Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor is aware that the Iowa band's bold, experimental new album, The End, So Far, hasn't been met with universal acclaim from fans, but he's been in a bullish mood in recent interviews, apologising for nothing, as you'd expect.
In fact, in a new interview with NME, the singer has some extremely blunt advice for any 'maggots' who've been whining about perceived flaws with the group's seventh record: "Shut the fuck up and listen to what we give you."
In the article, writer Dannii Leivers cites Taylor's closing lyric on Finale, the album's parting shot, which runs, “Well I’m sorry to say, that I have to stay, because I like it here.” The line, writes Leivers, is indicative of "a steadfast refusal from the band to bend to expectations from outside the ranks", a reading Taylor agrees with.
"One of the problems about writing one of the heaviest fucking albums of all time is that people just expect you to do that over and over," the singer says, referencing The Nine's savage second album, Iowa. "Well, fuck, that’s so boring."
"When people hear [The End, So Far], they go, 'Well, that’s a departure.' It’s like, What are you, fucking new?’We’ve spent 20-plus years throwing people for a loop."
The singer goes on to say, "You also have to remember a large part of the population are also people who have created petitions against every Batman that has ever been fucking cast in a movie, and they’ve always been wrong. Who’s really right here? You fucking idiots, sometimes you just need to shut the fuck up and listen to what we give you."
In conclusion, Taylor offers a crystal clear message to fans who've “bullshitted themselves into thinking that if they bitch enough that they’re gonna get what they want."
"That only happens with weak-minded people," he says defiantly.
You can read the full, typically frank interview with Taylor on NME.com
The End, So Far is Slipknot's third UK number one album. In the US, the record debuted at number 2 on the Billboard 200.
