Corey Taylor On Slipknot's First-Ever Tour: "I Can Remember Scavenging For Food"

While Slipknot are currently tearing their way through the States on their incredible Knotfest Roadshow tour, frontman Corey Taylor has been reflecting on the band's first-ever run 20 years ago, Ozzfest 1999, and just how different things were for The Nine back then.

Asked on Full Metal Jackie about how that tour still defines them today, Corey explained, "The work ethic, basically is still there. None of us are as young as we used to be (laughs). I can remember waking up every morning and scavenging for food. We lived off of cans of tuna fish and a giant bag of goldfish crackers that someone had just left in our bus. I mean, it was the size of a pillow – so we lived off of that for about a month."

Far from being divas, though, the metal titans simply got on with life on the road – and it's a mentality that carries them through even now: "We didn't care about being tired. We didn't care about the travel, we didn't care about anything other than doing it. We had waited our whole lives for this shot and when the opportunity came, we knew that it didn't stop with that. We had to earn it all, and that's still the way it is to this day… That work ethic will always be the same, as long as this band is this band. That's something I'm very proud of."

Slipknot recently confirmed a 2020 European tour, revealing the cities they'd be hitting along with a ticket collaboration for their new album We Are Not Your Kind: if you pre-order the record before 11:30pm UK time on August 8 (the day before it is released), you’ll get an exclusive pre-sale code granting early access to tickets. Get on that right here.

In the meantime, Slipknot live at the following dates this year.

August

1 Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
3 Albuquerque, NM @ Sleta Amphitheater
4 Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
6 Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
8 Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena
10 Des Moines, IA @ Iowa State Fairgrounds
11 Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
12 Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
14 Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
16 Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
17 Bonner Springs, KS @ Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
18 Maryland Heights, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
20 Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
21 Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
23 Burgettstown, PA @ KeyBank Pavilion
24 Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
25 Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater
27 Mansfield, MA @ The Xfinity Center
28 Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
30 Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
31 Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion

September

1 Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
3 Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
4 Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
6 Austin, TX @ Austin 360 Amphitheater
7 Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
8 The Woodlands, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

And see them supporting Metallica at the following, before their two Knotfest shows at the end of the year:

October

17 Perth, AUS @ Optus Stadium
20 Adelaide, AUS @ Adelaide Oval
22 Melbourne, AUS @ Marvel Stadium
24 Melbourne, AUS @ Marvel Stadium
26 Sydney, AUS @ ANZ Stadium
29 Brisbane, AUS @ QSAC
31 Auckland, NZ @ Mt. Smart Stadium

November

2 Auckland, NZ @ Mt. Smart Stadium
30 Mexico City, Parque Deportivo Oceanía @ Knotfest

December

6 Bogota, Colombia @ Knotfest

Read this next:

• Freaks unleashed: The story behind Slipknot's debut album
• How Slipknot changed my life
• Here's where every sample on Slipknot's debut album came from