From his favourite Slipknot song to play live to if he's got any new books on the horizon, Corey Taylor tells all…
Continuing to celebrate the phenomenal response to the release of last Friday's We Are Not Your Kind, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor took to Facebook last night (August 14) for a live Q&A with fans.
Discussing everything from the creation of We Are Not Your Kind, to his favourite new and old songs to play live, and whether or not he's got any more books on the way, Corey answered a whole bunch of questions and gave a ton of insight into the ’Knot in 2019.
Here are some of the most interesting things we learned…
1. Legendary horror composer John Carpenter partly influenced We Are Not Your Kind
“I don’t know if there was an overt influence, but certainly not only his scoring, but his mood that he would create cinematically, absolutely. The music that he scored for his movies was so ominous and lurching, and you can definitely hear that on Spiders and things like My Pain. A lot of that goes to Clown, who was really the musical architect behind that.”
2. Being in Slipknot made Corey a better person
“Obviously it’s allowed me to share my pain with the world that, maybe at the time, didn’t allow me to share my pain – didn’t give me easy access to a way to let that out. It allowed me to tap into the inner angst and write it down and make sure that I could let it go, and show people how to do it themselves. So I think, in a way, being in Slipknot has just made me a better person – a better, well-rounded person, and someone who realises that, when I’m hurting, I should always try to find a way to either get help or solve the pain.”
3. He's got plans to write more books… but not just yet
“I’m kind of toying with a couple. I kind of took a break from writing books after America 51, just because it took such a toll on me, mentally, that I really had to step away for a while. But I’m starting to get that itch again; I’ve actually got a really great idea for a novel, as well as a cool idea for another rant book as I like to call them! Probably in the next year or so I’ll start working on that, but right now my main focus is Slipknot.”
4. The most difficult song to put together on We Are Not Your Kind was Unsainted
“That song, in the demo stage, it had moments that were very similar, but at the same time, it was very different – especially the beginning. It was such a great song, and yet we couldn’t figure out how to start it; we couldn’t figure out what the best intro was for it. Once again, it was one of those things where letting go of my assumptions of what needs to happen came in handy when Clown and Greg Fidelman – our producer – came to us and said, ‘What about a choir?’”
5. …but he was initially resistant to the choir in the intro
“I immediately blanked against it. I was like, ‘No, no!’ I don’t want to say it was dumb, but it didn’t feel like us… until I heard the mock-up for it, and just the mock-up alone was incredible. And then having a real choir sing on it was… I mean, it was literally the last song we were able to say was finished, and it was because we were trying to find the absolute right way to make it perfect. And we nailed it. I was really stoked – I was never so happy to be wrong in my life, let’s put it that way!”
6. Quitting cigarettes and alcohol has made Corey's voice stronger than ever before
“Every album is a challenge vocally, because I want to push myself to be better than the last one – especially considering some of the challenges that I’ve had physically over the years. I haven’t drank [alcohol] in nine years and haven’t smoked in five, and my voice is actually stronger than it’s ever been.”
7. Solway Firth was the hardest song to make, vocally
“I wanted it to be blood-curdling. I wanted it to feel like flesh was being ripped from my very soul. This was about baring something that I didn’t want to admit, and I didn’t want to feel anymore, so that song was definitely one of the ones that took me a second to really get there.”
8. They will be playing Nero Forte live
“Absolutely – probably not soon enough for a lot of fans (laughs). But definitely once we knock the rust off of it, then we’ll definitely be able to get that out there.”
9. His favourite old song to perform live is Disasterpiece
“My favourite old song to play live is Disasterpiece [from 2001's Iowa] – it always has been. That song just makes me mental in a way that none of the other songs really do. It gets me going, and I’m always just ready to go.”
10. And Solway Firth is Corey's current favourite song to play live
“Right now, man, I’m really digging Solway to be honest. It’s such a pummelling song, and the reaction that we get from the audience – especially a multi-generational audience – is just fantastic. I couldn’t ask for something better than that.”
11. He tries to take good care of himself on the road
“It’s tough! You kind of have to devote yourself to making sure that you’re as healthy as you can be. I mean, I fight illness and allergies just like the other guys, but I try to eat right when I can, I take all my old man vitamins (laughs), I hydrate… the best thing you can do as a singer is know where your body is physically, and what you’re going through. If you’re feeling healthy, you can get through any show; if you know physically where your body’s at, you can at least manipulate yourself to make an incredible show. That’s what it’s all about.”
Slipknot are on course for a Number One album this Friday. If you haven't already done so, grab a copy of the record now at this link and let's keep them at the top spot!
