See Slipknot’s Corey Taylor Enter His Own Multiverse in Solo ‘Beyond’ Video

Corey Taylor confronts a legion of Corey Taylors in the music video for “Beyond,” as a dozen or so men wearing different iterations of the Slipknot singer’s crash-test dummy mask approach him in the desert. Taylor, who’s dressed like a postapocalyptic Captain America in a flag outfit and eyepatch, just smirks and wins them over and leads them all back to the carnival where he and his solo band are rocking their way through the track, which is the first single from his upcoming CMF2 album, due out Sept. 15.

In an exclusive behind-the-scenes video for Rolling Stone, Taylor explains the concept for the video, which he and his band shot with director Dale “Rage” Resteghini at an abandoned water park in Lake Dolores, California in the Mojave Desert. “This whole video is a metaphor,” he says. “It’s a representation of where we are right now as a nation, as a country, as a people. The fact that no one accepts that Americans look different, talk different, speak different, love different is completely fucking ludicrous. So this video is a journey of where America is right now going to where America is right now, because like it or not, this is America, man.”

“Corey’s creative thinking process, he’s got a real vision for the project,” Rage said. “He’s one of the few true rock stars left. …  We wanted to do a live performance at the end, because Corey wants to give back to his fans that came out, because we are three hours out from anywhere.”

For most of the clip, Taylor sports a white “serviceable villain” T-shirt while playing the hard rocker, which builds slowly to a teeth-gritting chorus: “It’s only my heart that you’re taking/It’s just so alive it’s amazing/Before we begin, I want to make it go on and on and on and on.” As they play, an impromptu, Mad Max–like carnival erupts around them as members of the performance-art group the Cherry Bombs blow fire and dance and others spin in giant hula hoops, all as Taylor’s fans cheer on the song, playing into Taylor’s lyric, “I want to take it beyond.”

“The song, and the video, is a reflection of finding the massive love in your life, the passion that comes along with it, and the fire that keeps you running and smiling,” Taylor tells Rolling Stone. “It is a celebration of discovery, a croon of lust and gold, and a call for all to join the revelry.

“I originally wrote it as an aggressive romantic song, but I’m also looking at it now as a kind of ‘come together’ song,” he continues. “Bringing the masses together and letting them know that I want my music to take them beyond what they may think about me. Maybe they’ve had a misconception about me. It’s not exactly a calling card, more like throwing the bat signal up and being, ‘All right, let’s turn everything on its head.’ It’s almost a dual threat, because now I look at it from two standpoints.”

The album follows up Taylor’s first solo album, 2020’s CMFT, which he describes as “where I was coming from.” The new album, he says, is “where we’re going.” Alongside his bandmates, Taylor plays lead and rhythm guitar, piano, and mandolin on the album.

It’s fair to assume, however, that when the band hits the road this summer, with dates kicking off in Denver in August, the scene will look more like the “Beyond” video. Tickets for the tour go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time. Presales start today at noon with the password CMF2.

CMF2 Track List

1. “The Box”
2. “Post Traumatic Blues”
3. “Talk Sick”
4. “Breath of Fresh Smoke”
5. “Beyond”
6. “We Are the Rest”
7. “Midnight”
8. “Starmate”
9. “Sorry Me”
10. “Punchline”
11. “Someday I’ll Change Your Mind”
12. “All I Want Is Hate”
13. “Dead Flies”

Corey Taylor Tour Dates

Aug. 25 – Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium *
Aug. 27 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater *
Aug. 28 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore *
Aug. 30 – Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave/Eagles Club – Eagles Ballroom *
Aug. 31 – Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre *
Sept. 2 – Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory *
Sept. 3 – Pryor, OK @ Pryor Creek Music Festival Grounds (Rocklahoma) ***
Sept. 5 – Detroit, MI @ The Fillmore Detroit *
Sept. 7 – Cleveland, OH @- House of Blues *
Sept. 9 – Cincinnati, OH @ The Andrew J Brady Music Center *
Sept. 10 – Alton, VA @ Virginia International Raceway (Blue Ridge Rock Festival) ***
Sept. 12 – Montclair, NJ @ The Wellmont Theater *
Sept. 13 – Boston, MA @ House of Blues *
Sept. 15 – Wallingford, CT @ The Dome at Oakdale **
Sept. 16 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount **
Sept. 18 – North Myrtle Beach, SC @ House of Blues **
Sept. 19 – Orlando, FL @ House of Blues **
Sept. 21 – Huntsville, AL @ Mars Music Hall **
Sept. 22 – Louisville, KY @ Kentucky Exposition Center (Louder Than Life) ***
Sept. 24 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues **
Sept. 25 – Dallas, TX @ House of Blues **
Sept. 27 – Albuquerque, NM @ Revel **
Sept. 28 – Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre **
Sept. 29 – Henderson, NV @ The Dollar Loan Center ***
Oct. 1 – San Diego, CA @ House of Blues **
Oct. 3 – Riverside, CA @ Riverside Municipal Auditorium **
Oct. 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern **
Oct. 7 – Sacramento, CA @ Discovery Park (Aftershock Festival) ***

* w/ Wargasm & Oxymorrons
** w/ Wargasm & Luna Aura
*** Festival / Radio show