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Corey Taylor has been sober for 2010, and he has James Hetfield to thank for inspiring him to quit drinking and doing drugs. During an interview with Consequence, the Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman explained how the Metallica bandleader's experience with sobriety helped his own journey begin.
“[I was] dealing with my own various addictions and fighting the depression that I had to deal with for years — the trauma that kind of came from when I was growing up,” Taylor reflected, opening up about growing up without a father figure and being the victim of sexual abuse.
“When [Hetfield] first started his journey, getting sober and getting healthy and whatnot, I looked at that, and I was, like, ‘Well, s**t, if he’s strong enough to do it, maybe I can try it,’” he explained. “[Sobriety] had a big enough effect on me that, over the years, I’ve really tried to stick with it. In figuring that out, I also realized that there were so many people who were going down that path, as well. [Alice in Chains'] Jerry Cantrell had just gotten sober around that time, and he was starting to kind of put his steps together.”
“It takes time; it takes effort, takes work,” he continued, admitting that the road isn't an easy one. “I really have to give [Hetfield] a lot of credit for the inspiration for that… It definitely helped to know that I wasn’t alone in it. And it certainly helped me clear my head and focus more. And really get down to writing again — really, truly writing.”
Taylor released his sophomore solo album, CMF2, on Septembre 15.