SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor will release his debut solo album, "CMFT", 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.
Speaking to Finland's Kaaos TV, Taylor stated about how the idea for his solo disc came about (see video below): "A solo album is something that I honestly hadn't even really thought about doing until⊠It kept coming up in interviews and stuff â it kept coming up in interviews, the fans kept asking me about it. So the more people kept asking me about it, the more I wondered, what would this sound like? If I did a solo album, what would it sound like? And that's when I kind of realized, man, I've got all of these songs that I've written over the years that don't fit with anything that I've ever done. They were just good songs but certainly didn't sound like SLIPKNOT, didn't fit with STONE SOUR. And I was, like, 'This is what it would sound like.' And I realized it's so different that that in itself was enough for me to use those songs for a solo album. 'Cause if I was gonna do a solo album, it was gonna sound different â it was gonna sound different than anything that I've ever done â and it would be more of a walk through my influences, really, than anything else. And once I really kind of wrapped my head around that, that's when I got excited about it. I was, like, this could be a whole new experience for people who are a fan of me and really kind of show them the music that I've loved over the years and that I've grown up with."
Regarding the diversity of the material on "CMFT", Taylor said: "Everybody knows that my musical tastes have always been all over the place. I love music, and I love good music. I've always said that every genre has good music in it. So when I hear something that I really dig, I'm really into it. And I think because of that, that has really influenced me over the years, and it has not only influenced my musical styles in the writing that I've done, but also the songwriting that I've done.
"The only thing I really wanted to do on this album was put the best songs forward," he continued. "'Cause I've got enough material for three or four solo albums, but I wanted this first album to really have that impact. [I wanted] to put the best songs on there, put the best foot forward and really show something that I've never shown the audience before.
"So I don't know if it was on purpose that it was going to be so diverse, but it was definitely about capturing the spirit and really making sure that the energy was there and the excitement."
Asked about his touring plans in support of "CMFT", Taylor said: "Actually, we're gonna do what we can with the rest of this year solo-wise. Next year, hopefully once things get back to normal â knock on wood â I'll finish up the SLIPKNOT tour cycle, wrap that up, and then after that, probably go in and record my second solo album and then go out and tour on two albums instead of just one."
"CMFT Must Be Stopped" is one of the first two singles from the LP, which was released last week. On the track, Taylor's rhymes run alongside bars from multi-platinum artist Tech N9ne and U.K. MC Kid Bookie. The song is joined by a Djay Brawner-directed music video, which sees Taylor taking the CMFT championship belt as friends such as Marilyn Manson, Lars Ulrich, Rob Halford, Chris Jericho, ZillaKami and more making cameos.
Taylor previously worked with Tech N9ne on a song called "Wither" in 2015, and with Kid Bookie on a reworked version of the rapper's track "Stuck In My Ways" last year.
SLIPKNOT recently canceled all of its previously announced summer 2020 tour dates, including the "Knotfest Roadshow", Knotfest UK and Knotfest At Sea, due to the coronavirus pandemic which is sweeping the globe.
