Corey Taylor has spoken in a new interview about his 12-year sobriety, saying that in the first few years he “quickly realised how much a part of your personality booze has become”.
The Slipknot frontman, who has been sober since 2010, spoke on The Moon Under Water podcast about his experience of visiting pubs and bars as a non-drinker.
“The first few years is weird, because you realise quickly how much a part of your personality booze has become. You kind of have to sort out who you are, what you’re comfortable with and largely just the habit of it,” Taylor said.
“I was never a big beer drinker, so non-alcoholic brews [weren’t] the key. So I started with sodas, and then just kind of went to water. And now that’s just what I do.”
Taylor continued: “To me, going out and hanging out in a pub or a bar or whatever is more about the company you keep, and you realise at some point the golden moment is going to go away. So you try to time your departure right around that time where you’re just like, ‘Okay, we’ve got about 10 minutes before he becomes a super mess. So I’m gonna split, and I’ll talk to you guys later’.”
The musician also said that he now “tries not to ‘Irish goodbye’ everybody, where you just split”.
“I only did that, really, when I was drinking,” he added with a laugh. “But I make sure that everybody’s good; I make sure that… if anybody needs a ride home, I’m the first one to do it. ‘Cause it’s usually just me and my wife: my wife still drinks, but she’s very social. She’s way better at it than I was. Usually right about the time she’s starting to kind of… She’s just like, ‘I’m tired. We need to split’. I’m, like, ‘Ah. You had me at ‘I’m ready to go’. So we’re out the door and heading for home.”
Last month, Taylor addressed speculation that Slipknot will headline Download Festival 2023.
The band earned their third UK Number One in October with ‘The End, So Far’.