Slipknot's Corey Taylor: I wanted new mask to make people uncomfortable

Corey Taylor with his new mask

Last Thursday, Slipknot revealed their new masks in their video for Unsainted and later showed them to the world when they performed a blistering two-song set on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

The focus was on frontman Corey Taylor’s creation which was designed by horror special effects guru Tom Savini, who has worked on productions including Dawn Of The DeadDay Of The DeadFriday The 13th and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.

And in a new interview with Kerrang, Taylor has given some insight into the ideas behind the creation,

He says: “My vision was about trying to create something uncomfortable – not only for me to wear, but for people to look at. 

“I wanted it to feel like it was something that was created in someone’s basement – something that was made specifically to fuck with people. 

“It’s the representation of public opinion turning on a dime. They want to tear people down for the way they live, even if they don’t really know them. 

“It’s been liberating to embrace that side and be like, ‘Fuck you. I really don’t give a shit what you think about me, so here’s this!’”

Slipknot will release their new studio album We Are Not Your Kind on August 9 through Roadrunner Records and will head out on tour across Europe in the coming weeks.

Speaking about the follow-up to 2014’s .5: The Gray Chapter, guitarist Jim Root said: “This is the most time we’ve had to write a record and work stuff out together. One of my inspirations this time around was those artists that recorded full length albums – not just songs.  

“While the industry is moving toward singles, Slipknot wanted to make an album experience, front to back.”

We’ve taken a closer look at Slipknot’s new masks and compared them with their 2014 creations.

Slipknot: We Are Not Your Kind
1. Insert Coin
2. Unsainted
3. Birth Of The Cruel
4. Death Because Of Death
5. Nero Forte
6. Critical Darling
7. Liar’s Funeral
8. Red Flag
9. What’s Next
10. Spiders  
11. Orphan
12. My Pain
13. Not Long For This World
14. Solway Firth 

Slipknot: We Are Not Your Kind

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Slipknot's brand new album We Are Not Your Kind will be released through Roadrunner Records in August. The follow-up to .5: The Gray Chapter features the lead single Unsainted.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.