Corey Taylor 

Corey Taylor (born December 8, 1973) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of Slipknot and Stone Sour.

Corey Taylor is a founding member of Stone Sour, and has released five studio albums with that band. Taylor joined Slipknot in 1997 to replace their original singer. He has released four studio albums with them. He has worked with several bands, including Junk Beer Kidnap Band, Apocalyptica, Anthrax, Aaron Lewis ofStaind, and Soulfly. Taylor was ranked number 86 in Hit Parader's Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.

Corey Taylor was born in Des Moines, Iowa on December 8, 1973.He lived in Orlando briefly with his uncle, George Robson though Taylor was mostly raised by his mother in Waterloo, Iowa, a place described by Taylor as a "hole in the ground with buildings around it." He is of Belgian, Polish and Danish background from his father's side. Taylor was raised by his single mother. He developed a fond feeling toward classic rock after his grandmother introduced him to it.

In Des Moines, Iowa, Joey Jordison, Shawn Crahan, and Mick Thomson approached him asking him to join Slipknot. He agreed to go to one of their practices, and ended up singing in front of them. Of Slipknot's nine members, Corey was the sixth to join the band.

Feeling he could expand more in Slipknot than in Stone Sour, Taylor temporarily quit Stone Sour, even though they were recording an album with Sean McMahon. Taylor's first gig with Slipknot was on August 22, 1997, which according to band members did not go well.

Taylor has appeared as a guest musician on albums by Soulfly, Apocalyptica and Damageplan. At one point, he was heavily involved in the recording of thrash metal band Anthrax's album, Worship Music, but the sessions remain unreleased. He also contributed to the Roadrunner United all-star album in 2005, providing vocals for the song "Rich Man". Taylor has also made a brief appearance in Steel Panther's singles "Death to All but Metal", "Eyes of a Panther", and "Asian Hooker". About his colabaration with Steel Panther, Taylor said the following: "Honestly, it was a great time- I love that fuckin band, and the guys are all amazing." In 2006, Taylor founded the record company Great Big Mouth Records. Taylor has produced two albums: Face Cage's self-titled album and Walls of Jericho'sRedemption. Taylor provided guest narration on the track "Repentance" for Dream Theater's 2007 album Systematic Chaos. In an interview with Billboard magazine, Taylor confirmed that on January 13, 2009, he was planning on making a solo album, as well as returning to his side project Stone Sour after Slipknot's All Hope Is Gone World Tour. Taylor has stated that he is currently been writing songs that states "don't fit either of his main bands." He describes them as a cross between Foo Fighters, Johnny Cash, and Social Distortion, saying that there's "a country background that comes built-in with living in Iowa".