Metro.co.uk recently conducted an interview with SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR singer Corey Taylor. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metro.co.uk: Was music a cathartic experience for you?

Corey: I'm the poster boy for that. Music was my salvation. If music hadn't come into my life, I'd be talking to you from a penitentiary. I found I had a talent for music, which pulled me up from pretty dire circumstances. I was lucky I had a guiding light in music to keep me focused and from falling into the easy traps that surround you when you grow up poor and fall into trouble.

Metro.co.uk: Who inspired you when you were younger?

Corey: When I was very young, I was exposed to Elvis and my mom was a huge disco fan, so I was well acquainted with the BEE GEES. Credit where it's due — there are fantastic melodies in those songs. My biggest influences were 1980s punk and metal. METALLICA were my biggest influence because they were good at everything — riffs, energy, but with such an ear for melody it was hard not to get pulled into it and become a fanatic.

Metro.co.uk: Have SLIPKNOT got a typical fan?

Corey: Probably kids who were like me growing up. Not a lot of money but a dedication to music. When you grow up poor, you look for your outlet. You either set fire to portable toilets – which I've done; it's fascinating to watch a Portaloo melt into plastic and form a big puddle, like a huge toadstool — or you find an escape. SLIPKNOT fans have that escape in our music, which is why I take it so seriously. Growing up in chaos is never easy but if you feel you have no voice, it's even worse. We're an outlet for that, which is why I put so much thought into my lyrics. I want people to take something away from that. We get new fans every day and our fans are the ones who are desperately trying to find something to do. And if they can't find something to do, it's usually at the taxpayers' expense.

Metro.co.uk: Has your audience changed over the years?

Corey: Our original fans have grown up and done pretty well. We were father figures to a lot of them and helped guide them, which is a huge thing to say. So now we have families coming to our gigs but we haven't dumbed anything down.

Read the entire interview from Metro.co.uk.