COREY TAYLOR Says SLIPKNOT Will Never Perform Unmasked: 'It's Such A Part Of Our Art'

Corey Taylor has told Ireland's Overdrive in a new interview that he doesn't ever see SLIPKNOT phasing out the masks like KISS did with the make-up in the '80s. "It's such a part of our art," the singer explained. "It's also part of the reason why we change the masks with every album. Unlike KISS, they have always used the same make-up and it never evolved. For us, we've changed with every album and not only the masks but also the outfits. You can totally tell every album by the uniform. I think things like that have kept SLIPKNOT relevant, it's kept the music vibrant, it's kept the live shows different and it's kept us from stagnating. So, no I could never see us losing the masks. If we ever got the notion to do SLIPKNOT unmasked, I think I'd be, like, 'Well… eh. No.'

"We are all in our 40s now and we still very much have a love-hate relationship with what we do, but every time we step on stage, we're absolutely prepared to give it everything we've got," he continued. "So, for me personally, when that feeling stops, when we start trying to cut corners and try to make things easier just so we can 'get on with it,' that's when it's gonna be time to call it a day."

Taylor also spoke about SLIPKNOT's willingness to experiment musically on its upcoming album, "We Are Not Your Kind", which is due on August 9. "I guess we started to push boundaries with [2004's] 'Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)' but on this album, I feel it falls somewhere between 'Vol. 3' and [2001's] 'Iowa'," he said. "There is the rage and the urgency of 'Iowa' with the experimentation and exploration of 'Vol. 3'. We were heading that way to being, but with all the inner band peril, we really went off track over the last few albums. Everything that was happening during [2008's] 'All Hope is Gone' has been very well documented and '.5: The Gray Chapter' was more of the approach of, 'Let's see if we actually want to keep doing this.' I'm really happy that we've been able to get back to this creative place and show the world that we are actually doing it really well. This album shows that we were all able to come together again and create something very special, and you know what? We really need to to do that for ourselves if anything. When it came time to lay this album down, we were so ready to do it. We were excited about making the album as we were about the content we were going to put into it. So, really, the whole experience was awesome and I'm really happy with it all."

"We Are Not Your Kind" was once again recorded at a Los Angeles studio with producer Greg Fidelman, who engineered and mixed SLIPKNOT's 2004 album "Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)" and helmed 2014's ".5: The Gray Chapter".

SLIPKNOT's "Knotfest Roadshow" North American headline tour kicked off late last month. VOLBEAT, GOJIRA and BEHEMOTH are providing support on all dates.