The one Slipknot song Corey Taylor calls his favourite: “Nothing will ever replace it”
Slipknot are among the highest-selling bands of the 21st century, a phenomenon that has captivated millions with their enigmatic image. Their iconic masks, which dominated the metal scene during their breakout, have since become cultural staples in the music world at large. While their visual identity is often the first thing people associate with the band, focusing solely on that would be a disservice to their musical achievements and innovation.
Throughout their career, Corey Taylor and the band have delivered powerhouse songs that connected with a new audience in a new way. The metal of the 20th century was over, and the new era demanded a little more dirt under the fingernails than ever before. With a mixture of slaughterhouse rhetoric and deviant anthems, the band shot to fame.
Admittedly, the American metal group is not the most prolific bunch and has only released six records in total throughout its long career. Instead, Slipknot has opted for a quality-over-quantity approach, which it’s safe to say has paid off handsomely. Their eponymous debut album, released in 1999, has gone on to become one of the most definitive metal albums of all time.
Despite only reaching number 51 on the Billboard charts, the record by Corey Taylor and Co went on to become certified double platinum in the United States and the band’s highest-selling record despite the chart-topping albums that would come years later. The record holds a special place in Taylor’s heart as it helped kickstart this wild journey that he found himself on and still stands the test of time so many years on.
In fact, one song featured on the album specifically is even Taylor’s favourite song ever by Slipknot — with him not falling in love with a song as much as he did with ‘Scissors’, which he eulogised about to Knotfest earlier this year to celebrate the album turning 21.
“My favourite by far is ‘Scissors’. To this day it’s my favourite Slipknot song,” the singer confessed. But the real reason he loves the track so much is that it allowed the band to truly let loose: “I love it because every time we would play it, the whole second half was improvised. We played at each other, free form, free prose, everything. It was violent and gorgeous,” Taylor proudly stated.
“Nothing will ever replace it for me – when we stopped playing it live, I had a hard time enjoying our sets for a very long time,” he then admitted honestly.
Former drummer Chris Fehn, who played with the group for over twenty years from 1998 until 2019, was conversing with Songfacts and name-checked ‘Scissors’ when asked what track he is most proud of from his tenure in the band. “The song ‘Scissors’ off of the first record is sick, man. It’s just so incredibly nightmarish and such an awesome song to play live,” Fehn noted.
The track is a brutal reminder of the power that Slipknot arrived with. The group have since become an amusement for a generation of metal fans. Their masks are as ubiquitous as the tunes they play, but this tune takes Taylor and many listeners back to a time when Slipknot were not only one of the freshest sounds around but built out of a sincere desire to create something entirely different.
