The modern Corey Taylor mask is one of the creepiest masks in Slipknot history. Equally as recognizable as Slipknot’s music are the band member’s masks; since the start of the band, the use of masks has been an essential component to their artistry. While in some ways meant to shock, these masks also have personal stories behind them.
Among the band members, Corey Taylor seems to enjoy talking about the process behind his masks. As reported by Blabbermouth, Taylor appeared at last month’s Days Of The Dead, which is a fan-run horror convention, and spoke about his new mask. The real interesting point that gets brought up is how the Corey Taylor mask was made by a young fan of the band.
As transcribed by Blabbermouth, Corey Taylor shared the following:
“My new [mask is] pretty rad. I really sat down and tried to figure out… I worked with a guy named Conor Deless. He’s a young kid; he’s actually a fan. And I can remember laying out traits that I wanted to see and a lot of the stuff that inspired him. And when he sent me the preliminary sculpt — he didn’t even sketch it out; he sent me a tiny sculpt — and it was so killer that I was, like, ‘Yes. That’s it.’ I mean, he nailed it so quickly that I’d never… I’ve always had to go back and forth and do a bunch of tiny manipulations and changes and stuff, but he was so dialed in and he immediately got it that we were just, like, ‘All right. Let’s do this, man.’ He drove in, did a mold of my head, and the rest is history.”
At another horror convention – Texas Frightmare Weekend back in September of 2021 – Taylor had also spoken to working with Deless.
“I spent three months designing that specifically. ‘Cause the last one was — it was cool but it wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do. So this time around, I started early. I actually started designing this before the end of the ‘We Are Not Your Kind’ cycle, just to make sure that I was ahead of the game and making sure I could dial in all the details and whatnot. And I actually did it with a young man named Conor Deless, who’s super cool. And he flew out. I walked him through everything that I wanted to have on it. And he was able to mock something up really quick, man. And he really got to the essence of what I was trying to configure. It was almost immediate. And then, really, it was just a matter of waiting for him to build the damn thing… We did the mold. We built it right to my face, so it fits like a glove. And it’s hot as balls, but it’s so rad on stage; it just looks really, really cool. I’m calling it the smiling skull mask.”
Corey Taylor has had a plethora of really cool masks over the course of Slipknot’s history, but we think Deless captured something real special with this new Corey Taylor mask. If you take a look at Deless’ Instagram account, you can see the guy has an amazing talent for creating masks. Deless has a strong interest in horror, which could play into why Taylor’s new mask reminds us a whole lot of David Cronenberg’s mask from Clive Barker’s film Nightbreed.
You can find Deless’ Trick Or Treat Studios profile here.
What is your favorite Corey Taylor mask?
The Slipknot North American tour kicks off this month! You can find all the dates and locations below. Tickets can be purchased via clicking the ticket image below.
Leg 1 – In This Moment and Wage War
3/16 – Fargo, ND – Fargodome
3/18 – Omaha, NE – Chi Health Center
3/19 – Wichita, KS – Intrust Bank Arena
3/22 – Memphis, TN – FedEx Forum
3/23 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
3/25 – North Little Rock, AR – Simmons Bank Arena
3/26 – Durant, OK – Choctaw Grand Theatre
3/29 – Birmingham, AL – Legacy Arena at the BJCC
3/30 – N. Charleston, SC – North Charleston Coliseum
4/1 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
4/2 – Reading, PA – Santander Arena
4/4 – Celveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse
4/6 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center
4/7 – Peoria, IL – Peoria Civic Center
4/9 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
4/11 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
4/12 – Regina, SK – Brandt Centre
4/14 – Saskatoon, SK – Sasktel Centre
4/15 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
4/17 – Vancouver, BC – Pepsi Live at Rogers Arena
Leg 2 – Cypress Hill and Ho99o9
5/18 – University Park, PA – Bryce Jordan Center
5/20 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
5/21 – Providence, RI – Dunkin Donuts Center
5/22 – Manchester, NH – SNHU Arena
5/24 – Albany, NY – MVP Arena
5/26 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
5/28 – Quebec, QC – Videotron Centre
5/29 – Ottowa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre
5/30 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
6/1 – Cincinnati, OH – Heritage Bank Center
6/2 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
6/4 – East Troy, WI – Alpine Valley Music Theatre
6/5 – Moline, IL – Taxslayer Center
6/7 – Bonner Springs, KS – Azura Amphitheater
6/9 – Colorado Springs, CO – The Broadmoor World Arena
6/11 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center
6/13 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
6/14 – Ridgefield, WA – RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
6/17 – Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
6/18 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
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Words by: Michael Pementel
