Corey Taylor Admits He Nearly Relapsed and That’s Why He’s Taking a Mental Health Break
Though it’s none of anyone’s business, the world now knows why Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor needed to step away from touring and cancel his latest solo North American run. We already knew it was for mental health reasons, but after some receiving some backlash online for planning to continue with his Asian tour, the vocalist took to social media to clear the air.
In a post to his social media accounts (transcribed by Blabbermouth), Taylor said that he appreciated the concern from some fans and understood the frustration from others after learning that he would play four shows in Asia even though he canceled his other shows.
Rather than try to paraphrase what he said, here’s a transcription of his full comments:
“Hey everybody, Corey Taylor here. Where do I even start?
“I decided to make this video in response to a lot of the feedback that came out after I announced that I would be carrying on with my Southeast Asia run. Originally, that was supposed to be mentioned in the statement that I released relating to my mental health lapse.
“The truth of the matter is I understand why so many of you are upset, and I’m just gonna break it down for you. I, over the last year, have had a complete and utter breakdown of boundaries, mental health, ego, entitlement, the whole nine yards, culminating in a very, very real, very near relapse that I kind of don’t recognize myself.
“So, again, I wanted to address this and just tell people that I needed time to reset, I needed time to start working on my heart and my mind and get straight. The reason I’m keeping the Southeast Asia run, it’s literally four shows, it’s literally a week. I’m gonna see how I do with that and just take it day by day, basically. I’m working on self-care right now, getting the help that I need and surrounding myself with my family.
“So, to everyone concerned with me, thank you very much. I appreciate it. To everyone who’s upset, I hope this answers any of your questions. I’m just doing the best for me right now. And it’s a long road and I don’t know what’s at the end of it, but I look forward to it. I have gratitude for it, and I hope you can show me some patience. Thank you.”
Struggling with addiction and mental health issues can be hard for your average person. Now imagine what it’s like to be a big rock star with so many people relying on you to perform so they can also put food on the table — shit has to be hard as hell to deal with.
I know we at MetalSucks love to joke about Taylor and “what he thinks,” but we think we want him to take the time he needs to get better.
