CMFT: Corey Taylor


EMP Autumn Catalogue 2020

More than Slipknot and Stone Sour
“Are you surprised? I talked about it years ago, and said that it should take a while, but in the end it went faster than I wanted." Corey is sitting at home holding interviews about an album that shouldn’t be released until next year. “At the earliest, of course”, he laughs into the receiver. “Actually, I would have been on tour with Slipknot at the moment and would certainly have allowed myself a few days of vacation”. But then along came COVID-19 which virtually nullified everything that was planned for the beginning of 2020 and necessity is known to be the mother of invention. “I made the best of the current situation. Or rather, we tried to make the best of it.” Taylor is speaking of the lockdown, which was even more serious in the States. “Of course health comes first and nobody should put themselves in any danger.

A solo album was long overdue
The band shut themselves in a studio for two weeks in complete isolation. No musician, crew member or producer came in or out. The result is impressive: 26 songs in 2 weeks. 13 of which have now made it onto ‘CMFT’, while the B-sides are gradually being introduced to the world. “We really squeezed everything we could out of it”, says Taylor. “We were as focused as a bunch of guys can be when they lock themselves in”, he laughs again. Corey is happy to have recorded everything he hoped to. He talks about his album, but attaches importance to the fact that this album was created as a collective. “The songs have been in my head for a very long time and didn’t fit either Slipknot or Stone Sour. An album with the songs was long overdue, but I never got my ass in gear, nor were the songs final enough to introduce them to the others”. Taylor went to work on the ideas he’d been storing for later. Songs that had only existed as an idea for more than 20 years came into being. A few days of rehearsals followed and finally everything came together.

I just wanted to show what defines me
“Do I really need a solo album?” Corey Taylor himself asked during the interview. “I play in two successful bands, have tons of other things to do and I still have a private life.” And yet the question kept bothering him, because of his intense interest in music. “From disco to glam to country. I love so many styles and want to try my hand at all of them. Of course there are songs that just don’t fit my two bands”. Ultimately, ‘CMFT’ combines everything that sets Taylor apart. “The big question, of course, was what I wanted to release. Everyone who has followed my career expected something. But I just wanted to show what defines me.” A musical journey that includes punk, grunge, but also rock, pop and disco. Taylor laughs: “Yeah, even Slade are important to me. Ultimately, the album is what the title says: ‘Corey Mother Fucking Taylor’! Nothing more, but also nothing less.”

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