SLIPKNOT Frontman: 'We've Gotten Where We Are By Doing Our Own Thing And Never Compromising'

SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor told DesMoinesRegister.com in a new interview that the death of bassist Paul Gray in May 2010 from an overdose of drugs brought the other members of the band closer together and helped them reconnect after they grew apart through years of touring and success.

"We had all stretched ourselves into different lives for the most part, and then we lost Paul," Taylor said. "It was such a shock to us that it made us sit up and look at what we were doing with our lives and how we were toward each other. We were so close in the beginning, then for whatever reason we all drifted apart here and there.

"Losing someone like that, a great friend and an amazing brother — someone who is so important to the band in so many ways — you start to look at what you take for granted."

Although the surviving members of SLIPKNOT had no idea how they would proceed after Gray's passing, "once we all got on the same page and started taking little steps — starting with the Sonisphere shows last year — it really brought us all together stronger than we have been in a long time," Taylor said. "We all pulled our heads out of our asses, and thank god, because at the end of the day we're all we've got."

Gray made his final recorded appearance on SLIPKNOT's 2008 album, "All Hope Is Gone", which was certified platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) in August 2010 for shipments in excess of one million copes in the United States — the band's fourth consecutive full-length release to achieve the milestone.

Taylor attributes the band's success to the fact that "[we make] SLIPKNOT music; we always have, and I don't think that's ever going to change," he told DesMoinesRegister.com.

"I think we kind of developed our own little corner. If someone is asking me what type of music we make, I don't really know, because you could probably find about a zillion different genres of music," he said. "We carved our own niche. I'm kind of proud of that, that we're unique. We've gotten where we are by doing our own thing and never compromising."

According to Taylor, he and drummer Joey Jordison have begun writing material for SLIPKNOT's fifth album, which is unlikely to see the light of day until 2014 — after Corey and guitarist Jim Root have completed the touring cycle for the new CD from their other band, STONE SOUR.

"Our goal for the next [SLIPKNOT] album is that when it happens we want to make sure everyone in the band gets to say something. It's too important not to," Taylor said. "It's obviously going to be in the spirit of Paul, and I think everyone in the band needs to say something for him."