Corey Taylor: Slipknot "Still Feel That Urge To Go Above And Beyond"

Ahead of the release of new album We Are Not Your Kind in August, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has spoken about how the band are feeling more excited about creating art than ever – and how their desire to "go above and beyond" is ultimately what has kept them going over their two-decade career.

“I think it’s just the belief in what we do," the frontman tells Music Week. "It’s the love of the music. If that went away, we would, too. It’s just the excitement of writing new music, of creating new art, new content, and the excitement of getting that in front of an audience… The minute you feel like you’ve achieved it, that’s usually when people start to phone it in. The minute you feel like, ‘Ah, I don’t need to try that hard anymore,’ that’s the death of a dream. That’s when a lot of bands just start to basically repackage the shit they’ve done before, you know? You can see it in their eyes, man, you can hear it in their voice and hear it in their approach. Something’s gone. It’s almost like the spirit’s left the body. Whereas we still feel that dedication, that urge to go above and beyond.”

Of course, in their latest single Unsainted – released last month – you can hear this sense of ambition, especially given the single begins with a choir (something the ’Knot have never attempted before).

“Honestly, after we had the choir come in and sing on Unsainted, we knew we had something really, really fucking special," Corey explains in the same interview with Music Week. "I remember the first time I heard it, I got fucking goose flesh. When you get that feeling, you know it. It was so hard to not go on social media and post about it. Trying to keep that a secret was so fucking hard, but I think that’s one of the reasons it knocked everybody on their ass, because they weren’t expecting it. Not only were they not expecting it, they weren’t expecting it to be as good as it was…”

Can't wait to hear even more of this come August 9. Pre-order We Are Not Your Kind through Roadrunner Records right now.

Catch Slipknot live at the following dates this year:

June

14 Interlaken, Switzerland @ Greenfield
15 Derby, UK @ Download Festival
17 Leipzig, Germany @ Arena Leipzig
18 Hannover, Germany @ TUI Arena
21 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Copenhall
22 Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop
25 Krakow, Poland @ Mystic Festival
26 Sopron, Hungary @ Volt Fest
27 Bologna, Italy @ Sonic Park
29 Madrid, Spain @ Download Festival

July

1 Nîmes, France @ Amphitheatre Nîmes
4 Lisbon, Portugal @ VOA
5 Viveiro, Spain @ Resurrection Fest
8 Quebec City, Quebec @ FEQ
26 Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
27 San Bernardino, CA @ San Manuel Amphitheater

August

1 Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
3 Albuquerque, NM @ Sleta Amphitheater
4 Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
6 Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
8 Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena
10 Des Moines, IA @ Iowa State Fairgrounds
11 Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
12 Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
14 Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
16 Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
17 Bonner Springs, KS @ Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
18 Maryland Heights, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
20 Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
21 Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
23 Burgettstown, PA @ KeyBank Pavilion
24 Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
25 Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater
27 Mansfield, MA @ The Xfinity Center
28 Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
30 Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
31 Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion

September

1 Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
3 Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
4 Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
6 Austin, TX @ Austin 360 Amphitheater
7 Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
8 The Woodlands, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

October

17 Perth, AUS @ Optus Stadium
20 Adelaide, AUS @ Adelaide Oval
22 Melbourne, AUS @ Marvel Stadium
24 Melbourne, AUS @ Marvel Stadium
26 Sydney, AUS @ ANZ Stadium
29 Brisbane, AUS @ QSAC
31 Auckland, NZ @ Mt. Smart Stadium

November

2 Auckland, NZ @ Mt. Smart Stadium

Slipknot headline Download Festival this weekend. Get your tickets now.

Read this next:

• Never mind their identity, Slipknot's mysterious new member is awesome
• 10 UK gigs and tours you can't miss in June
• Slipknot: The inside story of Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)