When Slipknot revealed their new masks a few weeks ago, the reactions to Corey Taylor's mask were mixed. Some people felt a bit underwhelmed after Taylor hyped up that his mask was designed by horror effects legend Tom Savini. Memes were created, laughs were had, but how did Savini feel about the mask? He recently commented on it.
In a long and thorough interview about his career with Revolver, Savini addressed the Taylor mask controversy and noted he was surprised at the negative feedback from fans. Savini explained how the whole partnership came about:
It's amazing. I was on a plane with my wife looking at old photographs, and there's a picture of her with Corey in 2014. I think it was my assistant, Jason Baker, who talked to him backstage at a show and Corey mentioned needing a mask. I guess my assistant said like, "Hey, I work for Tom Savini," and the next thing you know Corey Taylor is in my house playing with my cats, then we made a cast of him.
Then we did the mask, and the mask has gone crazy! There was a lot of negative response, initially. I just got a copy of Kerrang! with Corey talking about the man behind the mask — about me — in that magazine, but the fans were like, "Savini? Oh shit, my sister could have done better than that." Someone even fastened a milk carton to their face and posted a side-by-side and said, "Nailed it!" Regardless, the mask looks excellent.
Savini gave all the credit in the world to Taylor for selling the look of the mask:
You know, he puts the makeup on underneath it, the hood, everything. It's a nice mask, but he sells it. He's the one who makes it look the way it looks.
Here is the milk carton image Savini is talking about. I can't believe this reached him!
Taylor spoke about the mask in an interview with Kerrang and noted that he wanted the mask to look like it was made in somebody's basement.
"I'm reminded that even though you want the best for people, sometimes you'll get the worst. I've been kind of made to feel like a villain, in a weird way. Which is fine. It was inevitable, and it doesn't really bother me much. But, for a little bit, it did. I've always tried to be a good father, be a good man, be a good person. I went through some shit a few years ago, and in that time a lot of people had a reversal of opinion on who I was. Maybe it was because they were tired of hearing my name [laughs], which is so fucking true — even I get to the point where I'm tired of hearing my own fucking name."
He continued: "I said, 'Okay, if you want a villain, you'll get a fucking villain.' My vision was about trying to create something uncomfortable — not only for me to wear, but for people to look at. I wanted it to feel like it was something that was created in someone's basement — something that was made specifically to fuck with people. It's the representation of public opinion turning on a dime — they want to tear people down for the way they live, even if they don't really know them. It's been liberating to embrace that side and be, like, 'Fuck you. I really don't give a shit what you think about me, so here's this!'"
You’re dangerously close to litigation, Browny- that mask is proprietary. https://t.co/4HYdV3vPwd
— Corey Taylor (@CoreyTaylorRock) June 10, 2019
We Are Not Your Kind is out August 9th on Roadrunner Records. Here are Slipknot's summer tour dates, with Volbeat, Gojira and Behemoth:
Fri Jul 26 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
Sat Jul 27 – San Bernardino, CA – San Manuel Amphitheater
Thu Aug 1 – Salt Lake City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
Sat Aug 3 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
Sun Aug 4 – Phoenix, AZ – Ak-Chin Pavilion
Tue Aug 6 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
Thu Aug 8 – Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
Sat Aug 10 – Des Moines, IA – Iowa State Fairgrounds*
Sun Aug 11 – Tinley Park, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Mon Aug 12 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre
Wed Aug 14 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
Fri Aug 16 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
Sat Aug 17 – Bonner Springs, KS – Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
Sun Aug 18 – Maryland Heights, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Tue Aug 20 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
Wed Aug 21 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Fri Aug 23 – Burgettstown, PA – KeyBank Pavilion
Sat Aug 24 – Scranton, PA – The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
Sun Aug 25 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
Tue Aug 27 – Mansfield, MA – The Xfinity Center
Wed Aug 28 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Fri Aug 30 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
Sat Aug 31 – Camden, NJ – BB&T Pavilion
Sun Sep 1 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
Tue Sep 3 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
Wed Sep 4 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Fri Sep 6 – Austin, TX – Austin360 Amphitheater at Circuit of The Americas
Sat Sep 7 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
Sun Sep 8 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
*Iowa State Fair – Slipknot & Gojira only
