“Perfect from the first strum”: Corey Taylor’s 10 favourite metal albums
For a long time, visual identity was the defining association with Corey Taylor. Holding the baton of dark and theatrical appeal, Taylor hallmarked his own character with physical aesthetics as part of Slipknot’s defiant messaging, reinstating the anguish and mystery that had long left the metal community. Beyond the band, however, Taylor also utilises vulnerability as his strength, navigating multifaceted themes and becoming one of the most versatile creatives in the industry.
Beyond his obvious vocal abilities, Taylor knows how to brush universal experiences and themes with his own flavour of innovation, drawing audiences into his darkly compelling world, utilising tension and emotion to explore life’s deepest trenches. Though Slipknot became heavily associated with aggression—partially owed to their menacing image—there were also delicate moments that showcased Taylor’s lyrical poeticism.
‘Snuff’, for instance, not only holds an obvious weight as the last song to be released before the death of bassist Paul Gray but was also Taylor’s most intimate yet, touching upon his own struggles with letting love in with touching words that reflect a soul too dark to embrace beauty. ‘Metal’ in the generic sense holds weight in the form of overbearing sound, but, in Taylor’s world, it represents the towering walls that isolate, which can also sound slow, considered—barely above a whisper.
Such versatility often beckons curiosity about Taylor’s own influences and whether he was inspired by the loud and garish sounds of the metal community or if he instead preferred nuance—the kind he often injects into his own work. Discussing his top ten favourite metal albums with Rolling Stone in 2017, his choices revealed he is drawn to the genre in all its forms, so long as it holds depth and clarity.
Many of the works he named also significantly influenced his own artistry, like growing up alongside Anthrax’s Worship Music, which introduced him to the power of aggression. “There’s just so many good songs on that album,” he said, adding, “When it came out, it was Anthrax with Joey with a modern production, which just kicked the shit out of everybody. ‘Fight Em ‘Til You Can’t’ is still one of my favourite fucking songs that they’ve ever written.”
The list wouldn’t have felt complete without the maestros of metal themselves, Iron Maiden, but, surprisingly, Taylor didn’t name any records like Number of the Beast, Powerslave, or any you might expect. Instead, he praised Somewhere in Time, describing ‘Wasted Years’ as “probably one of the most perfect heavy-metal songs ever written.” In fact, he regarded the entire album as “perfect” and “fucking brilliant,” proving his appreciation for vocal adeptness and catchy melodies.
Although he also included many game-changers, like Pantera’s Far Beyond Driven, Korn’s self-titled debut, Judas Priest’s Screaming for Vengeance, and Megadeth’s Peace Sells … but Who’s Buying?, the album he rated above them all and the one he called “the perfect metal album” was Metallica’s opus, Master of Puppets. According to the Slipknot frontman, the record is flawless from start to finish, putting it above other esteemed works like Black Sabbath’s self-titled debut.
“There is no fucking way that you could improve on that album. Ever,” the musician impassioned, “And I have gotten in fucking arguments with people that are like, ‘Well, what about Sabbath? What about this or that?’ It’s like, ‘Yeah, but Black Sabbath wasn’t a fucking full album from top to bottom.’ It was cool, you got into it later. But fucking Master of Puppets is perfect from the first strum of the guitar on fucking ‘Battery’ to the last fucking hit of ‘Damage, Inc.’ It is perfect!”
Corey Taylor’s favourite metal albums:
- Anthrax – Worship Music
- Iron Maiden – Somewhere In Time
- Pantera – Far Beyond Driven
- Korn – Korn
- Judas Priest – Screaming for Vengeance
- Megadeth – Peace Sells … but Who’s Buying?
- Metallica – Master of Puppets
- Metal Church – The Dark
- Sepultura – Roots
- White Zombie – Astro-Creep: 2000 – Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head
