10 Hard Rock Bands Who FIRED Important Members

Partying a little too hard.

By Tim Coffman /

Being in a band is a lot like being in a marriage most of the time. Outside of the millions of shows that you have to put on one year after another, you always have to make sure that you come back to why you loved performing in the first place. If this was a musical marriage, these groups were bound for the divorce court.

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Once these bands tasted success, it became clear that there were one or two people who were no longer pulling their own weight.

Whether it was because of letting their ego go to their head or just a difference of opinion when it came to the group's directions, these musicians were sent packing and left without any hope for rock and roll stardom.

These weren't just some random expulsions either. Oftentimes, these musicians were key to the band's sound, and had a hand in writing many of their classic songs.

Although some of them went into obscurity, it's also interesting to take a look back on how these groups recovered and how the musicians rose from being the pariahs of the music industry. These situations are always heartbreaking for everyone involved, but what's rock and roll without at least some sort of drama?

10. Slipknot - Joey Jordison

The dynamic of Slipknot has really started to change as time has gone on. Compared to the 9 maniacs that were onstage night after night, the Knot feels a lot more like a brotherhood now, with each member giving their all to every performance. That doesn't mean that they haven't had stumbling blocks along the way though.

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After tragically losing Paul Gray to drugs once the tour for All Hope is Gone was wrapping up, the Maggots were dealt with another blow when they learned that they were parting ways with Joey Jordison as well.

Considering this is a band that's known for having 3 percussionists, losing Joey was one of the biggest bombshells you could have asked for, since he was the one behind naming the group and delivering one assault after another on songs like Psychosocial and the Heretic Anthem.

They did manage to survive though, drafting in Jay Weinberg from Against Me! and moving from strength to strength on .5 the Gray Chapter in memory of their late bass player. Although Joey was always meaning to get back together with Slipknot later down the line, it all became impossible when we lost him back in July.

Still, it's better that they were at least on good terms before everything ended. Whether in or out of Slipknot, Joey will always be a part of the Slipknot family.

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