It’s hard for a lot of people that are part of the “real” and “elitist” metal scene to take Corey Taylor seriously as a vocalist. I mean after all, he is the vocalist of Slipknot. One of the most hated bands by the metal elitists. But when you dig deep what is Corey Taylor? He is a man with many different voices. He is about so many different styles of music and he has the vocals to back all of this. From Slipknot to Stone Sour to his acoustic shows to a song with Travis Barker, and hell even some spoken word poetry; Mr. Taylor has proven time and time again how good he can really be. In this article we are going to take a look at what Corey Taylor has brought to the table throughout his career and why he should be considered one of the top metal vocalists in the world today.
Slipknot – Wait and Bleed
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1zCN0YhW1s&ob=av2e
Let’s start off with “WAIT AND BLEED” the moment Slipknot was first heard by any kind of mainstream music fan. Corey wasn’t as clean and polished as he is now but it worked well. That gritty, dirty growl was what made Slipknot, Slipknot back then. The cleans just happened to be a guy with a somewhat decent voice t hat would get better over time. I don’t think back then that Corey, the band, anybody was really worried about how the vocals sounded as long as they were brutal and in your face.
Slipknot – Left Behind
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1jQKpse7Yw&ob=av2n
Now you jump into the “Iowa” days with “Left Behind” and you say what little clean vocals Corey actually does seem quite a bit worse than they were on the previous album. But his growls are a lot deeper, and cleaner. If that makes sense, he seems to have worked more on screaming than singing and it definitely showed. This album really made Slipknot into that “brutal” mainstream band and launched a lot of other bands into that status because people discovered them through Slipknot.
Stone Sour – Bother
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-pXD0FXLQ8&ob=av2e
With the rebirth of Stone sour we see a Corey Taylor that does not need to scream and can focus on singing. That my metal friends, helped him immensely. You can hear when you listen to “Bother” that Corey actually has some really good pipes and can sing. It may not always have shown through with Slipknot, but in Stone Sour Corey shines as a premiere singer in the world of metal.
Slipknot – Duality
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fVE8kSM43I&ob=av2n
In 2007 we see a change in the tone of Slipknot. We hear new styles and changes in the band. Instead of Corey’s screaming being the main point, he is singing more. Songs like “Duality”, “Before I Forget”, and “Vermillion Part: 2” show the more Stone Sour-esque side of Corey with the heavier sound of Slipknot behind him. Slipknot finally grow as a band musically and decide that trying to be as brutal as possible may not be the best way to go and Corey shines through the melodic side of the band.
Stone Sour – Through Glass
Stone Sour – 30/30-150
Also in 2007 we see another Stone Sour release and again we get to see Corey clean singing more than harsh screaming. Showing off again, how good of a singer he really is. He has powerful straight clean singing and when he has to yell he does. Another great thing about Corey he knows when harmonizing, singing, and yelling all fit into the songs to create an amazing overall feel. Conveying emotions through song is easily one of the best aspects of Corey Taylor as a vocalist.
Slipknot – Psychosocial
A change in Corey’s performance with Slipknot vocally; where as in the past with Slipknot most songs were either all screaming or all clean or at least rarely a 50/50 mix. On 2008’s “All Hope is Gone” was a change in this. Songs like “Psychosocial” “Dead Memories”, and “Sulfur” are perfect examples of this. But even performing both styles it would seem that Corey has a better balance and better technique because both styles sound amazing.
Stone Sour – Say You’ll Haunt Me
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEn-nTkbEM0
The newest release we see from either of Corey’s two bands. He sounds better on this album than he has on anything he has done his entire career. He uses harsher cleans and a few screams in some parts throughout the album but it is primarily all about his clean singing. One of the absolute best performances of his career no doubt. It’s hard to believe somebody who was looked at as just another blatant metalcore singer has become somebody with such great control over his voice and one of the best singers in the world today.
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