Slipknot, Godsmack, Anthrax, Slayer Members Recall 9/11

Sunday marks the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., but to many, the memories of those events seem like just yesterday. The anniversary obviously marks a time of reflection, and two of hard rock's biggest stars recently took the chance to tell their stories.

Slipknot/Stone Sour singer Corey Taylor tells Artisan News Service that he was packing his bags getting ready to start a tour with Slipknot when the planes struck the World Trade Center.

“I was supposed to fly that day. I remember getting woken up really really, earlier by my ex-sister-in-law who was watching everything an she was like, 'You need to get up right now and turn on the TV.' And then I proceeded to sit there [and watch the news] for three days. It was incredible."

"It was [supposed to be] the beginning of the ‘Pledge of Allegiance’ tour -- aptly named, to be honest. We kinda took a hit. Everything got really weird after that, especially with heavy music, especially with music that’s a little more in your face. But we kept going. And obviously [New York] is one our favorite places to play, with both bands.”

Godsmack's Shannon Larkin was crashing on a friend's couch in Los Angeles on 9/11, but has a much more memorable story related to the slaying of Osama Bin Laden earlier this year.

"To bring things full circle, we were at a show in Memphis, at the Beale Street Festival earlier this year ... Right before ‘I Stand Alone,’ the last song of the set, our stage manager [told singer] Sully [Erna], 'They got Bin Laden. They got Bin Laden,’” referring to U.S. special forces' assissination of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden.

"The crowd, they were all there at this festival, so they didn't know either. So Sully went [to the mic and announced], 'They got that son of a ----!' and the crowd went crazy. And we played 'I Stand Alone,' and when we were walking off stage, the whole crowd was chanting, 'U.S.A.!' It was the coolest feeling ever."

Slayer singer Tom Araya tells Noiscreep, ""I was at home in L.A. when I first found out what was happening. On Sept. 10, the band had done a midnight in-store signing in El Toro, Calif., for the 9/11 release of our 'God Hates Us All' album ... We were supposed to fly out that day to start a European tour. The whole time we were watching what was unfolding before our eyes I was thinking to myself, "We ain't flying anywhere for a while!"

Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian also talke to Noisecreep, saying "I sat there stunned, watching the report on CNN when the second plane hit and I ran into the bunk area of the bus yelling for everyone to get up, 'We're under attack, get the f--- up!' or something of that nature. We spent the rest of the day like the rest of the world, glued to the TV on the bus, shocked, horrified and scared s---less by what we were witnessing."