SLIPKNOT Frontman: 'It's Easy To Come Up With A Username And Talk Smack'

SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor has been on a solo tour for the past few weeks, combining acoustic performances with audience interaction and readings from his book "Seven Deadly Sins". But Taylor has raised eyebrows on the tour by calling STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland a "lazy piece of shit " at one stop and bashing legendary producerRick Rubin (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, SLAYER, AUDIOSLAVE, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, METALLICA) — with whom he worked on SLIPKNOT's 2004 album, "Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses)" — as "overrated" and "overpaid" at another, saying he'd never work with Rubin again "as long as I fucking live."

When asked by Artisan News (see video below) if any of the people that he has slammed on the tour so far have responded to his comments, Taylor said, "Nobody has. Yeah, it's pretty mum as far as that end is concerned. And I knew they wouldn't, 'cause they're so busy playing their own part and whatever they're doing that I was just like, 'Whatever.' What am I supposed to be worried about? Nothing they say is gonna affect me in the slightest. And maybe that's why I've said the stuff that I do. Because, at this point, I'm just a commentator. In a world where technology, basically, lets everyone be critics behind complete anonymity, I think people think it's refreshing to see somebody out from behind the computer actually speaking his mind and backing it up, being like, 'Look, I have nowhere to hide. This is how I feel.' It's easy to come up with a username and talk smack; it takes a lot of balls to put yourself on a stage and do it. And the fans love it — for whatever reason, they love it. And they know that when they talk to me, they're gonna get the real deal. And I'm proud of that."

On the "unrehearsed" nature of his solo appearances:

Taylor: "This isn't [the Bravo TV show] 'Inside The Actors Studio'. This isn't a put-on. This isn't being braggadocios or anything. This is just 'an evening with.' And you never know what that evening's gonna entail, basically; I never know what the hell's gonna come out of my mouth, except for the songs at the end of the night. I've really just enjoyed doing this, because I've never really been able to do it with SLIPKNOT, I've had brief moments of it with STONE SOUR, but from a frontman's point view, and an out-of-control ego, obviously, that I do my best to rein in half the time, this is the perfect thing — just coming out and just entertaining, with no restraint. And hopefully people take something away from it. 'Cause if I'm not talking smack about someone else, I'm talking about myself at the end of the day, and I hope people realize that."

On what his SLIPKNOT bandmates think of the fact that he is embarking on a solo tour:

Taylor: "I don't think they really care. I mean, at this point they know me. I don't get the nickname 'The Great Big Mouth' for nothing. [SLIPKNOT percussionist] Clown was so stoked that I was coming out on this. He was like, 'It's gonna be chaos. I love it!' And I'm like, 'Oh, God. Here we go.' I think the band knows that I'm gonna do my very best to represent — both bands [SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR], actually, know that I'm gonna do my very best to represent them, and I'm not gonna insult anyone; I'm gonna give my side of things and try to make it something that people enjoy when they hear it."

Taylor told The Pulse Of Radio that he doesn't regret what he said about Rubin at all. "It's an honest answer to a perfectly reasonable question," he said. "That was my take on it. Now if you asked somebody like Clown [Shawn 'Clown' Crahan, SLIPKNOT percussionist] about the Rick Rubin experience, you'd get a totally different answer. But it is what it is. It's my opinion. At the end of the day it's not scripture. I'm gonna say what I'm gonna say — I don't think enough people do. And if it gets me in trouble, it gets me in trouble. If it doesn't, it doesn't. But I'm just gonna keep walking it."

Taylor called out Weiland a few nights after his Rick Rubin rant for recording and releasing an album of holiday standards called "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year". He said about the disc, "Oh, it's bad."

The singer will tour Australia and North America with SLIPKNOT next year, and also plans to head into the studio with STONE SOUR.