Corey Todd Taylor (born December 8, 1973) is an American musician, songwriter and actor. He is the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he is designated #8, as well as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and lyricist for the rock band Stone Sour. Taylor co-founded Stone Sour with drummer Joel Ekman in 1992, playing in the Des Moines, Iowa area, and working on a demo. He joined Slipknot in 1997 to replace their original lead singer Anders Colsefni and has subsequently released seven studio albums with them. After the first two Slipknot albums went Platinum, Taylor revived Stone Sour to record an album and tour in 2002. His debut solo studio album, CMFT, was released in 2020. He has also worked with several other acts, including Junk Beer Kidnap Band, Korn, Disturbed, Apocalyptica, Code Orange, Anthrax, Steel Panther, Tonight Alive, Falling in Reverse, Soulfly, Damageplan, and The Clay People.