Corey Taylor at The Wiltern

Corey Taylor is a prolific heavy metal and rock vocalist known for his exemplary work with Slipknot and Stone Sour. He founded Stone Sour in 1992 and performed in the local live band circuit in his hometown, Des Moines, Iowa. Five years into performing as a rock vocalist, Taylor joined the heavy metal band, Slipknot, replacing former lead singer Anders Colsefni. In 1999, Taylor, with his bandmates in Slipknot, released their self-titled debut album. The record, released via Roadrunner Records, peaked at number 51 on the Billboard 200, topped the Heatseekers and Independent Albums, and entered the charts in ten other countries. The groundbreaking album showcased Taylor’s outstanding vocal range. Taylor has developed a reputation for his fantastic ability to jump from clean vocals to death metal screaming. His voice has also been recorded to have a five-and-a-half-octave range. NME Magazine named Taylor one of the greatest heavy metal frontmen in music. Taylor released a total of sevens studio albums with Slipknot and sold over ten million albums worldwide. The band has also earned ten Grammy nominations. In 2006, Slipknot’s single, “Before I Forget,” won the band their first Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. The band moved on to become one of the most influential metal bands of the 21st century.

Taylor’s original band Stone Sour was disbanded in 1997 when he joined Slipknot. However, he revived the band in 2000, and they released their self-titled debut album two years later. The record achieved moderate success in the U.S., peaking at number 46 on the Billboard 200. The album showcased a more melodic side. This is evident in their commercially successful singles, “ Bother,” “Through Glass,” “Made of Scars,” and more. Despite experiencing disbandment, Stone Sour became one of the most prolific hard rock bands on the scene with six studio albums, including their latest effort Hydrograd.

In 2020, Taylor dropped his debut album, CMFT, which spawned hits “HWY 666,” “Black Eyes Blue,” and “CMFT Must Be Stopped.” The album peaked at number 6 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and number 44 on the Billboard 200. Besides the U.S., the record entered the charts in 16 other countries.

This 2023, Taylor dropped the lead single, “Beyond,” from his sophomore effort CMF2. He described the single as an “aggressive romantic song” and a “come together song.” During an interview, he mentioned, “(The song) brings the masses together and lets them know that I want my music to take them beyond what they may think about me. Maybe they’ve had a misconception about me. It’s not exactly a calling card, more like throwing the bat signal up and being, ‘All right, let’s turn everything on its head.’ It’s almost a dual threat because now I look at it from two standpoints.”

See Corey Taylor on his second major tour as a solo artist this fall by scoring tickets to his show, the Wiltern!