Corey Taylor has joked with Lars Ulrich that Slipknot hiring a young drummer was the “dumbest” move in their history.
In a light-hearted conversation about struggling to perform shows as the years go by, the vocalist tells the Metallica drummer that he thought it was a good idea at first, but then changed his mind.
Slipknot hired 26-year-old Jay Weinberg – son of Bruce Springsteen’s sticksman Max – in 2014, following the departure of Joey Jordison. He’s by far the youngest member of the band, with most of the others in their 40s.
In a radio discussion about Metallica’s new album Hardwired… To Self-Destruct, Corey Taylor asks the band about how to keep going as they get older.
Frontman James Hetfield replies: “I don’t like being 90%. I’d rather be 110% less often, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Guitarist Kirk Hammett adds: “For me it seems like all my moving parts are breaking down – my knees, my wrists, my elbows, my shoulders, my brain…
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“Moving forward you have to do the maintenance, with a good feeling that you can pull it off.”
At that moment, Ulrich interjects to say: “It’s not fair – I just realised. You have a 25-year-old drummer. It’s not fair!”
Taylor replies: “Trust me. I’ve got to keep up with him. It sucks, man!
“At first I was like, ‘This is awesome!’ But by the end of the tour it was like, ‘Goddam it – this is the dumbest thing we’ve ever done.’”
He quickly adds: “Just kidding, Jay…”
Hardwired… To Self-Destruct was released on November 18. Metallica are in the process of revealing their WorldWired tour dates, set to expand across 2017 and beyond. They’re the cover stars of the current edition of Metal Hammer, on sale now in print and via TeamRock+.
Gallery: Inside Metallica’s intimate London House Of Vans gig
Metallica tour dates 2016-17 so far
Dec 17: Oakland Fox Theater, CA
Jan 11: Seoul Gocheok Sky Dome, South Korea
Jan 18: Beijing Le Sports Centre, China
Jan 20: Hong Kong AsiaWorld-Expo, China
Jan 22: Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore
Feb 03: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Feb 05: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Feb 07: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Feb 09: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Mar 25-26: Sao Paulo Interlagos Racetrack, Brazil
Mar 31-Apr 01: Buenos Aires Hippodrome San Isidro, Argentina
Apr 01-02: Santiago Parque O’Higgins, Chile
"Welcome to a dream come true!" – The story of Slipknot so far
