CMF2

On his second solo album, Slipknot and Stone Sour lead singer Corey Taylor takes on toxic relationships, mental health issues, “sappy, stupid hippie songs,” and more. Singles “Post Traumatic Blues,” “Talk Sick,” and “Beyond” lock in an upbeat alt-rock tone, while the latter—along with “Starmate” and “Someday I’ll Change Your Mind”—were written for his wife, dancer and Cherry Bombs co-founder Alicia Taylor. “*CMF2*, as a whole, is a glimpse of where my solo music is going,” Taylor tells Apple Music. “It’s more focused; sharper, better songwriting, better performances, just *better*. It’s a journey covering dozens of emotions and issues, and you never know where it will take you each time.” Below, he comments on each track. **“The Box”** “The curtain draws back, the band begins slowly rolling along on its climb to the top of the mountain, and \[then\] the inevitable slide towards the gravity of life. This song sets the tone for what’s to come without giving away the secrets inside.” **“Post Traumatic Blues”** “Dedicated to those struggling with PTSD and their families. This song is a fiery message building a bridge between the ones who suffer and the loved ones trying desperately to understand what’s happening to them.” **“Talk Sick”** “A taste of the medicine that comes with toxic relationships and the melancholy aftermath that comes when you get even. Everyone loses.” **“Breath of Fresh Smoke”** “I wrote this in 2005 as I started to get my life back together. Classic case of a person with a huge soul being bigger than the town they grew up in.” **“Beyond”** “I got tired of every love song being sappy, so I wrote one that has the same feel and urgency as when I’ve been away from my wife too long. Why can’t a love song kick ass?” **“We Are the Rest”** “A rowdy anthem that lets the upper 1 percent know they’re on borrowed time. We represent the wave that will wash them all out to sea.” **“Midnight”** “A song about getting in your car in the depths of a quiet depression and driving through a city without seeing it at all.” **“Starmate”** “One rocking love song works, why not two? This is a banger that will definitely fit in perfectly with our live set.” **“Sorry Me”** “A song about trying to figure out for yourself the mistakes that may have gotten you to the present place you reside. The silence speaks for itself.” **“Punchline”** “A satire about trying to get rid of the people in your life who fill you with guilt for being who you are, even when who you are is amazing.” **“Someday I’ll Change Your Mind”** “One more song for my wife. I wrote this for her on her birthday and had all our friends help me sing the *whoa*s to her. This song is very special. And the piano on the track is my actual piano that I have at home that my wife spent a year finding for me.” **“All I Want Is Hate”** “There are a lot of sappy, stupid hippie songs in the world that have no pragmatic solutions, just syrupy emotions. This song is an answer to those songs—one in particular.” **“Dead Flies”** “A vision of the future for a leech of a person who you’ve cut out of your life—a person who used to mean a lot. Now, because of the choices they’ve made in life, the only beings that will be left hanging around them will be dead flies.”

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor assuredly takes his solo work to the next level on commanding second album.

Corey Taylor has proven himself to be quite the versatile musician. First, the world got to know Taylor as the masked, furious frontman of metal band SLIPKNOT. Then, he showed off his softer, more melodic side as the leader of STONE SOUR. Then, once again, Taylor reinvented himself on his debut solo...

Issy Herring reviews the new solo album from Corey Taylor! Read the review of 'CMF2' here on Distorted Sound!