Corey Taylor Slipknot

Corey Taylor, born December 8, 1973, is the lead singer of the hard rock band Slipknot and singer of Stone Sour, the latter being formed prior to the commercial success of Slipknot. In Slipknot, he goes by the pseudonym 8, wearing at first a dreadlocked mask (pictured right) and later a new, almost reptilian design, both of which somewhat resemble the mask of Leatherface, the chainsaw weilding maniac of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. He has said that the mask is somewhat painful for him to wear, but that only intensifys his singing/screaming. He lives in Des Moines, Iowa. He married his long-time girlfriend, Scarlett, on March 11, 2004. They have a son named Griffin Parker Taylor who was born September 17, 2002. Corey Taylor's voice sounds muffled and inaudible in many of Slipknot's earlier live shows because of his mask, but with his newer mask, which resembles a zombie's face, this is no longer a problem. His voice is starting to wear out due to over-use throughout intensive touring. In late 2004, unfounded rumors spread throughout the Internet that Taylor had died from a drug overdose, or alternately, a car accident. Apparently, many people took this rumor seriously. Slipknot fans and even family members called him and his manager, asking if he was alright. In the end to clarify things, Taylor even had to make the official statement, "I am not dead, mother f-ers."