Corey Taylor says Metallica’s James Hetfield inspired him to get sober

Corey Taylor has detailed how Metallica’s James Hetfield was instrumental in his road to sobriety.

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The Slipknot frontman battled alcoholism for many years before getting sober in 2010. In a new interview with Consequence of Sound, Taylor opens up about his journey: “[I was] dealing with my own various addictions and fighting the depression that I had to deal with for years – the trauma that kind of came from when I was growing up,” he says.

“I think one of the people who helped me kind of figure it out was James Hetfield. When he first started his journey, getting sober and getting healthy and whatnot, I looked at that, and I was like, ‘Well, shit, if he’s strong enough to do it, maybe I can try it.’”

“[Sobriety] had a big enough effect on me that, over the years, I’ve really tried to stick with it,” he continues.

“In figuring that out, I also realised that there were so many people who were going down that path, as well. Jerry Cantrell had just gotten sober around that time, and he was starting to kind of put his steps together.”

As Taylor explains, the battle doesn’t end once you get clean: “It takes time; it takes effort, takes work,” he says. “I really have to give [Hetfield] a lot of credit for the inspiration for that… It definitely helped to know that I wasn’t alone in it. And it certainly helped me clear my head and focus more. And really get down to writing again – really, truly writing.”

In other news, Taylor recently released his second solo album CMFT2. The singer will also be embarking on a solo tour around the UK and Europe this November.