Corey Taylor picks his favourite song of the last decade: “It’s really fucking cool”
Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor loves a variety of music. This shines clearly in his work with the shock-metal heroes, the now-defunct Stone Sour, and as a solo artist. Whether it be grunge outfits Pearl Jam and Nirvana or metal pioneers such as Pantera or Fantômas, the Des Moines native has listed his adoration for many significant acts in his time. One of the most crucial bands he has shared his affection for, however, is Swedish hardcore heroes Refused.
Formed in Umeå, in the cold northeastern reaches of Sweden, in 1991, Refused’s impact on heavy music is indelible. They emerged from the hardcore scene with an unrelentingly far-left ethos, making them stand out from the get-go. For a time, they were even associated with the straight-edge subculture before they struck out on their own and established a distinctive sound.
The group currently comprises dynamic vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, and bassist Magnus Flagge. They’ve seen a host of musicians come and go in their career, including guitarist Jon Brännström, who left the band for the second time in 2013. They released their debut album, This Just Might Be… the Truth, in 1994, and followed it up two years later with Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent, which pointed to the direction they were about to head in.
In 1998, the group arrived with their masterpiece, The Shape of Punk to Come. A revolutionary album, it fused their already unique take on hardcore with jazz and electronic textures, segueing from intense viscera to techno in the blink of an eye. Although the record initially sold poorly, and the group imploded after its disastrous tour, it became a classic and is now hailed as one of the most consequential opuses of the 1990s. It was instrumental in changing the direction of heavy music, with an array of famous faces citing its influence, including Linkin Park, Blink-182, Thursday, and even Duff MacKagan of Guns N’ Roses.
After years apart, Refused returned for a brief flourish in 2012 before another hiatus soon followed. However, in 2014, they were back, and this time it was for good – although Brännström was nowhere to be seen. In 2015, the band delivered their fourth album, Freedom, their first in 17 years. Its first single was the bombastic ‘Elektra’, boasting some of Lyxzén’s most politically-charged lyrics.
To Corey Taylor, this blend of Refused’s blistering dynamics and Lyxzén’s astute lyrics made ‘Elektra’ his favourite song of the 2010s, with him particularly loving the off-time guitar riff. He told Rolling Stone in December 2019: “My favourite song of the 2010s was: ‘Elektra’ by Refused. As someone who waited a long time for them to come back, that song set the tone.”
The Slipknot man continued: “That album has got amazing tunes on it. It was kind of a tossup between that and ‘War on the Palaces,’ but ‘Elektra’ is just three minutes of pure Refused. It’s an off-time riff that you never think is going to resolve the way it’s going to, and the delivery is just so fucking frenetic and awesome. That same riff can be played six different times in a different way, and it never gets old. It’s really fucking cool.”
