Corey Taylor has promised there’s nothing written about Joey Jordison on the first Slipknot album without him – and says only “crazy people” will think otherwise.
The frontman has previously admitted .5: The Gray Chapter is the band’s most personal record yet, dealing with the loss of bassist Paul Gray in 2010 and the members’ struggle to deal with his death.
The first track to be revealed, The Negative One, was rumoured to be about drummer Jordison, who was fired in January after the parties “weren’t able to work any more.”
Taylor insists: “It’s a little more blatant than people realise. Except for the songs that are very much about Paul, everything is either about me or about this band.
“There’s nothing on there about Joey. I promise. But good luck convincing crazy people of that.
“All you can do is stick to your guns and wait till they come round. And if they don’t, they’ve missed out on something beautiful.”
But the frontman is generally delighted with the response to their fifth album. He says: “You poured your heart into something this special, and to have the fans react to it the way they have – whether it’s instantaneous of a slow-burn – that, to me, is better than any Grammy, better than any platinum album, number one. It’s better than anything.
“Even though there will always be a bittersweet quality to this, I’m very proud of my guys. I’m proud of myself for not holding anything back. I’m happy.”
Slipknot tour the UK in January with Korn.
Tour dates
Jan 14: Dublin 3Arena
Jan 16: Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
Jan 18: Glasgow SSE Hydro
Jan 19: Newcastle Metro Radio Arena
Jan 20: Manchester Arena
Jan 22: Liverpool Echo Arena
Jan 23: London Wembley SSE Arena
Jan 24: Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
Jan 26: Nottingham Capital FM Arena
Jan 27: Birmingham Barclaycard Arena
