2019 was well and truly taken by the throat by Slipknot; some might even say that wrangled every last breath out of it.
The group released their critically acclaimed and deeply personal new LP We Are Not Your Kind, scored number 1’s on both sides of the Atlantic, headlined some of the year’s biggest festivals and even gained a new trash-can smasher with a tin-foil face.
It seems inconceivable that the end should be even a speck on their collective horizon – however in a recently published interview with Metal Hammer frontman Corey Taylor and co-lead guitarist Mick Thompson and Jim Root each shared their opinions on how the nine could potentially call it a day.
Unsurprisingly, opinions varied greatly on the matter.
“I am amazed I can stand up most of the time. Three of us have had neck or back surgery now” mused Root.
“One day we will just be gone. That’s how I’d like it. No final tour, no announcement, no big drama. We’ll just vanish and never come back, and you’ll forever be left wondering if Slipknot is even still a thing.”
Corey Taylor was bolder in his approach, floating the idea that the band could continue beyond the current core members- an idea that he’s visited in the past.
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“I mean, it’s crossed my mind as the years have gone on. It’s gotten harder to do this. You think about when the end is. No one thought we’d be doing it 20 years later”, he said.
“If I just couldn’t do it anymore, I’d just stop, but that doesn’t mean that the band would stop. If I can’t do it then someone might be able to take my place. I’ve thought about it before; if the right person came around and the guys were into it then I’ll just head off. We can’t shortchange anyone.”
Read: Slipknot are already planning their next record
Mick Thompson was surprisingly the most defiant of the lot, given he’s had intensive spinal surgery in the past.
“I don’t think about the end, because that, to me, insinuates that we have a finite amount of time that we can do this,” he stated.
“As long as I can play I’ll be getting wheeled onstage and playing shows. I look at Metallica and Iron Maiden and they’re still doing it. Why shouldn’t we?”
While Mick has a point, Metallica and Maiden certainly don’t leap off hydraulic risers and thrash about at extreme metal speeds every night. Long live the Knot.
