Corey Taylor Would’ve Joined Anthrax But Record Label Stopped Him

With his debut solo album on the way, Corey Taylor has looked back at how his career could have been a bit different. The Slipknot and Stone Sour singer recalled his opportunity to make an album with Anthrax while the thrash legends were in pursuit of a new singer in the 2000s.

After the release of 2003's We've Come For You All, there was uncertainty within the Anthrax camp over where to go next and with a big question mark at singer. The band had brought Joey Belladonna back into the fold in 2005 (replacing John Bush), only for his exit to come nearly two years later as the band in turn welcomed Dan Nelson into the lineup.

Taylor's opportunity to front the band came somewhere in that loosely defined era and, as a guest on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation Virtual Invasion" with host Eddie Trunk, the singer opened up about that time in his career.

"It was something that really we hadn't talked about too much at length," he said of the decision for him to join Anthrax, at the very least, in the studio for the successor to We've Come For You All, "It was just something that we had talked about doing just ostensibly as a one-off, but we were just gonna kind of see what could happen."

How the idea even came to light was a bit by happenstance. Anthrax's Scott Ian and Frank Bello scheduled an acoustic gig at a New York club in an effort to help promote the venue and invited Taylor to join them, to which he agreed.

"So we went down, we had dinner, we did the acoustic show. And then afterwards, we were all kind of just hanging out, and the half-joking line got thrown out, 'Hey, wouldn't it be cool if you joined Anthrax?' And we all laughed, and then we all stopped. And we all just went, 'Hmmm. That could interesting,'" said Taylor of the new opportunity.

"It was between Joey and John [Bush], so everything was kind of up in the air. It was before — what was his name? — Dan [Nelson]," the frontman elaborated, explaining, "And we talked about it more and more, and it was something that I was really, really into. They sent me a bunch of music, most of which ended up on [2011's] Worship Music — luckily, because the music was so good."

Ultimately, the idea remained just an idea as Taylor's efforts were thwarted by his record label, who was looking to keep him on track with Slipknot.

"Nothing got recorded, because the day I was supposed to fly to Chicago to rehearse and start demoing with Scott and with Charlie [Benante], I got a phone call from Roadrunner [Records] telling me that they weren't gonna let me do it. They wanted me to go back and do [Slipknot's 2008 record] All Hope Is Gone, because we [were] still contracted to do another Slipknot album, and they weren't going to allow me the wiggle room. I don't even know if those people are still at Roadrunner, to be honest. But I know that they cracked the whip on it and were really hardcore," offered the singer.

Having experienced massive success in the new millennium with both Slipknot and Stone Sour, it was a blow to Taylor as the notorious music industry machine flexed its muscle. "It was the first time I had ever felt like I was kind of backed into a corner," he confessed, noting, "Not that I didn't wanna do a Slipknot album, but I was so into the idea of doing an Anthrax album. And I remember having to call and tell the guys [in Anthrax] that I wasn't gonna be able to make it. It broke my heart so hard."

In retrospect, he's content with how things played out for Anthrax, who have since released two records with Belladonna back up front with another one currently being written.

"But, obviously, things worked out for the better for them," affirmed Taylor, who had high praise for the group's latest offerings as he stated, "They're making music that's just as good now as the older stuff than it's ever been. What needed to happen is exactly what happened. I'm just grateful that: a) I'm a part of their conversation, and b), that they're still my friends."

Meanwhile, Corey Taylor recently revealed that Stone Sour have entered an indefinite hiatus and that the band has "run its course for now." Still, there's plenty of music from him coming outside of Slipknot. His CMFT solo album will be out on Oct. 2 and the rockers has already suggested a second one isn't far behind.

Corey Taylor on "Trunk Nation Virtual Invasion"

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