Corey Taylor addressed the fact that his opinions are a common occurrence on a variety of rock and metal news sites.
During a Junkee interview, Corey was asked if he’s grown tired of seemingly earning “this reputation as a sort of edge-lord and provocateur,” to which he replied:
“People forget that the only reason I give my opinion half the time is because people f*cking ask me.
“And they’re pulling those from interviews, which is just a series of f*cking questions!
“People think I’m holding f*cking press conferences or something – [shakes fist] ‘GODDAMMIT, YOU PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW WHAT I THINK!!’ It’s obviously so not true.
“I think that’s a reflection of the times we find ourselves in. Social media has given everyone a voice, but mine’s still a little louder than everyone else.
“People pick my sh*t apart. They take the juiciest soundbites and throw them up there. People are invariably deciding that I’m being more selfish than they are.
“It’s stupid and it’s silly, and I hope it doesn’t affect my career. If it does, I guess I’’l go back to f*cking washing RVs. [Laughs]
“I’m not just saying things to provoke. I speak from the heart. I’m not like certain artists who just say things to shock.
“The opinions I have are very much who the f*ck I am. If people can’t live with that, they weren’t paying attention in the first place.”
Corey added:
“I think the greatest misconception is that I just run my mouth constantly.
“I mean, I definitely have my opinions and I know that there are a lot of heavy metal fans that don’t like me specifically for that reason.
“For a long time, that really bothered me. The thing I had to realize was that it’s the price you pay for not being the nice guy.
“The vanilla frontman, making sure I say and do all the right things… f*ck that. I’d rather be myself than a f*cking watered-down version of myself.
“I’m not constantly on the look-out for something to talk sh*t about. There is so much stuff in the world that I enjoy, promote, talk up… but all the bullsh*t gets all the press.
“What I should say is that I’m not the one talking s*it – all the clickbait websites are the ones doing it; taking me out of context and making me out to be this villain.
“Other than that? F*ck it. I’m just trying to make music.”
During the rest of the chat, Taylor was asked: “Have you found yourself trying to deflect it? Do you see where an interview is going and just immediately start shutting it down? ‘So I was listening to the new Nickelback record…'”
He chimed in with a laugh:
“I have been f*cking trying to bury that for months now! It’s out of my hands, man!
“We played in Sydney over the weekend, and people started a ‘F*ck Nickelback’ chant. I’m like, ‘F*ck, I’m never gonna get away from this!’
“It’s so f*cking funny, especially when I’m seeing all of these tweets and sh*t from f*cking Nickelback fans.
“I’m like, ‘He’s the one who f*cking started it! I didn’t say a f*cking word!’ What are y’gonna do? You can’t control what people say, no matter how Trump feels about it.
“All you can do is ride the wave. Sometimes you’ll get f*cking wiped out. Other times, you’ll stay on the board. It’s fine.”