Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has spoken out against bands who aren't doing anything "fresh": "If it's dead, then people are gonna treat it as dead, man…"
While admitting that he's "the worst old fogey dude shaking his cane ever", Corey Taylor has stated that he's not too impressed with what he's hearing when it comes to modern rock bands these days.
Speaking on Cutter's Rockcast, the Slipknot frontman explains that he feels there's a lack of originality when it comes to younger artists in the genre, noting that the bands who "frustrate" him the most are those who "take something that's been around forever and then just basically rework it and call it new – even though it's completely derivative".
"You know the band they're ripping off – they're not even trying to rip off a bunch of bands; they're ripping off one band," Corey says. "But the younger generation picks them up and says, 'This is our blah blah blah,' because they're tired of old people telling them that the music that came before them was better. And I don't know who's right, but I know both are wrong, because we should be encouraging everything."
Read this: 10 of the best Corey Taylor guest appearances
The musician continues that, "I hate all new rock for the most part. I [hate] the artists who failed in one genre and decided to go rock – and I think he knows who he is. But that's another story. I'm the worst. And I hate everything. And people are used to that with me, though.
"But I have also encouraged the younger generation to think past the boundaries of what we listen to. Do something that feels fresh; it may not have to sound fresh, but it's gotta feel fresh. If it's dead, then people are gonna treat it as dead, man."
Speaking to Kerrang! last year about about the state of modern rock, Corey lamented, "It’s really safe and fucking weak, and it feels like there’s no attitude. There’s nothing that’s offending people’s sensibilities, and that’s what rock is supposed to do sometimes. That’s not to say that there are aren’t good fucking bands out there doing it, but it just seems like the types of music that are really getting all the attention are the safe bands, and I hate anything safe."
