Slipknot singer Corey Taylor has revealed what his very first fiction novel is going to be about. Yes, that's right — the rock and metal musician who's breached literature with his autobiographical books is now trying his hand at a long work of narrative fiction.
But are readers and Slipknot fans ready for it?
Taylor, the frequently masked Slipknot lead vocalist who's also a solo artist and the bandleader of Stone Sour, shared the new book preview with those in attendance at this year's For the Love of Horror, a horror convention that took place in Manchester, England, on Oct. 22–23.
If things go according to his plan, the musician will use the novel's same characters in multiple ensuing books.
During a Q&A session at For the Love of Horror, Taylor explained, "I actually started [writing the new book] about a year ago. … I won't give too much away because I don't want to get too much in[to it]. Because I'm still trying to map it out. I've only written the first three chapters. But it has to do with a psychic, a witch, a serial killer and a demon. And, yeah, it's as cool as you think." (as transcribed by Blabbermouth)
He continued, "It's weird. The psychic develops this kind of psychic bond with the serial killer who doesn't realize he's psychic. So it's an interesting twist. And if I do it right, I plan to use the central characters in several other books. So if the first one doesn't suck, we'll see what happens. … But it very well could suck ass. However, I'll at least go, All right. Well, we're not doing novels anymore."
Taylor added, "But that's the thing — you try it. If you have a taste for it and you develop a talent for it, and if it's good and if people dig it, then you can carry on and see how far you can take it. But if people go, 'Yeah, you shouldn't do that anymore,' I'll listen. I promise I'll listen."
Taylor has shared his myriad of thoughts on many non-fiction topics in his past books. Those include America 51 (2017), You're Making Me Hate You (2015), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Heaven (2013) and Seven Deadly Sins (2010). Have you read any of the Slipknot singer's books?
And when it comes to printed materials, it's just novels that the rocker is interested in. It was recently reported that Taylor plans to relaunch the vintage horror fanzine Famous Monsters of Filmland, a genre-specific magazine that was published until the early '80s.
As for his music, Slipknot just released their seventh album, The End, So Far, in September. Last year's pre-release single, "The Chapeltown Rag," paved the way for the latest full-length. Subsequently, the first single proper, "The Dying Song (Time to Sing)," arrived in July. Another single, "Yen," emerged in August. Listen to the album here. Get Slipknot tickets at this link.
Slipknot, "The Dying Song (Time to Sing)" (Music Video)
