Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor has spoken out about his own struggles with mental illness over the course of his life.
During a Q&A with the audience during his solo show in New York last month Taylor was asked for his thoughts on depression in the music industry and about the tragic deaths of Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell earlier this year.
“For those of you that don’t know, I’ve fought depression my whole life,” Taylor said. “It’s been something that has just been a part of my life. And I didn’t even realize it was something that I had to deal with until it was later on when I had the right people around me to kind of see that I was struggling with it and then they helped me get help.”
“So I’ve not only been able to develop the skills to deal with it and go on with it, but I also know that it’s important to not only talk to people but also let people know that they’re not alone when they’re dealing with it.”
Taylor continued to speak about how he has dealt with his own mental health issues, and urged those suffering not to close themselves off from others. “It’s the easiest way to succumb — to feel isolated, to feel like you’re the only one feeling that way. it’s easy for people to forget that you can cocoon yourself and close yourself away from the world. So my message is, if you’re feeling that, if you’re struggling with it, do not be afraid to reach out to people, do not be afraid to find [help].”
Addressing the deaths of his contemporaries directly, Taylor said “He [Bennington] was a good friend of mine, and I was as stunned as you guys were. Because I knew how sweet he was and how open he was and how fucking amazing he was as a person. And the fact that he fought and fought and fought until he couldn’t fight anymore broke my heart. So for him, and for people like Chris, who I looked up to, and for friends of mine who I know have taken their own life, I am taking that and I am turning it around and saying not one fucking more!”
During a lighter moment during the Q&A Taylor also responds to a heckler who yells “Nickleback still sucks,” by shaking his head and saying “that is so never going away. You know the fucked up thing? I didn’t even start that shit. That was fuckin’ Kroeger.”
He is of course referring to the ongoing beef that Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger in June when Kroger called Taylor’s bands worse than his own and labeling them “Nickelback Lite”. At the time Taylor responded by calling Koreger “an idiot.”
Watch the Q&A in full below.
