Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has recalled how he nearly died by falling off a hotel balcony on the last night he got drunk.
The episode, which took place in 2003, forced him to rethink his attitude to drinking – but 12 years later, he believes he still has more to do.
Taylor tells Spotify Metal Talks: “I found myself hanging off the balcony of the hotel room at the old Hyatt House on Sunset Boulevard. I was just about to fall and a friend of mine grabbed me and pulled me back. If he hadn’t, I’d be dead.
“The next day I woke up on the floor, covered in God knows what – sick, sweaty gross – and I just said, ‘I can’t do this any more. What the hell is going on with me?’ That’s when I started to take those first faltering steps.”
Slipknot were recording Vol 3: The Subliminal Verses at the time, and Taylor admits it’s difficult to listen to the 2004 release because his changing approach to life included a changing approach to vocals. “I’m not sure if it worked, to be honest,” he says. “It worked for some of the songs, but not all of them.”
He adds that it took a long time before he learned to feel comfortable with himself. “I knew who I wanted to be. You can’t be a better person until you just start being a better person.”
And the process of “building bridges” continues, he says. “It took 10 years, and I’m kind of starting to feel the good part of that. But I’d done a lot of damage to a lot of people, and I’m still trying to make up for it.”
Slipknot released their long-awaited video for Killpop yesterday. They headline Download at Donington on June 12, where Taylor will sign copies of his latest book, You’re Making Me Hate You. The band will deliver a run of European festival sets in the coming weeks before another US tour:
Jun 09: Impact, Poland
Jun 11: Greenfield, Switzerland
Jun 12: Download, UK
Jun 14: Novarock, Austria
Jun 16: Copenhell, Denmark
Jun 19: Hellfest, France
Jun 20: Graspop, Belgium
