Slipknot is such a massive band in the metal scene, that the change of their appearances on every album cycle always bring very visceral reactions, for better or worse. There has been some negative feedback, to the point that mask designer (and horror FX legend) Tom Savini even commented on what he's been seeing. Reactions have been mixed, but one Slipknot fan is a big fan of the mask and it's accuracy and the reasoning is very moving.
A Reddit user, CplUrbz, posted a message on Slipknot's subreddit explaining why he loves the mask – and the reason is because when he five years old, he was badly burned in a fire (third degree burns) and he had to wear a transparent facial orthosis mask that's very similar to the mask Corey sports, and with the combination of his skin grafts and the aloe vera, Taylor looked a lot like he did as a kid.
Naturally, he got bullied in school, but seeing Corey wear the mask really struck a chord with him:
Corey's mask may not be what some wanted, but to me, it's a massive image of character change and reformation. The breaking of a person and the steps required to be better. It's not scary, but that mask, my mask, made me into a stronger self sovereign bulletproof person than what I may have turned out to be before I had to put it on.
The message eventually reached Taylor himself, who was moved by reading it and wrote on Twitter "Wow. I’m humbled by that story, and so glad that it could explain something I was trying to describe. This album is indeed about rising above the pain and being reborn. And the mask is also a reflection of it all."
Read the whole message below:
Wow. I’m humbled by that story, and so glad that it could explain something I was trying to describe. This album is indeed about rising above the pain and being reborn. And the mask is also a reflection of it all. https://t.co/wGjti5lStP
— Corey Taylor (@CoreyTaylorRock) June 12, 2019
