Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor says he can’t envisage the band ever performing unmasked.
The vocalist was speaking with Overdrive (opens in new tab) when he was asked if he could ever see a day when Slipknot could phase out their masks in a similar move to when Kiss abandoned their makeup in the 80s.
Taylor replies: "No, it’s such a part of our art. It’s also part of the reason why we change the masks with every album. Unlike Kiss, they have always used the same makeup and it never evolved. For us, we’ve changed with every album and not only the masks but also the outfits.
“You can totally tell every album by the uniform. I think things like that have kept Slipknot relevant. It’s kept the music vibrant, it’s kept the live shows different and it’s kept us from stagnating.
“So, no I could never see us losing the masks. If we ever got the notion to do Slipknot unmasked, I think I’d be like, ‘Well, no.’
“We are all in our forties now and we still very much have a love/hate relationship with what we do, but every time we step on stage, we’re absolutely prepared to give it everything we’ve got.”
He adds: “For me, when that feeling stops, when we start trying to cut corners and try to make things easier, just so we can ‘get on with it,’ that’s when it’s going to be time to call it a day.”
Slipknot are preparing to launch their new album We Are Not Your Kind tomorrow (August 9) which will feature the singles Unsainted, Solway Firth and Birth Of The Cruel.
They're currently touring on their Knotfest Roadshow with special guests Volbeat, Gojira and Behemoth and are the cover stars of the latest issue of Metal Hammer magazine (opens in new tab).
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