Corey Taylor on Representing Metal and Balancing Stone Sour + Slipknot

Stone Sour's big year continues with the band currently on the road as part of the 'Road to the Golden Gods' tour, a trek that furthers the metal tradition by highlighting some of the top acts going today. This year's tour features both Stone Sour and In This Moment taking the stage.

In addition, frontman Corey Taylor will pull off double duty later this year when his bands Slipknot and Stone Sour perform the rare feat of playing the same weekend as part of Ozzfest Japan and the Download Festival. Loudwire caught up with Taylor, who spoke about what he expects from the band's upcoming tours and what it's like trying to balance both of his bands when it comes to playing live.

You're hitting the road again with the 'Road to the Golden Gods' -- a tour that really kind of carries that metal banner. What does it mean to you to get a chance to play that trek?

I'm really happy about that. It seems like for the last handful of years, we've kind of been shoved back into the corner again as far as the spotlight goes or respect and now it feels like rock and metal are starting to come back a little bit, not too much, but a little bit. And I think it's because of the fact that so many bands that have really started to carry the burden for so long are starting to get their due. More and more people from different genres are starting to pay homage to the fact that they listened to certain bands when they were growing up and if it wasn't for those bands, they wouldn't be making music now.

So I'm pretty proud of the fact that I'm not only representing rock but heavy metal, but that I'm also trying to do it in a very unique way. It always seems like the people who get the most spotlight in our genre are the ones that are a little too close to the fence in terms of personal demons or attitude or ego or their vices or whatnot and I'm trying to represent the counterpoint to that. I'm just as pissed off, I'm just as filled with attitude, but at the same time I'm trying to approach it maybe a little more intelligently, maybe a little more creatively. I'm trying to give that other side of the coin so it's not a cliché. Nothing disgusts me more than a cliché and I was in danger of kind of falling into that trap a long time ago and luckily I've been able to pull myself out of it, so I'm trying to represent the other side of it and be something a little more positive and interesting in this world. Maybe I'm doing it right, maybe I'm doing it wrong, but at least I'm trying to be myself.

At Ozzfest Japan and Download this year, both Slipknot and Stone Sour are on the bill together. What's it mean to you to be able to show both sides of what you do within major events like this?

It's a lot of work, I'll tell you that much. It's one of those things where I agreed to it and I know it's going to kick my ass. But at the same time, it's cool because we don't get to do it a lot. I feel like the fans sometimes draw lines between us where you can be a fan of one or the other, but not necessarily both. So this is a great way to show some unity, show some togetherness because these bands do get along really well and we compliment each other in a lot of ways so what better way to show fans that this is a good thing than to go out and do a handful of shows together and really show the support we have for each other.

Stone Sour are touring in support of their 'House of Gold & Bones Part 2' album, which just arrived in stores. Read our review of the disc here.