Corey Taylor: ‘At Least Chester Bennington Is Standing Up for His New S–t’
In an interview with Alternative Press, Corey Taylor shared further thoughts on the recent Linkin Park album, One More Light, and how Stone Sour's new explorations in sound run parallel in some places to how they've been perceived. While Taylor previously warned Chester Bennington to be careful with his words, he stands behind the Linkin Park singer's defense of One More Light.
"I tell you what, give him s--t for the way he said it, but look at Chester [Bennington]. At least Chester’s standing up for his new shit instead of hiding behind a wall of rhetoric because they’re afraid of not making money," Taylor said. "Linkin Park is at least trying to do something different. You may not like it, but who gives a s--t? There are people out there who will like it, and they’ve at least got the balls to do it. I understand why the reaction to what he said was what it was, but he’s got a point, man. F–k you if you don’t like the new s--t. People are so afraid of risk, that the only way you really win is if you risk, and that’s all we’ve done our whole career."
Taylor was asked about Stone Sour's single "Fabuless," and how it references lyrics by the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin and it embraces old-school hard rock. He answered by bringing up the industry's need for categorization, saying, "There’s a very specific sound for active rock, there’s a very specific sound for alternative, there’s a very specific for this and that and the other one— and everyone is terrified to step outside of that box because there’s no proven way to make money when you step outside of that box."
He brought up encounters with other bands in conversation about genre, noting, "To a lot of bands, 'rock' is a dirty word. They won’t even call themselves a rock band anymore; they’ll call themselves alternative bands all day, and it’s like, 'No, fuck that. Are you kidding?' I had a band, who I won’t mention by name, tell me to my face, 'We’re not rock anymore, we’re alternative.' And I was like, 'That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.' I said, 'Why? What are you scared of?' And they wouldn’t answer the correct way, so I just walked away from the conversation. I just think people are too worried about keeping up appearances, about some sort of backlash."
Last month, Bennington caught heat with fans when he said, "I will punch you in your f–king mouth" to those who think Linkin Park had sold out in their new shift in sound. He also told fans to "move the f–k on" if they weren't supportive of the band's change in sound from Hybrid Theory. In response, Taylor said Bennington should "be fortunate for what you have," adding, "You have to pick your spots, dude, and this is coming from the guy who’s notorious for running his mouth."
You can read the entire Alternative Press interview with Corey Taylor here.
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