During a recent chat with Scott Bowling, Corey Taylor discussed the metal scene in Iowa and how he ended up joining SLIPKNOT.
Prior to joining SLIPKNOT, Corey was in STONE SOUR for about five years since the group was launched in 1992. Prior to Corey‘s arrival, the band was fronted by Anders Colsefni between the 1995 and 1997.
“The only two bands that really came out of Iowa was STONE SOUR and SLIPKNOT. We tried to help other bands come out, but for whatever reason they just didn’t hit or they didn’t have the work ethic.
“And that was one of the reasons I fit so well with SLIPKNOT is because I had that ethic — I was ready to go — like let’s do this. And that’s because where we are now, because we still have it.
Asked what was the reaction from other guys in STONE SOUR on him joining SLIPKNOT, Corey said: “I left and ostensibly that was the end of STONE SOUR. They were upset they got it, because they knew two big band in town was us and SLIPKNOT, and they had the ingredients and I was like the best singer in town, so it just made sense to them.
“They were like ‘we get it, we understand — I mean we’re heartbroken — but we gotta do it.’ And some of them, like our bass player, ended working for SLIPKNOT, and then Jim [Root, guitarist] ended joining SLIPKNOT.
When asked for how long he knew SLIPKNOT co-founder Shawn “Clown” Crahan before joining the group, Corey responded: “I’ve known him since about ’95 — I knew him for a couple of years before I actually joined the band,” he said. They had a guy named Andy [Colsefni] and he was great. Great singer, great growler. For what he did, he was really, really good. But they wanted somebody who could do a little more, and I was kind of like the other big dog in town. Because I had STONE SOUR then, so we actually did shows together — SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR.”
Asked if there is any footage of those shows, Corey said: “I’m sure there is. I want to say there’s footage from my ex-best friends Denny‘s birthday, it was like the day right before his birthday that we did a show together. And then we all kind of went to this thing that in legend has become known as ‘the house destruction party’ where a lot of people went to jail.
“It was in a good way,” he added. “And the first time I really talked to Clown was when we were both going down to bail people out who had been arrested. It was pretty rad. We’re standing there, just waiting to pay bail and he goes, ‘Crazy night, huh?’ I was like, ‘Yeah.’ And the funny thing is I was there and I left about 15 minutes before the place got raided so I barely got away.
“Dude, I woke up — and when I say ‘house destruction party,’ it was a house destruction party. I had plaster in my hair, I looked like I had dreads because they were ripping this house down.”
Full interview can be seen below.
SLIPKNOT‘s latest album, We Are Not Your Kind, was released on August 9, 2019 via Roadrunner Records. Album was once again recorded at a Los Angeles studio with producer Greg Fidelman, who engineered and mixed SLIPKNOT‘s 2004 album Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) and helmed 2014’s .5: The Gray Chapter.
We Are Not Your Kind sold 118,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Furthermore, the album made an impact worldwide with No. 1 debuts in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Australia, Canada, Japan, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal and Finland, as well as Top 5 debuts in Germany, France, Norway, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and New Zealand.
Reeder, the visionary behind Metal Addicts, has transformed his lifelong passion for metal into a thriving online community for metal aficionados. As a fervent devotee of black metal, Reeder is captivated by its dark, atmospheric, and often unorthodox soundscapes.