Lead vocalist of Slipknot and Stone Sour Corey Taylor possesses a unique voice that’s unmistakably distinguishable. He’s been a vocalist for almost two decades now, and he’s still going strong, but what’s the vocal range behind this thriving star?
As a singer possessing the second-highest vocal range, Taylor’s vocal range spans across a tremendous five and a half octaves from C1 to C#7. Up in front of Taylor is Mike Patton, who has a six-octave vocal range.
Keep reading to explore how Taylor’s voice has advanced over the course of his career in Slipknot and Stone Sour so far.
Taylor’s Musical Career
Stone Sour
Stone Sour is a hard rock band formed in 1992 by Taylor and four other members, Joel Ekman, Shawn Economaki, and Josh Rand. It was in 1997 that Taylor was approached by Slipknot, causing him to abandon his career with Stone Sour.
It wasn’t until five years later in 1999 that Taylor returned to appear in Stone Sour’s debut self-titled album, which hit the charts at number 46 on Billboard 200.
Later, Taylor released a double concept album with Stone Sour titled House of Gold & Bones. Part one of the album reached number 7 on Billboard, while part two peaked at number 10.
Slipknot
After being approached by Slipknot in 1997, when Slipknot was seeking “melodic vocals” for their music, Taylor joined the band as a replacement of their singer Anders Colsefini.
He later became known as “Number Eight” for infinity. Slipknot follows a numbering scheme for its members from 0-8, with numbers being assigned subconsciously without significant thought to the meanings behind the numbers.
Since their first self-titled album in 1999, Slipknot has sold over 20 million copies of their albums worldwide, with 5 million sold in the US.
Since their breakthrough album, they’ve received an admirable 10 Grammy nominations. Slipknot earned their first Grammy Award for the Best Metal Performance for “Before I Forget” in 2005.
Taylor’s First Solo Album
Taylor announced that he was “stoked” about the release of his first solo album We Are Not Your Kind in an interview with NME Music. He revealed that he’s been feeling pressured to make a solo album for a while, which is why he embarked on a newfangled experience.
He described his album as a “hybrid” of different genres, and said, “It’s a modern take on vibes that people have heard before, and yet I’ve taken them and kind of thrown them through this crazy filter to see what we get.”
Taylor’s Best Vocal Performances
Depending on the song, Taylor’s vocals can range from captivatingly melodic to very frenzied. Here are some of his best vocal performances.
Stone Sour – “Bother”
“Bother” is a song that consists mainly of acoustics and guitar, but its slowed down speed showcases Taylor’s melodic vocal abilities aside from the screaming you’ll hear in his other songs.
Slipknot – “Snuff”
This song is very emotionally charged. “Snuff” displays Taylor’s passionate vocals, which makes sense, given that the song is a dedication to fallen bandmate, Paul Gray.
Slipknot – “Scissors”
“Scissors” presents Taylor’s harsh vocals, where he quickly switches between neurotic, almost spoken confessionals and pure screams of fury.
Taylor’s Other Endeavors
So far, Taylor has released an impressive non-fiction four books of his own titled: Seven Deadly Sins; A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Heaven, You’re Making Me Hate You, and America 51. He’s releasing another book too, called These Words Mean Nothing consisting of ultimately meaningless, but funny things fellow bandmate Clown has said over the years.