It’s often in times of turmoil that we look towards Slipknot’s fearless leader Corey Taylor for answers. But alas, even The Masked One isn’t above the current hubbub surrounding AC/DC and their new vocalist Axl Rose.
During a Q&A sesh in London, the prophet vocalist was asked his thoughts on the whole situation, that is, the departure of Brian Johnson, the inclusion of Axl Rose and the band’s decision to not tap out. But if you were looking for a snappy retort that quelled your concerns, looks like Taylor is also struggling with this one.
“There are several ways to look at that situation. There are AC/DC fans who are, like, ‘You know what? I just wanna see them play for, like, the last eight, nine shows and then see what happens.’ There are other people who are, like, ‘Fuck that! I don’t like the way they handled the whole Brian situation,’ which I can totally see.”
Taylor continues to add that his clairvoyance on the matter was clouded by a lack of insider knowledge.
“However, none of us are behind the scenes. None of us know what’s been going on. None of us know anything. And I learned that lesson with the Guns N’ Roses thing. I mean, I’m talking about… I’m a huge GUNS N’ ROSES fan. So when [the classic GN’R lineup] started to kind of come back together, I was, like, ‘Meh.’ But then, talking to some of them, I really saw the whole picture and was, like, ‘Okay, I can get behind this.'”
Praise was heaped onto the legendary AC/DC guitarist Angus Young, who Taylor explains is a driving force behind the band, and one of the main reasons their continuing with the Rock Or Bust dates. “He’s been doing gigs since he was 17 years old. He has been giving everything — and I mean everything he’s fucking got — night after night after night after night for fucking fifty years.
Taylor reveals that the band was never the same for him after drummed Phil Rudd left the fold, and then again when founding guitarist Malcolm Young retired from the band.
“Is it gonna be the same? No! Nothing’s ever the same. I don’t think it was the same after fucking Phil [Rudd, former AC/DC drummer] left. So it’s never gonna be the same. You know what I’m saying?”
“The biggest bumout for me is that Malcolm won’t be a part of those shows; that’s the saddest part of that. I mean, I feel bad for Brian, as a singer, but the saddest part of that is that Malcolm won’t be a part of those last eight shows, and he fucking should be. That man has written every fucking song they did. So that’s me.”
After struggling with his own fandom, the vocalists concludes “because I don’t know a lot about it, I’m not gonna make any judgments.”
He’s saved us before but it looks as though Corey Taylor is just as lost as us on Axl-Dacca.
WATCH: Corey Taylor Q&A in London
WATCH: Corey Taylor Q&A in London intro
