Slipknot fuelled by 'guttural anger'

Slipknot’s Corey Taylor recalls the “guttural anger” that fuelled the band in their early days.

And the singer insists their outrageous personas and often shocking stage shows were the result of genuine rage, rather than a desire to be deliberately provocative.

The furore that surrounded the band in the early part of their career saw them banned from American TV and radio for a spell.

Taylor tells Chronicle Live: “We weren’t just singing about Satan or trying to be shocking for the sake of it. We really were that angry, we were shocking because we were coming out of the gate so steeped in guttural anger. And we found all the kids who felt the same and they related to us.

“If we were just a band with an image, we’d not be as hot today. We hit on so many different cylinders. It’s the real thing. We have the look, we have the artwork, we have the songs, and the songs are what keep you there. We’ve been able to continue to write really, really well.

“We’ve written great hooks, great melodies, abrasive, aggressive music, and that’s what scared the parents so much – the masks weren’t just gimmicks to sell music, and the anger was real.”

Slipknot are on the UK leg of their Prepare For Hell tour with Korn and King 810. TeamRock’s review of this week’s show in Glasgow can be read here. Today they announced a short run of US dates with Hatebreed, staring in Pensacola, Florida, on April 29.

REMAINING SLIPKNOT/KORN 2015 UK DATES

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

Slipknot play Download Festival this June. More info here.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.