Metal Anarchy

During an interview with Consequence, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor opened up about overcoming his battle with alcoholism. He also credited Metallica’s James Hetfield for inspiring him to get sober.

Taylor said the following:

“[I was] dealing with my own various addictions and fighting the depression that I had to deal with for years — the trauma that kind of came from when I was growing up.”

That trauma included an impoverished upbringing without a father figure, a sexual assault, a suicide attempt, and more. Taylor continued:

“Over the years, music was my only form of solace. It was the only thing that really ever made me feel like there was hope in the world. There was always a form of music or a song that was waiting for me to discover it.”

He also praised Hetfield:

“I think one of the people who helped me kind of figure it out was James Hetfield. When he first started his journey, getting sober and getting healthy and whatnot, I looked at that, and I was, like, ‘Well, shit, if he’s strong enough to do it, maybe I can try it.’ [Sobriety] had a big enough effect on me that, over the years, I’ve really tried to stick with it. In figuring that out, I also realized that there were so many people who were going down that path, as well. Jerry Cantrell had just gotten sober around that time, and he was starting to kind of put his steps together.”

Taylor also added:

“It takes time; it takes effort, takes work. I really have to give [Hetfield] a lot of credit for the inspiration for that… It definitely helped to know that I wasn’t alone in it. And it certainly helped me clear my head and focus more. And really get down to writing again — really, truly writing.”