COREY TAYLOR Says He And JIM ROOT Always Felt Like They Were 'Hired Guns' In SLIPKNOT

Kyle Munson of DesMoinesRegister.com recently conducted an interview with vocalist Corey Taylor (STONE SOUR, SLIPKNOT). A few excerpts from the chat follow:

DesMoinesRegister.com: Thoughts on your recent Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for STONE SOUR's "30/30-150"?

Corey: I never get overly excited about the Grammys, anyway. But, you know, it's really cool because it seems like SLIPKNOT gets nominated every year, when there's something out there. For STONE SOUR to get a nomination … it feels like a validation in a way — as if enough people in the industry thought that we deserved a nomination.

DesMoinesRegister.com: Anything you wish had been included or left off of the new SLIPKNOT DVD, "Voliminal"?

Corey: Clown (percussionist Shawn Crahan) really took his time. It was kind of a running joke that it would never get done. He did it, and he made sure that it was his vision. … My take on it is that it was kind of like touring, like through our eyes, what we saw and what we did. … I took something special from that. And of course there's me naked on there a couple different times, so it's like, [in a sarcastic tone] sweet, awesome, sweet, good times.

DesMoinesRegister.com: What's the toughest thing about this tour?

Corey: Just trying to stay focused and stay awake. This (stuff) just kicks your ass, you just gotta … get as much rest as possible because you gotta do what you gotta do for the show.

DesMoinesRegister.com: So getting older, doing this rock 'n' roll thing really takes its toll?

Corey: You feel it. You feel it in the morning, especially. You get up and your knees are just shot. Your back is killin' ya, and there's something in your neck, and you're like, "Oh, Christ, what's that? That's a new one." Other than that, you do it. … You gotta be able to man up, just stand up and do it. … And I don't think age is gonna keep me from doing that.

DesMoinesRegister.com: When do you start writing a new SLIPKNOT album?

Corey: Paul (Gray, bassist) and Joey (Jordison, drummer) usually get the process goin'. I haven't heard anything so far. My whole plan is to stay out (with STONE SOUR) until probably either the beginning or the end of September. That's my plot right now. And we're booking it as we speak, maybe even longer. We'll see what happens. There's a lot of stuff going on with (STONE SOUR) right now, and if we don't take advantage of it, why even do it? We've got the opportunity to go to a lot of places that we've never been before and just get out there in front of the people and make it happen.

DesMoinesRegister.com: You do seem to increasingly have found your songwriting voice with STONE SOUR, with songs such as "Through Glass" that bring in a broader pop audience.

Corey: When I joined SLIPKNOT, I joined a band that had existed before and there were a lot of things that I had to kind of adjust to. Even over the years, me and Jim — we talked about this — we always felt like we were kind of the hired guns, even though, you know, we helped build this to where it was, it never felt like it was our baby. And rightly so, because it's been Shawn's and Paul's and Joey's from day one. So, you know, we've contributed and we've helped and it's our life and it's what we love to do. But at the same time STONE SOUR has always felt more of like our thing, you know. It's always felt more of, like, this is our family, this is where we really get to do the stuff, like anything that we want to do. But it is what it is — you can go either way with it, really. There's a lot of stuff that I can't do with STONE SOUR that I can do with SLIPKNOT, and I love the fact that I have that freedom.

Read the entire interview at DesMoinesRegister.com.