Corey Taylor Has Retirement on His Mind, Says He’s “Almost in Constant Pain”
In a bit of news that made me realize my own age and mortality, it turns out that Corey Taylor will turn 50 this December. Such a major life milestone is cause for reflection and it’s got the Slipknot frontman wondering how much longer he can keep this whole rockstar thing going.
During a recent interview with Rock Feed (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), Taylor said the years of physical stresses from touring live and going all out during countless shows has caught up to him. And as a result, it’s made him realize he’s only got a few years left in the tank.
“I’ve already said that physically I maybe have five years left, but at the same time I go out of my way to really try to take care of myself. Now I have a lot of fucking miles on me. It’s hard for me. People don’t realize this, but when I walk, I’m almost in constant pain. It’s the knees, it’s my feet. I have a broken toe on this foot. I have gout across my feet. It gets up into my joints and shit. Yeah, it’s tough. I’m not as nimble as I used to be. I’m not 35 anymore. It’s hard. But there are ways to do shows that don’t require being that crazy now.”
If you ever watch clips of Slipknot shows from back in the day, you’ll see a group of dudes full of angst and fury, jumping around on stage. Couple that with the madness that comes out from Taylor’s vocal chords and you’ve got a physically demanding show for the vocalist.
Yet it’s not always the shows themselves that cause problems. According to Taylor, the constant travel has weighed on him over the years as well.
“The travel doesn’t lend itself to being healthy, because, at that point, it’s not like being home. You’ve got all your stuff. You’re kind of at the mercy of what’s there for you. So you’re gonna eat like shit, you’re gonna sleep like shit, you’re gonna feel like shit, and nine times out of 10, you’re gonna play like shit. We don’t want that. So it’s tough. Even a guy at my level, it’s not always laid-out catering and the best food and the best people. Sometimes it’s a soggy sandwich at 12:30 in the morning, and you’re looking at it, going, ‘If I put this in my body, I’m gonna throw up.’
“People don’t fucking get that. You know why they think that? It’s because that’s all they see on Instagram, on TikTok, on this and that, and you’re seeing the commercials. There have been times we’ve gotten off stage, we’ve gone right to the airport, flown out. We don’t sleep until seven the next day. And now we’re just all [exhausted]. Our crew gets it even worse, ’cause they have to fucking go in, make sure everything’s good, and then they can go fucking take a nap. So it’s not gravy all the time, man. It’s tough. It’s hard fucking work. Even at our level, it’s hard work.”
You can watch the full interview below.
