Slipknot’s Corey Taylor calls Enter Sandman “our generation’s Stairway To Heaven”
It was an essential riff to learn when Taylor was starting out playing guitar.
Images: Simon Hofmann / Gus Stewart Getty
Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor has praised the ubiquity of Metallica‘s Enter Sandman’s main riff in the guitar world, comparing it to how Stairway To Heaven’s intro became a “must-learn” riff.
Taylor was speaking to Knotfest’s Ryan J Downey about Metallica in celebration of the release of The Metallica Blacklist, a 50-plus song covers album featuring everyone from Elton John to Phoebe Bridgers to Taylor himself.
Taylor explained: “One of the first songs I ever learned how to play on guitar was Enter Sandman, because that was kind of our generation’s Stairway To Heaven or Smoke on the Water. It’s one of those riffs in that… I like to call it the Guitar Center virus. Anybody who comes into a Guitar Center is either playing Sandman, Crazy Train, Smoke On The Water or Stairway or Whole Lotta Love.”
He described Enter Sandman as one of these “gateway riffs where you go, ‘Oh, I figured it out.’”
Taylor also stated that Metallica riffs became “a language that you could speak to other musicians when you’re jamming for the first time. If you kicked into Blitzkrieg or something, or if you kicked into Ride The Lightning, and they kicked in with you, you knew you were off to the races, because you don’t just learn that riff, you learned the whole tune and you just go for it.”
“It was almost like an initiation in a weird way; you knew how to do it. So I played Metallica in almost every band that I’ve been in; it’s always just been there. I mean, from my first sort-of-real band Criminal Mischief all the way up to my solo band.”
For The Metallica Blacklist, Taylor picked his cover to be the track Holier Than Thou. In total, the new album features 53 tracks, with names such as Mac DeMarco, Weezer, Sam Fender, The Chats and Miley Cyrus all picking a song to cover. Taylor’s version of the track is below.
The Metallica Blacklist’s full tracklist:
- Enter Sandman – Alessia Cara & The Warning
- Enter Sandman – Mac DeMarco
- Enter Sandman – Ghost
- Enter Sandman – Juanes
- Enter Sandman – Rina Sawayama
- Enter Sandman – Weezer
- Sad But True (Live) – Sam Fender
- Sad But True – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit
- Sad But True – Mexican Institute of Sound feat. La Perla & Gera MX
- Sad But True – Royal Blood
- Sad But True – St. Vincent
- Sad But True – White Reaper
- Sad But True – YB
- Holier Than Thou – Biffy Clyro
- Holier Than Thou – The Chats
- Holier Than Thou – OFF!
- Holier Than Thou – PUP
- Holier Than Thou – Corey Taylor
- The Unforgiven – Cage The Elephant
- The Unforgiven – Vishal Dadlani, DIVINE, Shor Police
- The Unforgiven – Diet Cig
- The Unforgiven – Flatbush Zombies feat. DJ Scratch
- The Unforgiven – Ha*Ash
- The Unforgiven – José Madero
- The Unforgiven – Moses Sumney
- Wherever I May Roam – J Balvin
- Wherever I May Roam – Chase & Status feat. BackRoad Gee
- Wherever I May Roam – The Neptunes
- Wherever I May Roam – Jon Pardi
- Don’t Tread on Else Matters – SebastiAn
- Don’t Tread on Me – Portugal. The Man
- Don’t Tread on Me – Volbeat
- Through the Never – The HU
- Through the Never – Tomi Owó
- Nothing Else Matters – Phoebe Bridgers
- Nothing Else Matters – Miley Cyrus feat. WATT, Elton John, Yo-Yo Ma, Robert Trujillo, Chad Smith
- Nothing Else Matters – Dave Gahan
- Nothing Else Matters – Mickey Guyton
- Nothing Else Matters – Dermot Kennedy
- Nothing Else Matters – Mon Laferte
- Nothing Else Matters – Igor Levit
- Nothing Else Matters – My Morning Jacket
- Nothing Else Matters – PG Roxette
- Nothing Else Matters – Darius Rucker
- Nothing Else Matters – Chris Stapleton
- Nothing Else Matters – TRESOR
- Of Wolf and Man – Goodnight, Texas
- The God That Failed – IDLES
- The God That Failed – Imelda May
- My Friend of Misery – Cherry Glazerr
- My Friend of Misery – Izïa
- My Friend of Misery – Kamasi Washington
- The Struggle Within – Rodrigo y Gabriela