Corey Taylor addressed the fact that his opinions are a common occurrence on a variety of rock and metal news sites.
During a Junkee interview, Corey was asked if he’s grown tired of seemingly earning “this reputation as a sort of edge-lord and provocateur,” to which he replied:
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“People forget that the only reason I give my opinion half the time is because people fucking ask me.
“And they’re pulling those from interviews, which is just a series of fucking questions!
“People think I’m holding fucking press conferences or something – [shakes fist] ‘GODDAMMIT, YOU PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW WHAT I THINK!!’ It’s obviously so not true.
“I think that’s a reflection of the times we find ourselves in. Social media has given everyone a voice, but mine’s still a little louder than everyone else.
“People pick my shit apart. They take the juiciest soundbites and throw them up there. People are invariably deciding that I’m being more selfish than they are.
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“It’s stupid and it’s silly, and I hope it doesn’t affect my career. If it does, I guess I’’l go back to fucking washing RVs. [Laughs]
“I’m not just saying things to provoke. I speak from the heart. I’m not like certain artists who just say things to shock.
“The opinions I have are very much who the fuck I am. If people can’t live with that, they weren’t paying attention in the first place.”
Corey added:
“I think the greatest misconception is that I just run my mouth constantly.
“I mean, I definitely have my opinions and I know that there are a lot of heavy metal fans that don’t like me specifically for that reason.
“For a long time, that really bothered me. The thing I had to realize was that it’s the price you pay for not being the nice guy.
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“The vanilla frontman, making sure I say and do all the right things… fuck that. I’d rather be myself than a fucking watered-down version of myself.
“I’m not constantly on the look-out for something to talk shit about. There is so much stuff in the world that I enjoy, promote, talk up… but all the bullshit gets all the press.
“What I should say is that I’m not the one talking shit – all the clickbait websites are the ones doing it; taking me out of context and making me out to be this villain.
“Other than that? Fuck it. I’m just trying to make music.”
During the rest of the chat, Taylor was asked: “Have you found yourself trying to deflect it? Do you see where an interview is going and just immediately start shutting it down? ‘So I was listening to the new Nickelback record…'”
He chimed in with a laugh:
“I have been fucking trying to bury that for months now! It’s out of my hands, man!
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“We played in Sydney over the weekend, and people started a ‘Fuck Nickelback’ chant. I’m like, ‘Fuck, I’m never gonna get away from this!’
“It’s so fucking funny, especially when I’m seeing all of these tweets and shit from fucking Nickelback fans.
“I’m like, ‘He’s the one who fucking started it! I didn’t say a fucking word!’ What are y’gonna do? You can’t control what people say, no matter how Trump feels about it.
“All you can do is ride the wave. Sometimes you’ll get fucking wiped out. Other times, you’ll stay on the board. It’s fine.”