IN REVIEW: Corey Taylor - "CMFT"

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Corey Taylor is a very creative person, and one with many outlets. Of course, his pair of world-conquering bands (Slipknot and Stone Sour, if you need to be reminded) spring to mind immediately, with well over two decades and a dozen albums' worth of material to channel himself through. Then, there are the countless guest appearances on other artists' work, the four books he's penned to date, and the numerous film and TV appearances. He's also known for his love of performing covers, alone or with friends, as a cursory YouTube search will reveal.

After decades of hard work, by 2020 about the only thing he hadn't done was release an actual solo album, so here we are. If the myriad of other projects he routinely dips his toes into didn't exactly give it away, it at least makes sense when put in that context that CMFT would be a scattershot affair with Taylor wildly and gleefully throwing everything at the wall. There's Volbeat-esque cowboy metal, radio-ready butt rock, cock rock inspired anthems and possibly the most horribly out of touch rap-rock turd that I've ever heard (CMFT Must Be Stopped most definitely should have been stopped).

The thing is, it's evident that Corey and his cohorts had an absolute blast making this record; the performances are loose and free of the pressures that come with following up, say, Iowa or Come What(ever) May. Without expectations and given free reign, it shouldn't be surprising that Taylor would approach CMFT like a kid in a candy store.

The other thing is, when you're throwing everything at the wall, it helps if something sticks; aside from the occasional catchy chorus or particularly interesting sonic swerve, there really isn't much of substance here. Also, as an album, there's no momentum to be had when it seems like every song is paying tribute to a different influence; Taylor could have accomplished a potentially more intriguing album if he was simply recording covers of his favourite artists instead.

All said, you can't really fault the guy for letting loose; I just wish the resultant album had fewer wild stunts and more good ideas.

October 2, 2020 • Roadrunner
Highlights Black Eyes Blue • Samantha's Gone • Silverfish

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