SID WILSON: SLIPKNOT Will Always Exist, With Or Without The Guys In The Band

Tree Riddle of the Ann Flint, Michigan radio station Banana 101.5 spoke to SLIPKNOT DJ Sid Wilson earlier this week about the band's current status and upcoming European tour its first since the death last year of bassist Paul Gray.

Regarding the public comments of other members like percussionist Shawn Crahan and drummer Joey Jordison, who have insisted that they want to make a new album, while singer Corey Taylor has remained mostly ambivalent about the band's future beyond the already scheduled dates, Wilson said, "There's a lot of politics involved. We've been doing this thing for awhile now so there's a been a lot of changes in a lot of people. I guess it's just gonna depend on how we get along together when we're out on the road and whether we're able to talk it out with each other and figure all these things out that really don't have anything to do with the band but have more to do with personal issues inside the band between each other as humans. So it's a complicated thing, man. I wish I could candy-coat it and say that everything's cool and everything is gonna be great, but it's a constant battle out there, and especially when you're choosing to do music, because your message spreads so far and to so many people and so many people depend on what you've gotta say. And as that pressure builds, you wanna make sure that you're maintaining this message that you're trying to put out there, this positivity. And if you're not getting the equal balance of that from everybody that you're involved with in doing it, then it's hard to keep pushing that message out in a truthful and positive way that it's supposed to be. So it's just a matter of getting us all on the [same] page with each other and the only way, really, to do that is to get out there and play some shows and get together on the road. 'Cause that's how we know each other. We know each other from being home, but we grew up, we became men, we became adults on the road together. So it's gonna be an interesting summer. [Laughs]"

He added, "I think the most important thing to remember is that SLIPKNOT will always exist whether with or without the guys in the band and I think that's been proven since the passing of Paul and how much support we've gotten from the fans and how much greater he's become in spirit form. And with that being said, we us nine will always be SLIPKNOT, we'll always have our energy out there. No matter what we're doing, we're still gonna have the same minds, we're still gonna have the same outlook on life and the things that we grew up with our fans with and the way of life we have with them not caring what anyone thinks about your lifestyle and just going for years that's always gonna be spread by us, whether we're doing it together or separately. And we will always all be SLIPKNOT. I love all the guys like family; they're my brothers. So [I have] nothing but love for everybody and nothing but great hopes for the future."

Taylor said in a recent interview with a Grand Rapids, Michigan radio station that SLIPKNOT's upcoming European tour is a "baby step" to see where the group goes next. Taylor said, "Nothing is happening immediately; I can tell everyone that. We have no plans for an album, we have no plans to do anything other than this tour at the moment. But if it goes well, if everyone is able to kind of pull together and really do what's right for Paulie, then we'll see what happens."

On the topic of the seemingly conflicting public comments about SLIPKNOT's future made by other members of the group, Taylor added, "The only thing we've really sat down together as a band and talked about was the tour, and what we're gonna do and whatnot. But I'm not the guy who's gonna sugarcoat anything, I'm not the one who's gonna spoonfeed false hope to the fans, especially about something like this. If this tour doesn't work, this band might be over straight up. And I'm not gonna lie; I'm not the guy that's going to lie to the fans."

Taylor did tell The Pulse Of Radio that even if this is SLIPKNOT's last tour, he'd like to see the band play the U.S. one last time. "It really depends on what happens in Europe," he said. "If it's meant to go on, it'll be very obvious to us within the first show. But even if it was our last tour, it would be good to, you know, at least do a U.S. run and just kind of let the audience say goodbye."

Jordison said in a recent interview that the band will carry on "with or without Taylor," although it should be noted that the interview with Taylor was conducted before Jordison's remarks were made public.