Corey Taylor Biography

Corey Todd Taylor, sometimes known by his number #8, is an American musician best known as the vocalist of American Heavy Metal band Slipknot and the hard rock band Stone Sour. He was ranked #86 in Hit Parader’s Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time list. He also co-hosted the 2009 Kerrang! Awards on August 3 alongside Scott Ian of Anthrax.

Early life

Taylor was born in Des Moines, Iowa. Having no money, he and his sister were raised by their mother in poverty. Taylor’s father left prior to his birth , at the request of Taylor’s mother, remained absent throughout most of his life. Years later, his mother gave birth to his half brother, Samuel I. Davies. Taylor later found out about this at the age of 24. When he was a teenager he was homeless – he lived on the streets and slept under a bridge. In his youth he didnt play in many bands but quoted “I tried to play bass and guitar, not that good, but im okay I guess.” At age 15, he started drinking alcohol which slowly became more problematic as he grew older. Before joining Slipknot, he was employed at the “Adult Emporium”, a sex shop now part of the Romantix chain. In 1997, Shawn Crahan, Joey Jordison and Mick Thomson approached Taylor to join Slipknot as vocalist.

Stone Sour (2002-2003)

Main article: Stone Sour

In late 2000 Taylor had been approached by Stone Sour member Josh Rand about re-starting the band and recording new material. Although the plans didn’t amount to anything at this time (as Taylor returned to the studio with Slipknot to record Iowa) they re-formed when Slipknot took a break in 2002 and that same year recorded and released their self titled debut Stone Sour on Roadrunner Records, with a lineup consisting of Taylor, Josh Rand, Slipknot bandmate Jim Root, Shawn Economaki and Joel Ekman. Taylor provided lyrics and vocals while also playing guitar on the album and taking a greater role in songwriting than in Slipknot. The album was commercially and critically successful, and helped cement Taylor as a major player within the world of hard rock and heavy metal.

Volume 3: (The Subliminal Verses) (2004-2005)

Main article: Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)

Following speculation among fans and within the media about the band’s future, Taylor re-grouped with Slipknot in late 2003 with producer Rick Rubin to write and record their third album. The sessions were initially de-railed by various member’s personal issues (including Taylor’s heavy drinking, which had been a progressively worsening problem since Slipknot’s first album was released), but eventually the band released Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) in 2004. The album marked a massive commercial breakthrough for the band, gaining significant airplay, high chart positions in a number of countries, album sales in the millions and a Grammy award for the single Before I Forget. Around this time, Taylor recognized that his drinking was a serious issue and managed to overcome the problem.

Return to Stone Sour (2006-2007)

Main article: Come What(ever) May

After finishing their tour in support of Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses), Taylor and Slipknot guitarist Jim Root returned once more to Stone Sour and the band began work on their 2nd major label album Come What(ever) May. During the recordings, drummer Joel Ekman left the band for personal reasons and drummer Roy Mayorga was recruited in his place. Once again, Taylor played guitar on the album and took on a greater share of the songwriting in addition to contributing vocals and lyrics. The album was well received by fans and critics, and the band toured extensively in support the new album.

All Hope Is Gone (2008-present)

Main article: All Hope Is Gone

Taylor returned to Slipknot in 2007 and the band recorded their 4th major label album All Hope Is Gone with producer Dave Fortman. Taylor assumed his usual role in the band of lyricist and vocalist for the effort, branching off with band members Jim Root, Sid Wilson and Shawn Crahan to record additional material outside of the main tracks. Taylor also experimented with recording techniques by tracking some of his vocals in an old well outside the studio. The album has been massively successful for the band, and they are currently touring behind it.

Other Work

Taylor has had a prolific recording career to date and has appeared as a guest musician on albums by a number of high profile bands such as Soulfly, Apocalyptica and Damageplan. At one point, he was heavily involved in the recording of thrash metal band Anthrax’s new album, but the sessions remain unreleased. He also contributed to the Roadrunner United all-star album in 2005, providing vocals for the song “Rich Man”. Taylor also makes a brief appearance in Steel Panther’s singles ‘Death to All but Metal’, ‘Eyes of a Panther’ and ‘Asian Hooker’.

In an interview with Billboard.com, he confirmed on January 13, 2009, that he is planning on making a solo album as well as returning to Stone Sour after Slipknot’s current touring cycle. “I know I have this album that I need to make,” Taylor told Billboard.com. “And I’m the kind of guy that if I can’t get that done then it’s going to hold me back from all this other stuff I want to do. I just know I’ve got to make it or I can’t branch out.” Taylor has said that he has been writing songs for a while that don’t fit either of his main bands. He describes them as a cross between Foo Fighters, Johnny Cash, and Social Distortion, saying that there’s “a country background that comes built-in with living in Iowa”. and that it is possible that this material will form part of any solo album that he releases. Additionally, he stated during a broadcast of Loveline that he had met with Stone Sour and was planning to be in the studio in the early quarter of 2010.

On the 30th of March, 2009, it was confirmed that Taylor and the “Junk Beer Kidnap Band” would be performing at Rockfest 2009. The group performed a show on April 24 2009 at People’s Court in Des Moines, Iowa which marked Taylor’s first official solo show. In an e-mail to Metromix Des Moines he stated that the members of the “Junk Beer Kidnap Band” are Fred Missouri and Ryan Berrier of FaceCage, Thomas Doggett of One Nite Stand, Tyson Leslie “from too many damn bands to count”, and Nik Sorak of the Dead Wait, and that “the music is pure Midwest rock- The Replacements, Social Distortion, Foo Fighters, ETC. It is NOT heavy metal. I’m in 2 other bands that play that. This is rock with big chords, huge choruses and a lot of melody. No plans to record yet, but I’m working on it”.

Taylor also performs with his covers band the Dum Fux, who do ’70s punk and ’80s hair metal covers and Audacious P, who are primarily a Tenacious D covers band. Taylor also writes a regular column in music publication magazine Rock Sound. He will be performing a solo show at the Sonisphere Festival in summer 2009.

Corey was confirmed to appear on rapper Tech N9ne’s album K.O.D., but did not submit his vocals in time, and was removed.

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Original Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corey Taylor