In a new episode of Dean Delray's Let There Be Talk podcast, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor opens up about the history and creative process behind his evolving masks. The singer recalls getting help from percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan and his wife, who found a crash test dummy mask and turned it inside out before adjusting it to fit Taylor's vision. "At the time, I had dreads, and I was pulling the dreads out through these holes," explains Taylor, as reported by MetalSucks. "And when I shaved my head, we took all that hair and we stuck it in the masks to kind of keep that look."
While other Slipknot members have kept their masks largely intact over the years, making over minor tweaks, Taylor said he wanted his to progress with the band. So, he claims, he "got a little more hands-on and exploratory with what I wanted to say visually." He's currently working on his new mask with Tom Savini, a legendary special effects makeup artist whose work can be seen in iconic George Romero zombie flicks and Quentin Tarantino films. "He's the godfather to me," enthuses Taylor, who shared photos of the two together in Savini's house back in September (see below).
Taylor teased the "bare bones" of his new mask on Instagram in December 2018, but didn't expect the publicity storm around the photo to take off quite so much. "It's not there yet so I just kind of gave a little sample. And people were like, 'What the fuck?!' I loved it. It blew up so quick," the singer laughs. "Everybody was like, 'Is it bullets?! What is that?! I don't know what the fuck I'm looking at!' So I loved that shit."
The singer also explains how he's been approached by collectors eager to purchase his beloved masks. "I had people offer me serious cash for them," he tells Delray, adding that he has yet to cash in. "I wouldn't fucking be that guy. I'm not there yet. We're good." Hear the full podcast above.
