Video: COREY TAYLOR Reads Passage From 'A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Heaven' Book

Corey Taylor of SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR took some time out of his weekend at U.K.'s Download festival to spend some time with Download FM powered by TeamRock. In the video below, Corey reads a passage from his second book, "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Heaven (Or, How I Made Peace With The Paranormal And Stigmatized Zealots And Cynics In The Process)", which will be released on July 16 via Da Capo Press.

In the follow-up to his 2011 memoir "Seven Deadly Sins", Taylor undertakes something never before attempted in the history of rock superstardom: he takes you with him as he journeys undercover through various ghostbusting groups who do their best to gather information and evidence about the existence of spirits. Some are more credible than others, and, frankly, some are completely insane, but all are observed with appropriate seriousness as Taylor attempts to better understand some of the spooky things that have happened to him in his life, especially that night at the Cold House. But that's not all, folks. Taylor once again gives you a behind-the-scenes tour of his crazy life and the many beyond-the-grave events he's encountered. (You'll be shocked how often SLIPKNOT has been invaded by the supernatural.) Taylor also touches on his religious background and how it led him to believe in much more than the Man In The Sky.

In a recent interview Taylor explained what "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Heaven" is about. "It's basically my experiences with the paranormal, and ghost sightings and occurrences, and I've had a lot, enough that I'm writing a damn book about it," he said. "But it's actually . . . it's about how can I believe in ghosts, and not in God? So it's a very interesting conversation. And that's kind of what I wanted to do with 'Seven Deadly Sins', was start a conversation and get people thinking about it."

He told Loudwire in a separate interview: " I've seen a lot in my life when it comes to this side of things and I refuse to just write it off like a lot of cynics would. And I'm trying to work it out honestly from a scientific and mathematical point of view. There's a lot of that in the book and there's also stories of the experiences I've had in the places I've lived and the places I've worked."

Speaking to ThisIsNotAScene, Taylor stated about "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Heaven": "It's also kind of the same concept as the first book, where I kind of played devil's advocate for the sins. Whereas this is me basically trying to figure out how I can believe in ghosts so purely, yet I don't believe in god. It's very, very weird. I'm an atheist and still butt heads with fellow atheists who don't believe in things like spirits, no matter what. So it's me telling stories and making arguments. I'm also getting into a little science and math as well; there's two chapters where I actually use scientific laws to try and explain the existence of ghosts. I got into the laws of thermodynamics and the EPR Paradox, which is so strange. I got deep with it, and I came up with an equation to explain this idea that I have which is called Intelligent Energy, which is that all of us are basically walking engines. We give off so much energy, pure energy, basically, and between the mind and that energy, that's what the soul is, so why couldn't a powerful personality emboss themselves on that energy, since energy can neither be destroyed or created, so if it's not reincarnated, where does it go? And maybe that explains the existence of spirits. I get a lot deeper with it than that."

He added: "It was really cool to flesh out those ideas, because I've had them for a very long time. And even if they're bollocks, fuck it, at least I got them down. If somebody can prove it to me that that is not how it works, then fine, but I still have all these things that I've seen and that I've experienced, so tell me I'm wrong to my face."

"Seven Deadly Sins" made the New York Times hardcover non-fiction best sellers list after it came out in July 2011, debuting at No. 26. The paperback edition, issued last year, features a bonus chapter.

Taylor promoted the book by doing a solo tour in which he combined readings, songs and discussion with the audience.