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Corey Taylor – CMFT (Roadrunner)

Corey blimey.

The masked singer has only gone and done it again.

He’s the warped face of one of the most metal bands on the planet.

And as Stone Sour’s frontman he’s a bona fide hard rock hero.

But this is Slipknot’s Corey Taylor like we’ve never seen – or heard – him before.

Is CMFT A Vanity Project?

A minority of Maggots might baulk at CMFT as a toe-curling vanity project.

And they might just have a point.

For most of the time this raucously overblown record is so far removed from Iowa’s brain crushing brutality it’s impossible to believe there’s a common link.

But Taylor is a creative chameleon.

A riff-fuelled risk taker.

And the voice of a generation for whom genre bending is the norm.

Taylor’s Rock And Roll History Lesson

CMFT allows its bold curator to explore his hair metal fantasies (Samantha’s Gone), country music desires (HWY 666) and rap-metal dreams (CMFT Must Be Stopped).

And it’s the album that establishes Taylor’s reputation as a true innovator.

Think of this record as a rock and roll history lesson squeezed into 48 frankly magical minutes.

There’s the punk-fuelled angst of Meine Lux and the grunge-inspired Silverfish.

Black Eyes Blue is a stadium rock anthem Kiss would happily call their own.

And Elton John might be leafing through his back catalogue to double check Bernie Taupin never wrote blushing piano ballad Home.

Slipknot All Good…

There are a few missteps.

Kansas is a cringeworthy cross between a noughties Green Day B-side and McBusted.

And it’s unlucky 13 for set closer European Tour Bus Bathroom Song. Why?

But an 85% total banger rate ain’t bad.

For those still craving heavy skip to Culture Head – a brooding metal monster built on a granite bassline and boasting Taylor at his visceral best.

As an alternative album title it would have done the job.

Nobody has a better grasp of modern day pop (or rock) culture than one of the most fluid singer songwriters on the planet.

There’s so much going on in Taylor’s buzzing head. And culture’s up front and centre.

Corey: Unmasked And Unstoppable

At a time when we’re desperately racing to cover our faces it’s deeply ironic that Slipknot’s iconic leader is gloriously unmasked.

CMFT is a smack in the chops for the naysayers and a shot in the arm for those seeking light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel.

It’s Taylor made for a global pandemic. Trust us.