Why Corey Taylor won’t stop speaking his mind
Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor says he’d just be a “dick from Iowa” if he didn’t speak his mind in interviews
Select the newsletters you’d like to receive. Then, add your email to sign up.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
Louder
Louder’s weekly newsletter is jam-packed with the team’s personal highlights from the last seven days, including features, breaking news, reviews and tons of juicy exclusives from the world of alternative music.
Every Friday
Classic Rock
The Classic Rock newsletter is an essential read for the discerning rock fan. Every week we bring you the news, reviews and the very best features and interviews from our extensive archive. Written by rock fans for rock fans.
Every Friday
Metal Hammer
For the last four decades Metal Hammer has been the world’s greatest metal magazine. Created by metalheads for metalheads, ‘Hammer takes you behind the scenes, closer to the action, and nearer to the bands that you love the most.
Every Friday
Prog
The Prog newsletter brings you the very best of Prog Magazine and our website, every Friday. We'll deliver you the very latest news from the Prog universe, informative features and archive material from Prog’s impressive vault.
Corey Taylor says he’d just be a “dick from Iowa” if he didn’t speak his mind in interviews.
And he believes being taken out of context is a price worth paying for remaining true to himself.
The Slipknot frontman accepts that he regularly says controversial things when a microphone is nearby, which can later be taken out of context.
Taylor tells KFMA Rock 102: “Half the time all they want to do is make sure they get it up just so they can have it in the headline. Then all the cut-and-pasters pick it up and smear it all over the place. It’s infuriating.
“The old adage still applies – the only bad press is no press at all. But sometimes you just want people to get it.
“That’s the price you pay for not censoring yourself. That’s the good side and the bad side to being able to speak your mind, and not being one of these vanilla, cookie-cutter celebrity types.”
Reflecting that his career would have been over 15 years ago if he wasn’t so outspoken, and that people would just ask “Who’s the dick from Iowa?” Taylor continues: “If that’s the price you pay for being yourself, then I guess I’ll deal with it.
Sign up below to get the latest from Metal Hammer, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox!
- What happened at Metallica's exclusive fan club show
- The 10 essential post-hardcore albums
- New Metallica track Murder One is a tribute to Lemmy
- Disturbed: We were never nu-metal
“I don’t have to put on airs, or be somebody different when the mic goes on. It’s just me – I don’t have to fake anything.
“If you’re going to have stuff smeared, it might as well be stuff that you believe.”
Taylor is gearing up to record Stone Sour’s sixth album once Slipknot’s current tour is complete. He reports: “We’ve got 18 songs right now that are solid, probably the best stuff we’ve ever written. We’re going to record everything, and it just comes to what we’re going to put on the album.
“People will be like, ‘Wow, there’s just so much good stuff coming out of this camp.’ We’ve got a lot of good stuff coming up. We’re going to record January, February, and try to get the album out early to late spring.”
Slipknot tour dates 2016
Sep 30: Oklahoma City Chesapeake Energy Center, OK
Oct 02: Louisville Louder Than Life festival, KY
Oct 15-16: Toluca de Lerdo Knotfest Mexico
Oct 18: Lima Estadio Nacional, Peru
Oct 22: Bogota Hipdromo de los Andes, Colombia
Oct 26: Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Australia
Oct 29: Sydney Qudos Bank Arena, Australia
Oct 31: Melbourne Rod Laver Arena, Australia
Nov 03: Tapei Exhibition Hall, Japan
Nov 05-06: Chiba Knotfest Japan
Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.
