Acclaimed horror artist Tom Savini has addressed the backlash against Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor's new mask.
It's been just under a month since Slipknot unveiled their brand-new We Are Not Your Kind-era masks, and it's safe to say that the Internet has spoken of very little else since.
Frontman Corey Taylor even addressed the topic earlier this week, responding to a fan on Instagram that he'll never change the Tom Savini-created mask because it bothers so many people.
Now, the acclaimed horror artist has spoken out about the backlash against Corey's new look – first off explaining how the pair came to meet and work together. (He also name-checks Kerrang!, which is pretty damn cool if we do say so ourselves.)
“…I was on a plane with my wife looking at old photographs, and there’s a picture of her with Corey in 2014," Tom says. "I think it was my assistant, Jason Baker, who talked to him backstage at a show and Corey mentioned needing a mask. I guess my assistant said like, 'Hey, I work for Tom Savini,' and the next thing you know Corey Taylor is in my house playing with my cats, then we made a cast of him.
“Then we did the mask, and the mask has gone crazy! There was a lot of negative response, initially. I just got a copy of Kerrang! with Corey talking about the man behind the mask — about me — in that magazine, but the fans were like, ‘Savini? Oh shit, my sister could have done better than that.’ Someone even fastened a milk carton to their face and posted a side-by-side and said, ‘Nailed it!’ Regardless, the mask looks excellent.”
• Visit the official Kerrang! Ticket Store
Indeed, in that very Man Behind The Mask panel that Tom speaks of, Corey gushed to us of their work partnership: “From a horror fan standpoint, I could not have been giddier, let’s put it that way. I was an absolute buffoon hanging out with him. And then there was the added pleasure of rubbing it in to my friends that I got to actually hang out with Tom Savini, and have him help me design a mask.
“Tom is one of the coolest people that I have ever met in my entire life. It was such a pleasure and an honour to work with him. I met him through one of his assistants, and we got to talking, and it became something that we really started thinking about and getting cool with. It’s one of those things that reminds you of why you got into this in the first place – to do things that inspire you, and work with people who you have looked up to for a long time, and to realise that it’s because of the work that you’ve done in your life and your career. It was everything I could have fucking wanted and more. The guy is just an absolute class act. And he let me geek out on all his memorabilia, which, as a fanboy, is all you could ask for!”
Slipknot will be heading out on a ton of international tour dates later this year, including European festival shows, their Knotfest North American tour and a handful of dates in Australia and New Zealand opening for Metallica.
Find the full list of remaining shows below:
June
13 Nickelsdorf, Austria @ Novarock
14 Interlaken, Switzerland @ Greenfield
15 Derby, UK @ Download Festival
17 Leipzig, Germany @ Arena Leipzig
18 Hannover, Germany @ TUI Arena
21 Copenhagen, Denmark @ Copenhall
22 Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop
25 Krakow, Poland @ Mystic Festival
26 Sopron, Hungary @ Volt Fest
27 Bologna, Italy @ Sonic Park
29 Madrid, Spain @ Download Festival
July
1 Nîmes, France @ Amphitheatre Nîmes
4 Lisbon, Portugal @ VOA
5 Viveiro, Spain @ Resurrection Fest
8 Quebec City, Quebec @ FEQ
26 Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
27 San Bernardino, CA @ San Manuel Amphitheater
August
1 Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
3 Albuquerque, NM @ Sleta Amphitheater
4 Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
6 Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
8 Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena
10 Des Moines, IA @ Iowa State Fairgrounds
11 Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
12 Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
14 Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
16 Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
17 Bonner Springs, KS @ Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
18 Maryland Heights, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
20 Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
21 Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
23 Burgettstown, PA @ KeyBank Pavilion
24 Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
25 Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater
27 Mansfield, MA @ The Xfinity Center
28 Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
30 Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
31 Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion
September
1 Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
3 Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
4 Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
6 Austin, TX @ Austin 360 Amphitheater
7 Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
8 The Woodlands, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
October
17 Perth, AUS @ Optus Stadium
20 Adelaide, AUS @ Adelaide Oval
22 Melbourne, AUS @ Marvel Stadium
24 Melbourne, AUS @ Marvel Stadium
26 Sydney, AUS @ ANZ Stadium
29 Brisbane, AUS @ QSAC
31 Auckland, NZ @ Mt. Smart Stadium
November
2 Auckland, NZ @ Mt. Smart Stadium
Slipknot headline Download Festival this weekend. Get your tickets now.
