Vended's Griffin Taylor gets seriously upset over Slipknot comparisons

Vended
(Image credit: Michael Watson)

Vended, an up-and-coming metal band made up from the offspring of Slipknot's Corey Taylor and Shawn 'Clown' Crahan, have been gaining traction recently following the release of a handful of huge singles and packed-out live shows. 

Of course, the fact that their dads are the (masked) faces behind one of the world's most famous metal groups hasn't exactly hurt their growing popularity, but it's not entirely fair to say it's totally down to that – they're still an impressive band in their own right.

Being descendants of metal royalty, though, it's expected that there's going to be some comparisons thrown around – particularly when frontman Griffin Taylor's vocals can at times sound ever-so-similar to his father's.

Speaking to Knotfest's Ryan J. Downey during Vended's first video interview, Griffin revealed that he actually gets pretty upset when his band is compared to Slipknot, and it's even caused a few tears.

"For me, I do see people's responses to it, and I get a lot of great responses, because I love the crowd," he said. "I love the fans because they've been there for my dad and they will be there for me and I will not force them to be. But we do get backlash because of the comparison and the similarities.

"But we are different. And there have been times where I've read some hate comments on YouTube and I literally went into the bathtub, filled the bathtub up and just immediately started crying. I was just so fucking in a bad place before we got here. And now I'm in a good place because I'm with my friends."

Vended – comprised of the aforementioned pair alongside bassist Jeremiah Pugh and guitarists Cole Espeland and Connor Grodzicki – released their first single in September, titled Asylum, followed by Burn My Misery. They shortly performed at Knotfest Iowa and Knotfest LA, as well as on their own headline tour. Most recently, they released their very first EP, entitled What Is It/Kill It on November 12. 

"We are planning on making an album, making our own projects, making our own videos, personal things," he continued. "I've got some things that I've always wanted to do, but right now, since we're so new and since we don't really have the funds, it has to be put on hold. But we do have plans for more stuff."

"And I've been rewriting and writing and just trying to make it perfect so that it speaks from my soul. Because that's all I've ever wanted — is to speak from my soul."

Listen to the full interview below:


Liz Scarlett

Liz works on keeping the Louder sites up to date with the latest news from the world of rock and metal. Prior to joining Louder as a full time staff writer, she completed a Diploma with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and received a First Class Honours Degree in Popular Music Journalism. She enjoys writing about anything from neo-glam rock to stoner, doom and progressive metal, and loves celebrating women in music.