Corey Taylor is a singer and songwriter from Des Moines, United States, best known as the lead vocalist of Slipknot and Stone Sour. He is also associated with Sound City Players, Kings of Chaos, Junk Beer Kidnap Band, The HoGaB Numbers and Look Outside Your Window. His work is tagged across alternative metal, alternative rock, hard rock, heavy metal, metal and nu metal.

Career

Taylor is active in Stone Sour before he joins Slipknot. Stone Sour forms in 1992, while Slipknot forms in 1995. He does not join Slipknot until 1997, after the earlier version of the band parts ways with its original vocalist, Anders Colsefni. Taylor then becomes the main vocalist and performs on Slipknot’s self-titled debut album. For a brief period, Colsefni and Taylor both perform live with the band before Colsefni leaves.

Slipknot’s early recorded material includes the demo MFKR and the unreleased album CrowZ. Taylor’s vocal range spans melodic singing and the harsher screaming associated with some Slipknot material. He uses a Shure SM58 microphone with the band.

Stone Sour and Slipknot

Taylor fronts Stone Sour, a hard rock and alternative metal group, and Slipknot, a nu metal and heavy metal band. His role in both groups makes him one of the central figures in modern American heavy and alternative rock. The verified group history places him in Stone Sour, Slipknot, Sound City Players, Kings of Chaos, Junk Beer Kidnap Band, The HoGaB Numbers and Look Outside Your Window.

Image, performance and personal details

Slipknot’s masks are a major part of the band’s identity, with each member’s mask carrying personal meaning and symbolism. Taylor describes the masks as a way of becoming more immersed in the music and less conscious of everyday identity. His own mask is styled as a crash dummy with dreadlocks. At the time of Slipknot’s first album, the dreads are his real hair, threaded through the top of the mask, but he later replaces them with artificial hair after developing a scalp infection.

Taylor has several tattoos, including a chest tattoo of the band logo done in Des Moines, a number eight on his neck for his Slipknot number, “Truth” on his forearm, “Father” on one side of his neck, “Death” on the other, smiley faces on both hip bones, and a Joker tattoo from The Dark Knight on his upper arm.

Personal life and writing

Taylor’s grandmother supports his early vocal work by buying equipment and helping him develop his talent. He has spoken about working in an adult store and about the reactions he receives there from customers. His life also includes periods of substance abuse, addiction and depression. He writes a book titled Seven Deadly Sins.