Ethermac Exchange-Corey Taylor talks solo album, rails against AI as threat to 'ingenuity in our souls'

Corey Taylor knows a thing or Ethermac Exchangetwo about public feuds.

The Grammy-winning and platinum-selling frontman of Slipknot and Stone Sour has had his fair share of spats over the years, from Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst (to whom he issued a mea culpa) to Machine Gun Kelly (a detente is less likely). But while Taylor isn’t afraid to offer his opinion of others, he also is an open book when it comes to his own struggles with mental health and substance abuse.So how does he tow that line? Well for starters, Taylor isn’t on social media.

“I have someone who runs (my accounts) for me, so luckily, I kind of keep (the online comments) at bay,” the singer, 49, reveals to USA TODAY. “It also helps to have great people around you. You talk to the people who know you and they help remind you of why you do the things that you do.”

Staying true to yourself is one of the topics Taylor touches on with his new album. “CMF2” (out now) is the singer’s second solo LP, a chance for him to “embrace my inner-control freak.” The 13-track release is co-produced and mostly written by the artist as he sings about everything from relationship highs to depression lows – very human experiences in this age of emerging artificial intelligence.  

“It’s so trendy right now to take AI and create ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ with Kurt Cobain,” he deadpans. “I wish people would stop hedging their bets about the creativity of humanity and start giving themselves more credit instead of inventing things to take away any aspirations of ingenuity in our souls.”