SLIPKNOT Scores Third U.K. No. 1 Album With 'The End, So Far'

SLIPKNOT's latest album, "The End, So Far", has topped the official U.K. chart. It marks the band's third No. 1 in the country, following 2001's "Iowa" and 2019's "We Are Not Your Kind".

SLIPKNOT's seventh LP beat out a reissue of George Michael's 1996 album "Older", which came in at No. 2, followed by THE SNUTS' "Burn The Empire" at No. 3.

"The End, So Far" was released on September 30 via Roadrunner Records. The follow-up to "We Are Not Your Kind", it is the band's final record with Roadrunner after first signing with the rock and metal label in 1998.

Last month, SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor once again shot down the rumor that the band would break up after the release of "The End, So Far".

Ever since SLIPKNOT announced the title of its new LP in July, speculation had been rife that the name is a reference to the fact that the LP will mark the end of the band's recording career.

Taylor, who turned 48 last December, addressed the rumor during an appearance on an episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". He said: "People have been talking about the end of SLIPKNOT since 2003, so it doesn't really matter. If I had a nickel for every time I've had to straighten fans out, I'd have a shit-ton of nickels, let's put it that way.

"Nothing sells albums like drama, let's put it that way, and even drama that doesn't even come from us; it just comes from the fans," he continued. "But at the same time, I kind of started saying onstage… explaining what the title is. It's the fact that it's… It's the end so far, which just means it's the end of one era and the start of the next.

"If you look at all of our favorite bands — [IRON] MAIDEN, METALLICA, [BLACK] SABBATH; you can even talk about JUDAS PRIEST; all these bands that we grew up on, loving; and our friends in ANTHRAX as well — every one of those bands has had different eras in their career; it's never been a straight line," Taylor explained. "There's no through line except for the members. And every era comes to a natural end and then it's the next one. So that's what the title reflects."

Asked by host Eddie Trunk if he believes that each era in a band's trajectory usually corresponds to a major lineup change, Corey responded: "I do, but at the same time, you can still have the end of one era and the beginning of another with the same bandmembers. So, to me, it can be a reflection of the fact that you have different members or you're just moving in a different direction. For me, it's more about just letting the fans know that we will be back and to remind them that you just never know what you're gonna get with us."

Taylor continued: "I mean, every album has always felt different; it's always sounded different. And to me, I feel like this era is more about us dealing with the grief that we've had to deal with and now kind of getting to the point where we can now move on comfortably into the future, and it's not about that. It's a part of our history now; it's not our narrative. And now we can kind of move on and kind of see what the future holds for SLIPKNOT, musically where we can go now. Because of the way we've done things, we've set it up so we can go in any direction we want, and as long as it comes from the heart, it doesn't matter. So that's kind of the era, I think, that's being set up now. The next era will definitely be more of like a 'gloves off, let's just see what happens and go for it.'"

In the past, Taylor has repeatedly hinted that he would quit SLIPKNOT if he ever felt that he wasn't able to perform up to a certain standard. During a 2016 appearance on an episode of the "Someone Who Isn't Me" podcast, Taylor was asked if he thought he would ever decide that he is "tired of touring." Taylor replied: "You know, honestly, if you'd asked me a year ago, I would have said no. But, I mean, just now… I'm just kind of starting to… I'm not young anymore. And as willing as my will is, I'm just beat up, man. I mean, I might as well be 60 in SLIPKNOT years, for Christ's sake."

He continued: "I don't know if I would retire. I might step away from SLIPKNOT at some point, just because the way the music is, and that sense of energy, I don't know if I could be able to do that into my fifties. And I would never want the band to feel like I was holding them back, because I just couldn't physically do it. So that means I wouldn't completely quit music; I would probably just step away from SLIPKNOT."

In a 2019 interview with the "Marshall Podcast", Taylor touched upon possible retirement, saying: "It's when you stop caring that you should stop. Period. Because you're not doing it for the same reasons that you started doing it in the first place.

"I talk to fans all the time and they're, like, 'What's your motivation for doing this?', and it's the same since I was 13. It's because I love doing this, I love doing music, I love making music, creating it.

"The money's gonna come and go. If I wanted to make money, there's a host of different jobs that I could do just to make money. This isn't about that; there's something deeper. I'm glad I get to make money doing this, but it's not about that for me, it's about the next one."

Asked if there had been moments where he lost sight of that bit, Corey said: "Only when I was drinking. And it wasn't because of the music. Like, I was still committed to the music, but I was so out of it that it took me out of myself, so I can't even include that because it wasn't me at the time. I also know that one of the things that I realized and what actually encouraged me down the road of sobriety was seeing how bad my voice was sounding, how bad my creative level was at. That was a huge piece in me, calling it a day on that shit."

In a 2018 interview with Music Universe, Taylor was asked about his bandmate Shawn "Clown" Crahan's assessment that the next SLIPKNOT album could be Clown's last. "We all kind of say that," Taylor explained. "I've said it in the past. We've always said — and this is not in a negative way — we've always said that when we get to the point where we physically can't do SLIPKNOT the way we want to do it, we'll stop. And for some of us, the years of being in SLIPKNOT have taken [their] toll. Cold mornings kick my ass. My neck, my knees, my hips… [DJ] Sid [Wilson] has broken every damn bone in his body. Clown, he's had his share of health issues and whatnot and physicality. We've all had an injury in this band — from our necks to our retinas. And honestly, if that was his decision, I wouldn't do SLIPKNOT without him — absolutely not."

He continued: "There's a certain mentality that goes into SLIPKNOT, and he started it. He's always been the vision for this band, for SLIPKNOT, and without that, it crumbles. So, yeah, if he left, that would be it for me as well. And I say that, honestly, in a very positive way, because none of us would want to continue doing it from a half-assed point of view. Nobody wants to go 50 percent on a SLIPKNOT album."