Corey Taylor says he is 'scared to death' at the prospect of playing live without co-founder and bassist Paul Gray for any future venues.
Slated to play their first show without Gray on June 17th, Taylor recently told Kerrang! magazine that he was "nowhere near prepared for the emotion that's going to happen."
Gray died of a suspected drug overdose in June of 2010 and the band has been struggling to cope since. There was some question as to if they would even go on as a band. Just last September Taylor was quoted as saying that he was "very conflicted about whether or not [he wants] to do anything with Slipknot". He would later decide that maintaining the band would be something that Paul would have wanted and in that spirit, feels that they should.
In talking to Karrang!, Taylor stated "[Gray's death] is still reverberating through my life," he explained. "Every day something reminds me and I still can't f*cking handle it."
Slipknot's fans, affectionately referred to as 'maggots', are generally a passionate group and the tour this summer will no doubt show that. "That first show is going to be the test," Taylor said. "That tour is going to be a test. It's going to be very hard." Slipknot are set to headline the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth Park on July 10 and will play several other European festivals.
The band recently announced that Donnie Steele, who played with Slipknot when they formed in 1996, would act as Gray's replacement for their summer live dates.
Source:
NME
