COREY TAYLOR: 'I Get The Benefits Of Fame Without The TMZ S**t'

In a recent interview with "Bertcast" host Bert Kreischer, Corey Taylor spoke what it was like in SLIPKNOT's early days when he and his bandmates had avoided being photographed without their masks.

"The first couple of years was rad," he said. "But then the more success we got, obviously, it's human nature, man — the ego starts to come out.

"As much as people think it was the reason I put STONE SOUR back together, it's not," he continued, referring to his other band, which he actually started before joining SLIPKNOT. "For me, that was about writing music again, 'cause I just wasn't being able to write music in SLIPKNOT, 'cause I'm just not that good; I'm not as good as those guys are at intricate riffs and shit. I've gotten better, but at the time, I wasn't getting to write music, [and] I just felt unfulfilled. So I put that back together. But the by-product of [performing unmasked with STONE SOUR] was now all of a sudden people know [what] I look like."

Taylor went on to say that he is still able to take part in most normal activities without being recognized or harassed.

"I get the benefits of fame without the TMZ shit," he explained. "I don't get any of that shit. I get to play in front of thousands, millions of people. I get to do cool shit like this, and I can still chill at home. Nobody's camping outside my fucking house. All my kids are taken care of. My bills are paid. I have no fucking worries. I love it. It's the best."

With every album cycle, the members of SLIPKNOT unveil brand-new masks to coincide with the release of their latest collection of songs.

For his latest SLIPKNOT mask, Taylor worked with special effects legend Tom Savini, whose extensive career in the film industry and especially the horror genre dates back to the late 1970s, including such films as "Friday The 13th", "Dawn Of The Dead", "From Dusk 'Til Dawn" and many others.

SLIPKNOT's new costumes were unveiled in May 2019 to coincide with the band's appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Corey's debut solo album, "CMFT", was released on October 2 via Roadrunner Records. Taylor recorded the effort with his band consisting of Jason Christopher on bass, Dustin Schoenhofer on drums, and Zach Throne and Christian Martucci (STONE SOUR) on guitar. The LP was completed at Kevin Churko's The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas with producer Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX, STEEL PANTHER and STONE SOUR, among others.