with me taking on the show. From what I got to know from him and what I saw, I think he would have been happy with what we’re doing now. And it’s for him. No one is trying to… You cannot be better than the best. All we’re trying to do is respectfully carry on with his legacy. And in my case, I’m just trying to not fuck it up, bro.“
Andre Joyzi also has a couple more musical projects, drumming in both The UK’s #1 Tribute to SYSTEM OF A DOWN – CHOP SUEY and Slipknot tribute band SLIP-NOT, who are headed to Australia for a run of shows with The Violent Inzident next May. Tickets HERE
