Greetings, good people of planet Earth, and welcome to another album review. Today, we’ll be looking at the debut solo album from heavy metal legend, Corey Taylor. Perhaps equally known for his work in Slipknot, Stone Sour, and his endless laundry list of strong opinions expressed in viral interviews, the rock world has seen many sides of Corey Taylor. Given the notable amount of artistic versatility that Taylor has already boasted, spanning over two decades now, it came as a surprise to many when he announced a new solo project, featuring songs that he didn’t feel would fit Slipknot or Stone Sour. And now, CMFT (I don’t think I need to tell you what this stands for) is here. So what do we get from Corey Taylor’s solo debut? Is this music different enough from the work of Taylor’s other bands to justify being its own entity?
It absolutely is. I can honestly say that if Taylor dared to release this as a Slipknot or Stone Sour album, his fans would’ve lost their minds. CMFT is more or less an homage to Taylor’s musical roots, dabbling in hard rock, blues, country, punk, and even hip hop. And I’ll just say right off the bat that it’s all pretty derivative. If you were expecting an intriguing, promising beginning to a Corey Taylor solo discography as musically rich and unmistakable as Slipknot and Stone Sour, you may be disappointed. This album comes off as much more of a one-off, just for fun dream project for Taylor. But as such, it actually works pretty well.
Nearly the entire first half of the album consists of 70s-style southern hard rock, somewhere between Lynyrd Skynyrd and AC/DC. And while songs such as “HWY 666,” “Samantha’s Gone,” and “Halfway Down” are fine, there’s not too much more I can say about them. If you’ve spent any amount of time listening to this kind of music, you can pretty much predict every melody, every dynamic shift, every blisteringly bluesy guitar solo, and every verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-solo-chorus-chorus roadmap. The songs are well-written, and actually pretty fun in the moment, but don’t leave much of a lasting impression.
Around the halfway mark, things start getting more interesting. Not that much more original, mind you, but this is where we hear Taylor dip his toe into a larger variety of styles and influences. Sticking with the southern theme, “Kansas” utilizes a 90s alternative melody, in the style of Blues Traveler or Sister Hazel, but packed with a Foo Fighters instrumental punch, and I promise it’s nowhere near as lame as I just made it sound. Overall, the song really works, and makes for quite a pleasant midpoint to the record. Next, we move into “Culture Head,” a pretty heavy tune, and perhaps the closest Taylor sounds to Slipknot or Stone Sour on the album. Not that it’s anywhere near as good as the best material from those bands, but the riffs and drumming are solid, and it’s good for a nice headbang. “Everybody Dies on My Birthday” matches the intensity of “Culture Head,” but moves in a more punk direction, continuing in this direction of unexpected expansion of the sonic palate of the record. “The Maria Fire” might have gotten lost in the sauce had it been placed on the first half of the record, but at track 10, it’s a nice stand out, a swanky Mississippi-style blues tune, with a soft and ghostly, to big and loud verse-chorus dynamic. “Home” is a one of the biggest stylistic standouts, a stripped-bare piano ballad, featuring a raw and vulnerable vocal performance from Taylor. But “CMFT Must Be Stopped” is perhaps the biggest black sheep on the album, a rap song featuring Tech N9ne and Kid Bookie. I must admit, seeing this on the tracklist made me a little nervous. But believe me when I say this might be the best song on the entire album. A throwback to the early rap-metal collabs of the 80s, this song throws down a pounding riff, an irresistible hook, and some pretty sweet bars from both of the guest rappers, as well as Taylor himself. No joke people, this song is an absolute romp. The album closes with a brief, two-minute hardcore punk blast, entitled “European Tour Bus Bathroom Song,” which is fine, but adds very little to the experience overall.
The most lyrically interesting songs on the album largely coincide with the most musically interesting songs, with the first half largely consisting of outlaw tales about traveling down the road, meeting the devil at the crossroads, and the like. The one shining exception here is “Black Eyes Blue,” a fun and endearing song to Taylor’s wife, with a nice, earwormy chorus. Taylor sings about his wife once again in “Home,” where the aforementioned beautiful piano accompaniment and powerful vocal performance really drive home the heartfelt and impassioned lyrics, and again in “Kansas,” where he sings of yearning to be home with her, when he’s on tour. Taylor takes a more backhanded outlook on love in “The Maria Fire,” a song about a past relationship. “Culture Head” sees Taylor taking stabs at everything he sees as wrong with society, from organized religion to WOKE culture, just in case you ever found yourself wondering, “what does Corey Taylor think about this?” (sorry, couldn’t help myself). Perhaps the biggest throwaway, both musically and lyrically, “European Tour Bus Bathroom Song” consists entirely of Taylor and his backing band screaming a series of letters, spelling “Please do not put paper in the toilet, please use the bin provided,” set to loud, fast, noisy hardcore punk instrumentals. I guess it’s kind of funny, but it’s not the most gratifying way to end an album.
As I said early on in this review, this album comes nowhere near the musical greatness that Corey Taylor has achieved with Slipknot and Stone Sour, and is really more of a dream project where Taylor takes an opportunity to wear his influences on his sleeve. The trick to enjoying CMFT is to take it in as exactly that. If you’re not a Corey Taylor fan, this album will probably do absolutely nothing for you, and even if you are, you likely won’t come back to it after the novelty wears off. But that’s not to say Taylor doesn’t pull off this variety of sounds and styles exceptionally well, and if anything, it sees Taylor displaying his versatility in ways that are new for him. Be honest, would you have ever expected songs like this to come from the man who provided vocals for an album as brutal and nasty as Slipknot’s Iowa? CMFT is little more than a glorified tribute album, but hey, at this point in his career, Corey Taylor has more than earned the right to have some fun. And if you check whatever expectations you may have had for this album at the door, you’ll have some fun with it too.
Score: 6/10
Favorite Song(s): CMFT Must Be Stopped, Home, Culture Head
Least Favorite Song(s): European Tour Bus Bathroom Song, HWY 666, Halfway Down
Phil Klinker Music Reviews 