Days after what would have been his 50th birthday, the family of late SLIPKNOT drummer Joey Jordison has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds needed to get the highly anticipated VIMIC album “Open Your Omen” out to the public in September 2025.
After Jordison was fired 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 on vocals, 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 SiriusXM‘s Liquid Metal and received high praise from Loudwire, New Noise, BLABBERMOUTH.NET 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.
“This album wails!” Mustaine said about “Open Your Omen” back in 2017. “Joey Jordison and VIMIC are incredible. High-octane drumming and heavy, melodic songs make this band something you definitely need to check out! I dig them so much I laid a solo down on one of their songs, ‘Fail Me (My Temple)’. From there, we decided to take them on tour with us down to South America where MEGADETH is massive.”
“Open Your Omen” was first expected to be released in 2018 via Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) and T-Boy Records, UMe‘s label partnership with rock manager Andy Gould. 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.
In a December 2016 interview with Shockwave magazine, Jordison said about the LP: “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 bullshit 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.”
The following year, Joey told Revolver: “The riffs, lyrics and drums of ‘Open Your Omen’ will tell you a lot. 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 formed VIMIC in May 2016 after the breakup of his previous band SCAR THE MARTYR. The former SLIPKNOT drummer later said that he wanted to change the name of the project to “wipe the slate clean” and start afresh.
“Joey didn’t do anything small,” his 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.”
Five years ago, Chase told Gabriel Gignac about the status of VIMIC‘s long-awaited album: “I would love to answer that. We’re all still friends. There is a lot of issues with our business. We started on Roadrunner, and we left on good terms with them. A lot of us had other projects, and it just never worked out with the time. And there’s a lot of things that just kind of went down to make the scheduling really difficult.
“I hope that the record comes out one day, and that’s always a possibility,” he continued. “I just don’t know. It’s out of my hands, because I’m not in charge of the music and there’s a whole label situation, and stuff like that. If it ever happens, great. I would love for you guys to hear the other songs, ’cause they’re awesome. But as of now, that’s all I can on it, unfortunately. I’m just really glad that at least we have those songs to share with people so you guys at least got a taste of what we were doing.”
Despite the fact that VIMIC seemingly came to a premature halt in late 2017, Kalen said that he still had fond memories of his time with the band.
“Getting to be the frontman of VIMIC with one of my closest friends, Joey, that was such a pleasure,” he said. “I love all those guys, and to be able to actually be up front on stage and not behind somebody else… We got to play in South America in front of thousands of people, and all over the U.S. And those shows were so much fun… And I’m so glad I got to do that.”
In 2006, Kalen joined KORN on tour, primarily on backing vocals, and can be heard and seen in the “MTV Unplugged (Live)” release in 2007 where he was featured playing an exotic array of instruments. He remained with KORN — often seen as The White Rabbit — until 2008.
Content shared from blabbermouth.net.