Corey Taylor Discusses the Meaning Behind Slipknot's New Masks

Corey Taylor Discusses the Meaning Behind Slipknot’s New Masks

2019-05-22

Corey Taylor of Slipknot – Story by Kevin Toby, photo by Anne Erickson

Slipknot has creepy new masks to go along with their upcoming album, and Corey Taylor says there’s real meaning behind those masks

Slipknot is gearing up to release a new album, “We Are Not Your Kind,” and in the process, the Iowan metal band showed off their new, creepy masks. In a new interview with Kerrang!, frontman Corey Taylor explained the meaning behind the latest design, which was crafted by legendary Dawn of the Dead and Friday the 13th artist Tom Savini.

“My vision was about trying to create something uncomfortable — not only for me to wear, but for people to look at,” Taylor stated. “I wanted it to feel like it was something that was created in someone’s basement — something that was made specifically to f*** with people.”

So, what was the inspiration behind the villainous mask? Taylor says the look was inspired by what he thinks is a burgeoning negative public perception of him.

“I’ve been kind of made to feel like a villain, in a weird way,” Taylor said. “Which is fine. It was inevitable, and it doesn’t really bother me much. But, for a little bit, it did.”

“I’ve always tried to be a good father, be a good man, be a good person,” he added. “I went through some s*** a few years ago, and in that time a lot of people had a reversal of opinion on who I was.” Taylor added that the new mask is also a “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,” Taylor explained, adding that it, in a way, says he doesn’t care “what you think about me, so here’s this!'”

“We Are Not Your Kind” will arrive on Aug. 9. The album’s lead single, “Unsainted,” is already climbing up the rock chart. Slipknot will embark on a U.S. tour to support the record beginning July 26 in Mountain View, California.