SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor has been candid about his struggles with substance abuse and his decision to get sober in 2010.
In a recent interview with Consequence, he revealed that he was inspired to take this step by METALLICA‘s James Hetfield and Jerry Cantrell from ALICE IN CHAINS. Seeing these rock icons overcome their own battles with addiction, Taylor was motivated to tackle his own issues. He credits their public journeys to sobriety as instrumental in his decision to seek help and eventually attain sobriety.
He believes that one can only choose sobriety when they are ready, hinting that the timing was right for him in 2010. He also reflected on the fact that there were many others going through similar experiences during this time.
“[I was] dealing with my own various addictions and fighting the depression that I had to deal with for years — the trauma that kind of came from when I was growing up,” he said.
“Over the years, music was my only form of solace,” Corey continued. “It was the only thing that really ever made me feel like there was hope in the world. There was always a form of music or a song that was waiting for me to discover it.”
“I think one of the people who helped me kind of figure it out was James Hetfield,” he added. “When he first started his journey, getting sober and getting healthy and whatnot, I looked at that, and I was, like, ‘Well, s**t, if he’s strong enough to do it, maybe I can try it.’ [Sobriety] had a big enough effect on me that, over the years, I’ve really tried to stick with it. In figuring that out, I also realized that there were so many people who were going down that path, as well. Jerry Cantrell had just gotten sober around that time, and he was starting to kind of put his steps together.”
Taylor expressed that for individuals battling addiction, relinquishing something that has been a significant aspect of their persona for a long duration can be incredibly challenging.
“It takes time; it takes effort, takes work,” Corey said. “I really have to give [Hetfield] a lot of credit for the inspiration for that… It definitely helped to know that I wasn’t alone in it. And it certainly helped me clear my head and focus more. And really get down to writing again — really, truly writing.”
