SLIPKNOT's COREY TAYLOR: 'We Wear The Masks To Make The Performance More Intense'

Corey Taylor spoke to OC Weekly about SLIPKNOT‘s new masks, which were unveiled on Thursday (May 16) to coincide with the release of the band’s sixth studio album, “We Are Not Your Kind”, due on August 9 via Roadrunner.

“The reason we started wearing the masks in the first place was to take the emphasis off identity and we used it to get more into the music,” the singer said. “But now after all these years, we wear the masks to make the performance more intense. It is part of what makes a SLIPKNOT concert unique, but if you’re into music, it shines through no matter what. For us, it’s just about putting on the best show for our audience and all the fans. If your heart’s in the right place and you love it, you can’t go wrong.”

Taylor also talked about the minor surgery he underwent last week, which is not expected to affect SLIPKNOT‘s touring activities. “I got my knees fixed up, and I’m feeling okay,” he said. “When you’re in a band like SLIPKNOT, you’re bound to have some damage done. Right now I’m not pushing anything. I know my body. That is the best I can do. I know my limitations.”

Corey worked on his new mask 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 in such films as “Friday The 13th”, “Dawn Of The Dead”, “From Dusk ‘Til Dawn” and many others.

The members of SLIPKNOT will perform with their new masks for the first time tonight (Friday, May 17) when they appear as the musical guests on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The band will play two songs on the show’s outdoor stage in front of a standing-room-only crowd.

“We Are Not Your Kind” was once again recorded at a Los Angeles studio with producer Greg Fidelman, who engineered and mixed SLIPKNOT‘s 2004 album “Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)” and helmed “.5: The Gray Chapter”.

SLIPKNOT‘s “Knotfest Roadshow” headline tour will take place in North America this summer. VOLBEAT, GOJIRA and BEHEMOTH will join as special guests on all dates.