Corey Taylor On His Alcoholism and Attempted Suicide
An insightful article at MTV.com looks at Corey Taylor's fight with alcoholism and attempted suicide between Stone Sour's releases. Here are some excerpts:
"I tried to jump off the balcony of the eighth floor of the Hyatt on Sunset [Boulevard] on November 14, 2003," Taylor explained. "Somehow she [his wife] stopped me. It wasn't the first time I tried to kill myself, either."
Back then, Taylor was a full-blown alcoholic. He drank from the moment he woke up to the second he blacked out, and while he says drinking didn't impair his ability to write, play and perform, it destroyed almost everything else in his life.
Stone Sour's new album, Come What(ever) May, which is due in August, is stocked with ruminations about Taylor's drinking days and confessions about his road to recovery. In "Socio," he sings, "Fear is in my heart/ Just when I stop, it starts/ And I can never live this way," and in the piano-washed "Zzyzx Rd," he softly croons, "I'm falling asleep and I can't see straight/ My muscles feel like a melee, body is curled in a U-shape."
"The first year I was sober was probably the worst year of my life," Taylor continued. "My immune system was screwed. I completely isolated myself. I was weak all the time. I didn't know who I was. Sometimes you define yourself by your vices, and I was known as the partyer. I was the guy that was always ready to go out and do shots. And all of a sudden, I had to figure out who I was without that, and it took me a long time. I pushed my wife away for a while and was a really selfish, cold d---."
Read the full article at MTV.com.
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98 Comments on "Corey Taylor On Alcoholism and Attempted Suicide"
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yeah I didn't have any idea either. Alcoholism can lead to that sadly. I'm really glad he didn't actually go through with this suicide. And f*** YOU slayercult!!! No one deserves to kill themselves (except for people like the guy that killed Dimebag! RIP) Corey has a great voice and I'm sure he's a real cool guy. Hope everything is okay now.
I don't think that band bashing is supposed to be the moral or end result of this story foolish children.
The man's trying to repair his f***ed up life.
He seems to be doing so.
Therefore, all the more power to him.
If you can't respect that then I bet you have no idea what a REAL problem is.
come on dudes how can you be so cold blooded. It doesn't matter whether you like stone sour or slipknot, Corey Taylor tried to f*****g kill himself. Actually if you f*****s who diss slipknot and stone sour actually bothered to f****** listen to the lyrics then you would know that people like you are what f**** the world up, which in turn makes great people like corey taylor want to die. You have no idea what he's been through and all you can do is say jump, well why don't you go and jump cos therre is no point in a***holes who would willingly say for another human being ending their life to be here. THe way you skanks act like your so hard when you have no idea....god that pisses me off...you are the ones who should die because i find it disgusting how you can actually want someone else, especially someone great like corey, to die, that's absolutely disgusting....i'm not the best person in the world and i'm sure corey has his faults but it's people like you who **** things up so get screwed and die cos that's what you deserve. I so agree with lorlor. I'm not gonna waste any of my time trying to get through to selfish, inconsiderate, shallow a**holes like omen. Get f****d.
I would ask the admin of this site not to remove this message as i think it is very important for people such as omen to be told this. Oh, and everyone else can say what they want cos it aint gonna change my oppinion and i don't really care if you take the piss out of me.
brad, when i think of you i think..........douche bag. You think everything is so f***ing simple and your wrong. The Alcohol wouldnt have been the driving force that made him want to die, the alcohol would have exacerbated what ever problems he had inside. beer doesnt kill people, unless you hit it real f***in hard oooooowwwwwwwwwwwww rip dime
Senior Reviewer
There is no doubt in my mind that Brad is indeed correct about this being publicity....
But in the event of being asked: "What was the driving force behind the lyrics/vocals on this album?".....Attempted suicide would be a pretty significant milestone in someones life....
Granted, even at the depths of my own bouts of depression, I never once gave more than a glancing thought toward suicide. But thats just me. My depression may be more mild than others.
I've been mostly peachy for more than five years. I owe my continued happiness to my own determination to set things right in my life, a tight knit handful of friends and a fanatical devotion to music. I've had some dark days but theres always a reason to go on, even if it's the thought of how the people you leave behind will have to cope.
Member
I don't want to sound like a cold hearted b i t c h. I do like both Stone Sour and Slipknot, I am glad that Corey did not kill himself, but I ask u this people. What the hell is wrong with the world today? Everyone is depressed about something all the time. My life has not been all peaches and fu*cking cream but you don't see me trying to fu*cking kill myself. What kind of problems could he possibly have to contemplate suicide? He has teminal cancer? HIV positive? What is it?
Well Vicster, he seemed to always be drunk and being drunk with some people can make things a lot more emotional. Some not. But maybe he just got real depressed about something and just wanted the pain to end. No one really knows but him. And this may be a publicity stunt, but it may not be also because it's not like he JUST tried to kill himself and then it's like hey my CD is coming out... He's explaining what the CD is about and it is easy publicity but hey it worked didn't it?
most of u are idiots. i tried to kill myself and when you get to that point in your life and nothing els matters its the most painful thing you can ever go through. you have to think...some of you are giving this man total disrespect, thats not cool. glad he is still alive, im looking forward to the next stone sour album.
you right bro.......
if they insult corey and dat matter than they insulting you as well cuz you went trhough da same sh** so they could speak ill of ppl like ye.
although mothafukers who tried to kill themselves are emotionally weak, they just don't give a flyin f***.
it reminds of kurt cobain........
Member
EAT VAGINAL SKIN- I do not mean to be disrespectful. I have never been that deeply depressed, nor am I weak by nature. People handle stress in different ways and some can't handle it at all. I don't know what happened to you and I can't be judgemental because I have not been in your shoes. Same goes for Corey, I am very happy that he did not do it. I was mostly speaking in general. I think it's a very selfish act.
Opeth- I hear this a lot u know. People use alcohol as an excuse for everything. Sometimes u gotta say, enough is enough.
Coco- stay out of grown peoples conversations. LOL. Just kidding. Still see you are applying ebonics.
there is something out there called manic depression, its what i had. an illusion so real as to believe the oly way out is death, 30% of people who have this sh** kill themselves. so acctually im a strong person. corey could have been suffering from manic depression as well as alcohal abuse, who knows? until you actually step in his shoes you'll never know. by the way, the step anybody should take if they feel like comitting suicide is get some f***ing help. put yourself in a hospital. glad too see corey is a whole lot better. if u want to see why depression isn't a personal weekness look it up on the internet youll see. and for you f***ers saying he should have jumped, your immature little assclowns.
Member
I'm hardly his biggest fan although I do enjoy Slip Knot from time to time.However I'm glad he pulled it together.Suicide is not an option.I realize that addiction & other psychological issues can drive someone to it but it's still unacceptable.Atleast to me anyway.People who go threw this need help and understanding not jokes about how they should have done it.That's the worst thing you could say to someone like that.Some of you really need to grow up.
Wow .. I really didnt know how bad things got with Corey. I knew he was definately an alcoholic but beside that I didnt have any clue that he was that bad. I knew that he had attempted suicide too. I didnt think it was serious. I dont know, thats pretty f***ed. Oh and .. Slipknot should have never broke up.
god, you guys are such f***ing pricks, you don't have one brain cell in your heads do ya?
Corey Taylor IS A GOD his voice is amazing and you f***s can't take it that Corey has more skill in one hair that makes up his little finger nail then you will ever have. You suck big time. You are a bunch of shallow idiots just like everybody else who you diss so hard, think your hard, bullsh** you suck, go f*** chickens cos you aint nothing on corey. He is so much better then you who have nothing better to do than be immature d***s and take the piss. f*** OFF YOU SUCK GET IT INTO YOUR THICK UGLY HEADS THAT COREY IS SO IMPORTANT TO THIS WORLD EXISTING, YOU HAVE NO IDEA COS YOU DON'T EVEN BOTHER SITTING AND ACTUALLY LISTENING, f*** YOU WHO SAY JUMP, WHY DON'T YOU JUMP, THERE IS NO REASON FOR OYU TO b**** COS YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW HIM, GRANTED I DON'T EITHER BUT HE HAS TO BE PRETTY MUCH WHAT I THINK HE IS OTHER WISE HE WOULDNT' BE ABLE TO DO WHAT HE DOES SO WELL, YOU JUST CAN'T TAKE IT THAT HE'S OUT THERE DOING WHAT HE LOVES AND SUCCEEDING, HE IS NOT A SELL OUT BECAUSE HE ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT SOMETHING THAT YOU f***S ARE TO SHALLOW TO UNDERSTAND, YOU THINK YOU ARE SO HARD AND INDIVIDUAL COS YOU CAN SAY 'f***ING JUMP' WELL YOU AIN'T, YOU ARE JUST FOLLOWIBNG THE HERD BECAUSE YOU ARE VERY f***ED UP SHEEP HA SHEEP, YOU ARE SHEEP, END OF STORY f***TARDS, NOW QUIT WAISTING DECENT MAGGOTS TIME AND f*** OFF LOSERES you suck so there i have nothing left to say to immature pricks so f*** ya all
slipknot has a few good songs like, duality, surfacing, virus of life, and skin ticket, most of there music isnt real metal, its nu-metal, corey even raps in a song. im not putting them down or anything, im just saying that he isnt a GOD of heavy metal. sh**, jack glennon is a god, jimmy hendrix, but not corey. PEOPLE LIVE PEOPLE DIE, KISS YOUR f***ING a$$ GOODBYE!!.
Jimmi Hendrix isn't a god, he's just overrated cos he did something that no one else did at the time, that doesn't mean he's a god.
Corey's too good to be put into a genre because he can do so much with his voice.
I'm not going to be a b**** by saying he's a god cos personally i don't find that very flattering, but i won't go into that.
Corey is very talented, I don't think there are very many very talented musicians out there, they're entertainers as Acey Slade says on ROadrunner United, but Corey is very talented and that is a rarity in musci today, because everything has been done before. Corey puts his own special touch and plus his lyrics are so meaningful. But whatever, i doubt many people on here gives a f*** what i say so.....
Jimi Hendrix was the greatest guitar player that has ever lived. Yes, he is a God among guitar players. read up on interviews with the guitar players for Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Black Label Society, and tons more and they ALL bow down to Jimi. they all state that when ever they feel like they have a big head about their playing, they'd throw on a Hendrix record and realize that they have a long way to go before they can up-show the master Jimi. and post # 36 or steph, you can go suck a c ock for doubting the master, you stupid c unt. thank u have a nice day!!
Its really sad that someone has to go through things like that. And it just goes to show what alcohol and misunderstanding can do to a person... in this case it almost cost the life of a great and very talented person. All i have left to say is that i am extremely glad that Corey Taylor didnt jump... and we (all of us who appreciate Taylor's decision not to go through with his suicide) should thank not only Corey Taylor, but also his wife.
Well, since the subject somehow became Jimi Hendrix, I suppose I'll give my two cents. Don't get me wrong, the guy deserves a great deal of respect, but it's because of his innovation on guitar, as opposed to his straight up skill. He wasn't bad, but he's not the most technological or fastest guitarist. However, he was a genuis songwriter and innovator with the electric guitar. This is where he deserves props. My favorite guitarists are John Petrucci and Steve Vai, but when it comes to "who's the best?", its really all about one's personal taste and a guitarist's style.
Member
i agree with stephen, hendrix is an awesome guitarist but it annoys me when all of my friends who listen to only classic rock say hes the greatest of all time, is it possible to say whos the best guitarist of all time anyway? i cant pick a greatest but my fav. would be a tie between Dimebag Darrell Abbott of Pantera and Chuck Shuldiner of Death
new slipknot is sh**. corey cant scream anymore, and i cant believe i wasted money on the live album. all the old songs are ruined, because corey screams like he has strep throat with a frog stuck in it. RIP slipknot. i cant say ill ever buy another album by them because they'll end up throwing on a whole acoustic garbage cd next. then they'll play ozzfest, the new house for sh** like disturbed and avenged fagfold, emo homos atreyu, sh**ty norma jean,etc etc. the only REAL bands that have talent on that horribly sh**ty line up are all that remains, strapping young lad, black label society(despite the fact they'v played last year), DRAGON FORCE(anyone who says dragon force is sh** should be shot on the spot), hatebreed(despite their songs sound alike), and ozzy himself! sorry to get off topic but im glad to see ozzfest is going down the sh**ter. THE SUBLIMENAL VERSES WAS THE WORST ALBUM BY SLIPKNOT OF ALL TIME
i love how some of these kids act as if corey is gonna come here and read it and then go up on stage every night and say i love so and so cuz he protected me. and then how some kids say he is the greatest thing in the world. i think those kids should join corey in his suicide
i love how some of these kids act as if corey is gonna come here and read it and then go up on stage every night and say i love so and so cuz he protected me. and then how some kids say he is the greatest thing in the world. i think those kids should join corey in his suicide
THIS IS TO MEH.......... YOU SAY THAT SUBLIMINAL VERSES IS THE WORST KNOT ALBUM EVER? THAT ALBUM WENT PLATINUM !!!!
IF YOU DID 'NT HAVE YOUR HEAD SO FAR UP YOUR ASS!!!! AND R.E.A.D MORE MAYBE YOU WOULD FIND OUT WHY THEY CHANGED A LITTE BIT ON THEIR NEW ALBUM THATS THE REASON I HAVE THE ALBUM AND LIKE IT BECUSE I READ AND FOUND OUT WHY......... YOUR PROBABLY JUST SOME FU%#@ING POSER ANYWAY AND AS FOR COREY IM GLAD HE DIDNT JUMP PHEW!
"THE_NAMELESS_133@YAHOO.COM writes:
THIS IS TO MEH.......... YOU SAY THAT SUBLIMINAL VERSES IS THE WORST KNOT ALBUM EVER? THAT ALBUM WENT PLATINUM !!!!"
Quick question: since when is an album's commercial success an indicator of it's quality? For example, Ashlee Simpson's album also went platinum. Enough said. As for Vol. 3, it's mediocre at best. However, enough Hot Topic kids wanted to have it, so it therefore went platinum.
Bottom line: mass conformity proves nothing. And the sales of Vol. 3 is clear proof of that.
f*** u meh atreyu is f***ing good as hell. u d*** sucker go listen to ur goth sh** cradle of filth. Even better why dont u f*** them. Avenged sevenfld is awsome too. SO f*** YOU if u hate those bands and vol 3 isnt that bad. Slipknot is the best there is f*** u and go to hell u f***ing redneck b****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i kind of agree with whoever thinks subliminal verses was their worst album, but not with such extremity. it wasn't bad, just not as good as their old stuff. but if they keep going in that direction, they are going to become another mainstream pansy-ass band. i want them to go back to doing songs like (sic) instead of stuff like circle. and coreys voice has really changed. when you hhear him live as opposed to in studio he sounds really raspy and hoarse. i dont know what happened but he cant roar or anything anymore. they say its cuz he quit smoking and drinking. not that i want him to start up again, but hes gonna hav to do something or hes really going to start to suck. its good that he didnt jump tho, and people who wish he would have can burn in hell while satan does them in the a$$hole. its never good to wish someone would die unless theyre like evil or sumtin. and the last i checked corey was not evil. slipknot used to be my fav. band of all time but im not so sure after all this change.
ok let me straighten things out for eveyone, since 99% of the people in this room are f**kin retarted.
1. ITS YOUR OPINION whether an album was good or not. I thought it was because i took hte time to listen to the emotion in the songs.
2. STOP TALKING ABOUT OTHER F**KIN BANDS!! this is a post about SLIPKNOT, not cradle of filth, a7x,atreyu or any other band.
3. its not just uncool to say for corey to jump, its coldhearted. go f*** yourself and die, you sickening b*stards. Wishing death on someone can guarantee you a trip to hell, if you care at all
4. i know the meanings to almost every single slipknot/stone sour song. not just the meaning of the lyrics, but the meaning behind the lyrics. so until you actually know THOSE meanings, dont say slipknot/stone sour sucks!!
5. stop acting like corey is going to read this, he isnt. get that through your f***ing head.
6. people who say people are stupid for thinking of throwing their lives away, you dont know what it feels like. and until you do, dont say sh*t about it.
7. its your opinion who is a metal god, and how you judge it.
8. im pretty sure the reason that slipknot made songs like circle was that one thing that ross robinson (very good friend of slipknot, helps bring out the anger in slipknot's songs) said to corey was you can get the same message across with a scream that you can with a whisper
9. i probably know a lot more about slipknot than a lot of the people in this room, so i actually do know what i'm talking about.
10. maybe corey did do this for publicity, maybe he did it because its people like the omen who are f**king cold hearted b*stards that f*ck this worold up so bad he cant stand it anymore
11. I doubt that corey did this for publicity because he has attempted suicide many times.
12. im glad he didnt die. im glad he got over his alcoholism. Im very inspired by his music and he is the reason i started my band
13. for all the people who dont like slipknot, stop posting here. this is for slipknot fans to discuss coreys attempt at suicide and recovery from alcoholism.
oh and the reason corey's voice sounds so raspy is probably from the screaming
the lead singer from avenged sevenfold poppped a vocal cord from screaming, and if youre at a football game or something and you scream for the whole thing you can fel it hurting a little bit and you can hear your voice is raspy
the masks and the fact that live recordings probably contributed to it also
oh and stephen, im a "hot topic kid" but that has nothing to do whether we liked the album or not. All of my friends did and i did too, but stop stereotyping you as*swipe.
anyways im glad to see a lot of people are commenting the page... about as fast as a tree grows
Look, if you don't like Slipknot or Stone Sour, Don't effing comment! Jeeeez, you're just looking for attention, as for Corey, you may not like him, but alot of people do, he is a great vocalist, he's done alot for Nu-Metal, and if you don't think Nu is REAL Metal, why is it called Nu-METAL?! effing pricks, go listen to your emo crap
you all just should listen to slipknot and not so much of this dumb a$$ rap crap sh** music those guys all need to f***ing drink them selves to death or f***ing choke on some food stamps if you dont appriciate good hard metal like slipknot or some good vocals like stone sour.
To People=sh**:
I may have been streotyping, but damn, did I call that one right or what!?
Look, when Slipknot produces merchandise or new music, who do you think is their target demographic? It's the middle-class American teenager. To be exact, its the ones who routinely shop at Hot Topic, have extra cash to burn at the previously mentioned store, and have inner pain or rage that allows them to identify with Slipknot. Slipknot may love the music they make, but at the end of the day, they will release what they think people will buy. It's the compromise they've made in exchange for the fame and notoriety they've recieved.
In short: Being in that demographic I described (the "Hot Topic Kids") has everything to do with whether or not you like the music Slipknot releases. I'm not saying you have to like it just because of that, but the odds favor it. And that's no coincidence.
To all the posers out there who think that meatal is just about screaming, you just posers, metal is about the music as a whole and yes corey does open his voice more in the subliminal verses and it is different but listen to the liyrics and just takes some time to listen to one instument individaully it is technically perfect. Slipknot in my view rock, but i think we can all agree that all forms of metal are better than the rap, hip hop, r'n'b sh** that is everywhere now
thank you see at least someone agrees with me the music is jenious just listen to the words and some times one instrument at a time like moxey said it is like the perfect music its not just screaming because when he screams he has meaningful words in his scream each scream that he lets out is an emotion from the heart that means something even someone with a life like mine couldnt understand unless viewing it from his perspective
i love coming here and watching u guys fight.. if u dont like tha music..y tha hell r gyus here?? to be F*gs .... if thats the case u needa get a hobby
absolutly love slipknot...
have issues w/ ppl who think they sold out.. they went throught diferent shizit in ther lives.. they grew as artists... an if u kant c that then ur not a maggot
corey corey......i believe that corey taylor must have been depressed or something to attempt killing himself, because i had alcohol in my system 5 days a week, i finally decided to quit. it was nothing compared to depression....oh sh**! where do i begin...i had something called MANIC DEPRESSION. you loose all intrest in life, nothing makes you happy, for no reason you will begin to weap, no matter where you are. ALOT OF PEOPLE CUT THEMSELVES TO FEEL SOMETHING DIFFERENT, BECAUSE THERE DEPRESSED. ok...i remember i was in a pool and my little brother wanted to play with me in the pool, i couldent, i was feeling so f***ing horrible. you also have hallusinations, many times i would vomit, my doctor said "DEPRESSION" was poisening my body. so one day i decided to take my life, i had jumped off a balcony in meta incorporation company, i remember feeling this deep warmth in my body, i woke up and i was in the hospital, i had jumped on a moving truck and broken both of my legs. fate left me alive. ANYWAYZ...........o think alot of people dont like slipknot because they add some dj mixes in their songs. i used to be that way... i hated slipknot! i f***ing hated them! i was into more mellow music, then i got their 3rd album, i liked it...then i burned their 2nd, it was ok...i grew on it. then their first album i acctually liked. so all in all, slipknot is pretty f***ing creative. i like them, i feel f***ing great that corey didnt f***ing kill himself. and what the hell...why and how can i person acctually want another person to end their life. that is a sign of an immature person. put his pants on...walk in his shoes, you will see what i mean my friend. anyways, i cant wait for the next slipknot album, i dont care what they do...i know they will please thie fans, unless a tragedy happens, thay do what metallica did, and loose their edge and go downhill after their 4th album. zero and zero theire nothing but zero and people and cancer conspired together, running and running and going forever, collected and sampled, starving for zero-slipknot f*** yea...
Member
Not a big fan of Slipknot or Stone Sour, but I hope Cory does what he has to do to keep thoughts of suicide out of his mind. Suicide is not cool and it is not the way to solve anything. I hope him and everyone can grasp that concept. If I gotta suffer through this life, I think everyone else should also. lol. Theyll be no jumping ship just cause a little rain is headed our way. I wish both of Cory's bands the best of luck and hope they do what they can to help support their bandmate. Never off yourself. You just dont do that. It'll happen when you least expect it. Live while you can and do the best with what you got. Bleed Black Label!
he a$$hole below me..... f*** you!!!! corey taylor is f***en awesome he has amazing vocals and is highly talented his music brought me through many rough times in my life and when i got my tribal "S" tatted on my forearm i feel its was worth every damn pennie i spent on it i love it!!! corey will always be my most favorite musician, til the day i die no matter what type of music he does tho i do miss the screaming corey from the first album.
guys...let me tell you something...i bet your whole life is on your computer talking about a meaningless conversation...do you guys have girlfriends? do u guys have cars? go anywhere? like 92% of you on here are very immature kids...probably 13-16, with acne all over there face who try to be cool with your names that you post. this is my first time posting anything and i probably wont post another thing because im wasting my time, i have to go to my friend with benefits house and f*** her...anyways i guess its cool corey didnt kill himself, mostly focused on other people killing themselves then this guy. but i cant wait for the next slipknot album its going to be pretty cool, and the new stone sour album is cool, i burnt it and i enjoyed it.
you know what this man is nothing but a f***ing N I G G E R if he wasnt such a f***ing P U S S he would be able to tough it through without having to bullsh** to the media like he is now. f*** him. f*** him and his supp[osed "awesomeness". slipknot did have the balls to record one decent song atleast. F U C K, perhaps even two. who f***ing knows.
you peouple shud listen to real rock and roll...like staind, led zeppelin...korn...blink 182 or limp biskit...slipknot f***ing sucks....why are you guys liking them...noo way man.. why?!!!! you hurt me, upset my feelings! your dumb!! i met corey taylor and hese a fag...yes hese a fag man..and to the guy named andrew...i have a life!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Holy sh**! According to post 93, there is a human being in this world who still listens to Limp Bizkit!
Look, if it's quality rock you want, take a listen to Dream Theater. You'll like what you hear. Or if you want a more European sound, go for Zeromancer. They have some kickass material as well.
dude....that guy who said limp biskit should be listened to is a f***ing moron....listen to....obituary...slipknot...megadeth...iron maiden.... devildriver...mushroomhead....metallica....death... ...strapping young lad...killswitch engage...arch enemy. i cant f***ing wait for the new slipknot album!! damn! there going back to the iowa scene.
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damnit he didnt jump