Corey Taylor
Corey Taylor |
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Corey Taylor, born December 9, 1973, is the lead singer of the Metal band Slipknot and vocalist of the Hard Rock band Stone Sour, the latter being formed prior to the commercial success of Slipknot. He also manages the Des Moines-based metal band Facecage.
Personal
Before his debut in a music career, Taylor worked in a adult shop called "The Adult Emporium". Having encountered Corey while versing his band Stone Sour in a concert, Slipknot members Mick, Paul and Shawn confronted Corey in the adult shop while he was working and threatened to "kick his ass if he didn't join Slipknot". In Slipknot, he goes by the pseudonym "8", wearing at first a dreadlocked mask and later a new, almost reptilian design, both of which somewhat resemble the mask of Leatherface, the chainsaw wielding maniac of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. He has said that the mask is somewhat painful for him to wear. He lives in Des Moines, Iowa, with his wife and his three children, 3-year old Griffin, 8-year old Aravis and 13-year old Angeline. He used to have an alcohol problem, but thanks to his wife, he overcame that addiction. On June 15, 2006 Roadrunner records showed some extracts of an interview in which Corey describes that he came close to killing himself in November of 2003. He explains in the interview that his wife helped him sober up and he has remained sober ever since. Corey and his wife both have tattoos on their arms of each others' names.
Although many believe that Slipknot started before Stone Sour, Corey had been playing with Stone Sour for many years before he joined Slipknot. Many old Stone Sour demo songs can be found over the internet.
Masks
Corey Taylor's mask, which was initially made from a "CRASH TEST DUMMIES" halloween mask, is equipped with brown/blonde dreads. Some of the dreads were made of his real hair. He used to wear them through the mask, but he cut them off due to it being painful to pull them through, and his ever-changing hairstyle.
Taylor's Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses mask has a strap that runs behind his head. It is a dark green/grey-ish, and has expressions of stitches molded into it. He said recently that it is supposed to be a dead clown, and not a ghoul or Leatherface. He doesn't have dreads anymore, and his own purple/blue/red-dyed hair is on display. This mask has also decreased the muffling of his voice caused by the older one. Taylor has said that the pain his new mask causes helps him give more aggressive vocals.
Most recently Slipknot has worn their "Death Masks" which are Greenish, lifeless masks made from molds of the band members faces.
The members of Slipknot appeared unmasked in their "Before I Forget" video, however they were careful not to reveal too much.