The Downbeat - CHRIS MOTIONLESS | NEW ALBUM: DECADES, PLAYING GOD + TOXIC SOCIAL MEDIA.

Episode Date: May 13, 2026

My guest on the podcast this week is Chris Motionless of Motionless In White. We caught up before their set at Welcome To Rockville to talk everything about their new album Decades, as well as working with your heroes, and the toxic social media epidemic that is the inspiration for latest single Playing God, featuring said hero: Corey Taylor.

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What's up, guys? Welcome back to the Downbeat podcast live but not live from Welcome to Rockville. My guest on the podcast this week is the amazing, the untouchable Chris Motionless from Motionless in White. I told him emotionless a while back. He's a fan of the podcast, which is amazing to me. Just the nicest guy. We've been talking about doing this for a long time. We had a small window of time to get him at this festival, so you bet you're asked. We got him for you. talked about decades the new upcoming motionless and white album we talked about playing god the latest single with corey taylor of slipnot we talked a lot about the toxic nature of social media we talk about vampires we got the scoop i got the scoop for you if you want to support the podcast

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Everyone is using this for either their demos, their full final recordings or just jamming at home. If you want 30% off any neuraldSP plugin, go to neuraldisp.com and use the code downbeat. Check it out. It's Chris Motionless of Motionless and White on the Downbeat podcast. What's up, everyone? I'm here with maybe the most requested guests of all time on the Dowby. No way.

Get that. Really? No way. Yeah. You don't say. You are so requested. That's very cool. Thanks.

Thanks, everybody. Chris from Motionless in White. It was the first time we met. You said something really nice to me the first time we met. We toured together. You took Stray on tour? Yes. Correct.

Thanks for that. I love Stray. I was blind. We'll talk a little more about. that later. Oh, he's going to lead the interview. Before Chris got here, I was like, I wish I could do an interview in the sunglasses. And then he turned up and was like, I'm doing it in sunglasses. And I was like, motherfucker, me too. We did a cover on our new album coming out of the sunglasses at night song. So this is really, realistically, just my press tour for the cover.

Like, who cares about the album? Sunglasses at night cover. I got to, you know, play the part and everything. I was going to ask you later on, but we're going to hit it right now, if that was a cover or you're just using the song title. Full cover. Full on cover. Metal version. No. No.

With covers, I know that it's very divided and polarizing whether you stick to like the original or do your whole new thing. And this is straight up for me. This is actually the first time I get to talk about it. I've been talking about a cover that I want to do more than anything in the world for like 12, 13 years now. I've said it, but I've never said what the song was. So this is finally the song. I've always wanted to do it. I thought, this song is like,

I feel like motionless should do sunglasses at night. And it started out as just a fun thing to try out doing. And then it just eventually made its way on the album. And it's very much for me. And if you don't like it, I don't give a fuck.

So not heavy at all, just like a cover of the song. I'm stoked on it. We brought like the guitars and stuff in, like, a little heavier. I mean, it's heavier than the original. Yeah. But it's not like,

there's no. breakdown or anything, you know? Where did the love for that song come from? I think it's like, it is like the 80s icon song. It's got all the synths. It's got the huge hook, the slick 80s swagger, you know? You got the synth in there and everything as well? Everything.

All of it, yeah. Before we did that tour together, number one, I was stoked because I was like, I didn't, I'll be honest with you. Until that point, I had only heard a couple of things and seen the imagery. and I was like oh that's cool as fuck but then I like had a thing in my head of like what motion has sounded like

and then night one of that tour I was like oh my God I love this this is like exactly the music I would try and make if I had any talent that wasn't drums but before we did the tour

everyone I knew like everyone in like the most niche metal and hardcore bands was like those guys are the fucking best and they were right But I want to know, did you come from like hardcore? Yes, I did. I feel like I came from a lot of angles all at once.

Like Metallica, you know, a lot of people's introduction into heavier alternative styles of music. It waterfalls so fast. It was Metallica, misfits. Then all down like the goth, whether it be AFI, the cure, like everything on that side. I just wanted to consume everything. So like punk hardcore bands, like Strike Anywhere, one of my favorite bands. Great thing. So many styles and the first shows I was going to were all hardcore shows in a local venue

called Cafe Metropolis. So like 100 people, 200 people learning what dancing was, like just subjected to like the most insane world of things I never knew existed all right all at once. Because like early motionless shows, people are hardcore dancing at them. I don't know how, but yeah. That is just the error we grew up in. Like, I don't feel like I see. Like, even to call it dancing, feels out of touch now.

Not out of touch. Like, that's just art. It's just moshing now, isn't it? Yeah, and people just say mosh, but it was dancing to me at that time. So I don't know if it's just like an age thing that we've been around for so long and I have, you know, been around for so long or what it is. But yeah, that's like the upbringing of live music and bands that I had. Vegan? No, not until 2016.

No, but you are vegan now? Yeah, yeah. Straight Edge? Yes. It's a fucking hardcore band. It's a sexy, synthy, heavy hardcore band. That's funny. Yeah, not everyone in the band is that, but I don't know.

It's just like the stuff that spoke to me, man. Like, all my favorite singers were vegan straight edge. Like, it just, the introduction to that stuff was all so vast, quickly and you know that was so inspired by that so that's just like that's just what became it who calls the shots at catering because I imagine you have the capability to be calling a lot of the shots I do not take advantage of that what I do take advantage of is the best thing that ever happened to touring Uber Eats and DoorDash really so you're not out to Uber Eats and DoorDash our sponsors for the downbeat today have you ever talked with architects no no

Okay. Architects do a full vegan crew has to have it. Oh, no way. Like, it's fucking heavy shit. I didn't know if you'd be like, okay, we're going to be doing this. No, I don't want to be the guy that, like, everyone hates because I, you know, my choices had to be inflicted upon them. I just choose my own way and just do whatever it is I want. But it's cool on this tour that we're on with Bring Me, you know, all these vegan. So what's even more sick is that the catering is, like, healthy vegan stuff.

Really, yeah. He's like Jack now. Yeah, it's crazy. How long is this tour? This one is like part two of a three-part tour. I think it ends on the 18th at Sonic Temple. So 17th or 18th. So it's been like two and a three weeks for it will be.

And you're ending it next week? Happy to go home? Yes and no. I mean, I love, this is what I love doing. But in between all these tours that we've been doing last year and this year, I've been like racing the deadline to finish our record all three. facets of the record. So I'm definitely, like, we basically finished it two days before I left for the tour

and then went dove right into like the launch plans and stuff. And I just wasn't like ready mentally to shift into doing a tour. But thankfully right away it clicked over. But I'm ready for just like, just give me like a two week reset and I'll be fine. Yeah, my minimum is a two week. If you give me seven days, that suitcase is not getting up. unpacked. I'm just fucking... It's so crazy that you say that. Like, I go

home and I actually don't unpack stuff from my suitcase. Like, I'll just put it in my office and then I'll find myself like waking up and going into the bag in my suitcase for socks and underwear. I feel like I do that. It's weird. Until it's empty. And then I'm like,

oh, yeah, I unpacked. You mentioned you've been busy on all facets of the album. Is it you? Are you like, because every album is almost like a thematic thing. and there's a real deliberate, like, aesthetic to everything. Is that all you? No, well, those guys, like, their opinion comes into play.

Like, I'll create, I don't like being a guy that doesn't, like, have anything or, like, if I don't like something, not having a suggestion to counter with. So, like, that's kind of what I present to everybody else, says I'll have a general idea or a concept, and then we'll discuss it. They can say what they want to say, and then I'll tweak it or whatever. Yeah, I would say most of everything starts with me, but then they have really rad ideas or like some people on our team will have really cool ideas.

So I'm not going to take all the credit at all. But I definitely, I would say, try to be the one to create the starting point of everything. How do you come up with those? Depends on circumstance, situations, like with the album title, it was like kind of decided for me. It was like, this is our 20-year anniversary.

How are we not going to put an album out on the 20-year anniversary? and do something that's so tethered to that, you know, like the album title is meant to, even the album cover or covers are very much tied to like 20 years, time, torn apart by time, et cetera. So, like, I try to just get this grand visual story in my mind. I don't want any part of it to not feel cohesive and tell the same story. So I kind of just think from the top down, everyone hates, They don't hate me, but I'm sure they would secretly be like, if you ask them away from me,

that usually my ideas start incredibly high and then get lowered due to budget or whatever time we have. Like, I just think so. Hey, y'all, it's Kelly Clarkson with Wayfair. Ever order furniture online and wonder, what if? Like, what if it doesn't hold up? That sofa was four days old. You should have ordered from Wayfair. With Wayfair, there's no what if.

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Can I say to sound smart? No, but it was a great word. So has there ever been anything, before we get onto this one, which you've set me up like a softball pitch there. Has there ever been anything you wanted to do, like you said, and then budget was just a no? That's more of the touring area. Oh, that production.

Yeah. I mean, dude, I want to have like a straight up, like the front facade of an entire haunted house, castle mansion thing on stage where like there's like the steps where we could go up into the different rooms and stuff. Like an evil night in 75. Yeah, exactly. That's such a cool reference. Yeah. I just saw Lady Gaga last summer and she had like this really. I've seen it. Yeah. Almost Sesame Street style like all the windows and stuff. Yes, and like something just like that where like wherever the band members are

changes the scenery of the show and it's just tough though because like you have to then build it transport it, all that stuff and then on top of that you have to have a million people to move it it gets, people do not realize

how insanely expensive touring is just to tour, never mind that you add all that production so. I assume you would want it to be practical and not be, yeah, not be. But then we have end up going for the video stuff and it's cool because we get to work with other really talented artists to do multiple different settings and scenes and that's it's not a compromise it's just a different

version of what we want you're not far off that level of being able to get the big haunted house on stage yeah we'll see i think uh these we have a summer tour coming up that will be our like first headliner with the album and uh we are doing mostly video but the layout of the video feels much different than anything we've done before so we'll we'll try to create like whatever you're ever cool, like you feel like you're in the world we're building per song. Where did the spookiness come from? You're such a spooky band, and I absolutely fucking love it. I was born in October, so I don't know.

My answer, anytime anyone asks, like, oh, why is this the stuff you're interested in? I guess I just, to me, Christmas and my birthday growing up were, like, the most exciting days of the year, and my birthdays were always mostly like Halloween themed. and I don't know if it just became like ingrained that early. I don't know. I just gravitate towards that stuff. And then that happened with the same like when I was interested in bands. It was like, oh, that guy looks really scary.

You know, Davy Havoc looks like Jack Skellington or, you know, like different time periods of my life have just had like these different icons that looked like that. And just translated into what we did as a band, you know. I love it. I love a bit of spookiness. If you want, we could. paint you up and get you up there again today. Bro, I'll fucking do it. I'll do it.

Don't. I deliberately, I've done it twice now and I deliberately was like, I ain't going to ask today. You're like, you're like, almost headlining. I'm not going to ask. However, if everyone was to say they wanted to happen, I would fucking do it. I'll talk to many about it. We'll see. We'll get back to you. Oh, God. Two of my favorite moments fucking ever, by the way, was doing that. We talked about it before. We love that.

I just want to have fun on stage. Like, first, you know, you bring up like the spooky and the production. and stuff and like, yeah, it's a serious thing that we do, but like I just want to have fun. I wanted to feel unserious and just enjoy what we're doing especially when you're doing it as often

as we are. So like when these moments happen like that, it's so fun and like breaks up what feels like a minor monotony of touring and you're always welcome. I'll never forget. The second time I did it, Vinny had mentioned it and then

he was like, yeah, I'll have to talk to Chris and you walked in and went oh what's up man and then then he goes can he play uh can he play slaughterhouse tonight and you went yeah awesome and that was it and it was like you i think you headlined or you nearly headline it's like it's a fucking probably 60 000 people in there and you're just trusting that with me just for fun it was awesome i appreciate it even if it were terrible i would still have had such a great time because i don't i don't care i just want to have fun i want to do cool shit with my friends you know do you think that's because you work so hard off tour. On tour, you're like, I just want to have some fucking fun right now.

That could be it, yeah. I would say like touring is the biggest attraction to this for me. Like I love creating music and recording and all that stuff, but touring is the moment where like that passion comes to, you know, or that fire burns the hottest, whatever you want to say. I use tour as a way to try to have the most fun than I can as like the reward for working so hard. Which is unique for a vegan, straightish person. Sorry, it was a joke, guys. It was a fucking joke. While you were just talking about it,

I really want to know, and I ask a lot of people this on here, because I like getting the insight, and hopefully these people like getting the insight. How does emotionless song get written? Because everyone has their own different ways of doing stuff. Most of them start with some singular idea where like, I'll just take a freight of the dark.

We just put that out in January. Let's take that, for example. That to me was like, we need to have a song, I want to have a song that feels like a throwback metal core, motionless song that captures all the emotions

like basically like what is the heart and soul of the band and let's create a song around that. So it's like idea and then I know that to do that we got to have the wrists, we got to have the breakdowns, etc., like all the callbacks

to like the classic creatures, motionless stuff that people like and that we like. That's kind of like the general sense of that. And then we'll just sit down and riff it out. Or like I'll try to have like a lyric in mind that I want to stick to. Each one just is truly different. But that song is more of like you have the vision.

You're recognizing like the time period around you. What's going all at the band and then create from there is that being your motivation. And you're like sat at a computer doing it? Yeah, I would say most of the time. Like I'll either work with these guys or my. other friends that I co-write with. I love working with people. I'll work alone, but like,

it feels uninspiring to work alone. Yeah. Because I love getting excited about stuff and, like, sharing that energy in the room. It's pretty much the gist of it, yeah. You also need a no guy. I need a no guy so much. Because if everyone just let me do whatever I wanted,

these two, on this platform, I need a no guy. Because I'll just be like, we're doing this, and then someone has to go, that's just a terrible idea. Yeah, I do. appreciate that a lot.

You could tell when someone's just not excited about something, then that's just not the right move, you know? They need to be bullied out of something, ideally. You just mentioned decades. You know, thematically about the decades of your band, seems like

quite a few songs might be about vampires, though. Well, that's definitely like a tie-in to the aesthetic of it. I do, I feel like the magic of the title to me is that it says so much, about what has happened, where we're at. But then, in my opinion, it also implies that there are more to come.

And in the actual title track, you know, I used the line torn by time, I survived, I am eternal. That sounds stupid to just spoken word it. But when you hear it, the way that it's... What do you mean to yourself? So it's not so much I as in me, Chris, is eternal. it's the general idea of what this is. You know, like, music is going to live on forever. And I wanted something that just felt like it had past, present, and future all in one title.

And it spoke to just, like, where the band is coming from and where we're going. What's cool about it, additionally, in my opinion, is that it also, to me, has, like, best-of kind of vibes. Like, it sounds like the best of emotionless would be called decades. and in the same breath, so many of the songs are referencing other songs throughout our entire history of being a band. You know, like the newer song we just put out has multiple different kind of sounds

and references to other songs that we've done. And I just think that that's awesome. Like fans can ride the wave of familiarity and also discover what's new. And it thematically is just so strong to me and exactly what I'm. wanted and again that's what that's what I just try to think of you know hate to be a massive stereotype guys but what I'm about to tell you about is I think a weekend curated and designed

specifically for me incarceration music and tattoo festival takes over Ohio State reformatory July 17th and 19th you know Shawshank Shawshank Redemption the IMDB top movie of all time for the most of time yeah that Ohio State reformatory it's three days of metal hard rock and tattoos where live music collides with artists, haunted history and an immersive experience that makes this one of the most unique festivals in the country. I told you it was for me. The historic allegedly haunted prison grounds will play host to Gojira, Bad Omen's Machine Head and tons more like Downbeat alumni dying wish landmarks and the bog are going to be there. Possibly even more exciting than that though more than a hundred tattoo eyes from around the country are

going to be transforming the prison into the monster energy tattoo convention. Any psychopaths looking to take home a permanent reminder of their festival weekend can do so at the festival, but please, Lord, clean it. You know what festival you like. If I didn't mention it was haunted, they have an unparalleled scare experience. You know those haunted houses where people scare their absolute out of you, but they're not allowed to touch you? I don't think, I can't remember. The blood prison offers more than just a walkthrough of a haunted attraction. It presents a chilling encounter with the supernatural.

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Go ahead. Tell me the fucking story. To speak more on decades, this is just so cool. that you said ass beater. So in the studio songs have their working title. I'm sure you guys have that too, right? You know, usually they're stupid, really dumb names. Oh, the worst.

So Decades' working title was called Aspeeder. What's funny is that Decades is very straight from the path inspired. No way. Yes. In what way? Well, you've got these weird guitar noises. There's definitely weird guitar noises. There's, uh, I

definitely hit some Drew-like moments on the vocals. No way. There's a lot of cool. Like, this interview feels so, you don't even realize how it messed it is in, like, the fabric of the record. Because you asked about a hardcore band, like, there's so much hate-breed influence in the title track. Yeah. Like all kinds of-old. I go, I hear this song.

It's cool. I could send it to you after this. There's a lot of stray influence. It was called Aspeater, so you say that. It's just funny. I love moments like this. Yeah, that's fucking awesome. I was nervous before you came here, Chris.

I was, too. I'm still sweating. Oh, shut up. Thank God for you. You said something really nice to me the first time we ever met. It was, and I don't even think you realized it, but you like, we met, what's up? And then you referenced like an old North Lane episode of the podcast. And I was like, Chris watches my podcast.

It was fucking awesome. I loved it. I got to know what blood rave sounds like. Well, it's very, I mean, it's clubby. It's very clubby. Yeah, I'll send that to you as well. Really, really cool moments. Like the bridge is very clubby and very industrial and awesome.

I can't wait. We took it very seriously with it calling it Blood Rave. Is it lyrically about anything to do a blade? It's not about Blade, no. Okay. It's more of a sonic reference to that moment, that whatever, but no, it's not about Blade. The lyrics are very much about like kind of speaking. to the outsider that might be interested in joining, you know, a festival, like the distant

observation by someone who might be intrigued by this world of things. Yeah. And I'm sort of taking the place of like music person and speaking to that person as this like sort of mysterious, dangerous entity that's, I don't know if loring them in is the right word. No, that's right. Like the blood rate. Yeah. Join us.

I really don't know how to say it. No, I get it. It's like this whole subcultural thing. If someone was looking at it and they wanted to get into it, you're the person that's like, come to the blood wave. Exactly. That's fucking cool. Yeah.

I really like writing not as a person sometimes. I like writing as something personify. And there are two songs on the record where I am writing as though I am music or I am the subculture. speaking to an outsider or someone internally. And that's such a cool, unique way to write songs, in my opinion, where it's not so much like me, me, me, I, I, I, all the time, you know. You must write, you know, it's like, you would run, I don't know,

because I don't write lyrics anymore. It must be kind of hard to just write about yourself all the times. Depends on what's going on. Yeah, true. Yeah, I think forever it's always going to be like four things. It's going to be observation, personal experiences, character-based, things or fun, dumb shit.

You know, like not my type. You know, just fun, stupid songs for just to have fun to, you know? I wish I could do a makeup band with stupid fucking songs. They're not stupid fucking songs. By we've got a big one to talk about it here. Playing God.

Oh! You are so angry. I'm not a lot to be pissed off about it. I'll tell you that. Guess what so am I? I saw your little statement about it and I was like, holy shit. shit.

Yeah. It's like a hate letter to social media. Dude. Yeah. It's a lot of hatred and anger towards just open. If I literally open my phone and went to fucking Twitter now, my entire feed would just be a bunch of people complaining about shit just for the, the engagement or it's fucking agonizing.

It's agonizing. So I don't use it very much anymore, you know? I don't see it stopping. which is my problem because algorithmically, what the algorithm has picked up is that engagement, comments and whatever, means good, push this. But actually what's happened is negative stuff invokes more of a reaction from people. So more comments, algorithm goes, that's good.

Let's show it to everyone. And in particular, we've established these type of people engage with this more. so let's show them this. It's just fucking the most toxic thing ever. Was there like a specific moment that led you to this or has this been building? No, it's been building. It's like it's nothing new to people

that the internet is just a toxic place. I mean, it's been like that for my entire existence on the internet before and with or without being in the band. It's just a terrible place to be. But like it feels like, Maybe post-pandemic, where the algorithm really, I guess, decided that negativity is the thing that, or maybe people, I don't know what it is. But it's just been my feeling for forever that this is just getting worse and worse and worse. And the more in the public eye our band gets, the more it continues to attract that same type of stuff where people just, it's just so hollow.

It's so self-indulgent. It is straight up. You don't actually mean any of what you're saying. You don't believe in what you're saying. You just hate slipping into irrelevancy. You cannot stand that someone didn't notice you today. And you need to just step into that spotlight for five fucking people to like your stupid-ass post and, you know, stroke your ego. And that's just, you know, nothing new.

And people don't realize it is like most of these opinions that people have, like you just said, like they don't really mean it. know what they're doing. And all you need to do is just not engage with it. And then it will die. Yeah. But it does not go away. If everyone complains about it, which they do, you can, like, it's not a foreign concept to people.

They see it. They know it. But they cannot help but to interact. Yeah. They cannot help themselves but to interact and give that energy a platform to exist. And that's the like, why? Why can't? Like, you don't have.

have to, like if there's something hateful out there, you don't have to go in there and fight the fight and engage with it. It does not care what you say to it. It just loves that you are saying something. And I don't know, I just wish that people could realize that more and help put an end to it, but that's just not the world we live in. You got any idea on how we can put an end to it? Short of not engaging. Because I've been thinking, but I got nothing. The only one I could think of algorithmically is that the algorithm doesn't prioritize comments as something that would push something. So it would just be likes, which is still bad, but like I feel like it's comments on things that are usually where further negativity is. Like someone could say something shitty, but then the comments are where it gets real fucking bad.

And then that gets pushed because there's a lot of comments. if they just took that away and it was based purely on likes or a secret dislike button. Maybe it would like... Yeah, like where's the downvote button? Yeah, they must one for a while. Yeah.

I feel like that might fix it. I don't know. I've got no answer. I agree. I mean, I think we're both... We have the same train of thought where it's like, minimize the engagement.

I appreciate when fans will go and like defend us in any post or whatever. But unfortunately, I wish more of them realize that the person posting whatever they posted, they don't... Like, you could... agree or disagree with them. Whatever it is, it doesn't fucking matter what you say. They're just, you know, celebrating, you know, having a great time that you gave their post something that's

going to then get them to the next person and the next person. So I don't know if it's maybe like an awareness thing or like, hey, you don't have to do this. Or like maybe I could address motionless fans. Be like, hey, I really love that you guys want to defend us. I appreciate that. Don't feel that you have to because in doing so, you're just feeling. fueling those posts to exist more because they don't care about what you have to say. They just love that you're saying something. They want the number. Oh, my God, I hit tweet.

I could do this all day, but I'm not going to. Because I actually need people to engage with this clip. Engage with this one, only the nice things. This is like honest, just sitting down with a person and wanted to talk to them. I think if you were to put this on YouTube and give it some. some sort of clickbait bullshit title with the like

face on, you know, oh my God. I can't do it. And that's the thing. And I have been, this has been an uphill battle because I refuse to do it.

So like, I don't want to be part of the negative. Like, I know this clipped out of context is going to get me a million views.

But it's also going to get me minus one million friendship manner and minus one million like people taking me fucking seriously people wouldn't want to come on here if like it's going to get clipped out of context or any of that shit but as a result

the podcast growth has been slow because I'm not doing the like you'll never believe what Chris motion that's just said I just I hate that for you I really do it's fine bro I've made my bed I can make an agreement that you can do that about about this

and we'll just we'll use it as a social experiment no I don't I don't even want to... Just do some crazy shit. I don't even want to... You won't believe. You won't believe. I am kind of jealous.

That obviously you... Much more famous than me. You get more of this shit. But I'm jealous that you have... Now, someone that doesn't have a band. I'm jealous that you can just be like, I'm just not going on social media. I have to be here.

I have to do it. And if I don't feel like it was someone really fucking mean to me, I'm like, still have to post. Yeah. It shouldn't be a job. The freedom to ignore it. I feel very privileged and that and lucky, you know,

that I don't have to engage with stuff. I don't have to feel like I've got to go on the Internet and defend myself anymore. Like, I know that it doesn't matter what I say. It won't change anything. It'll just make it worse, you know? Because then more people will be queued and tipped off to say, like, ooh, if I say this about Chris, he'll engage with me.

You know, like, I'm just glad that the awareness is there. And I have stepped. away like when you just do something over and over and over again and you are left every time feeling like I'm not enjoying this I'm not having fun in any other space of your life you wouldn't do that thing you know so why is social media any media any different walk away from it take a break limited I don't know a situation like yours that is what you're doing you know and I don't I don't I feel terrible yeah some of the same people so I guess some of the same people so I guess some of the prime offenders that I'm thinking are in my head, the type of people that would do, you know,

the sort of negativity for clicks that we're talking about. These people hate Sleep Token, right? I'll say that much. They hate the fact that Sleep Token are wearing masks. My brothers and sisters and everything in between in Christ, you are the people putting other people in masks because they don't want to be on the internet. I'm so jealous of the anonymity of those kind of bands. Let's talk for about three more hours so we could dive in because sleep token is like the target of so much of what we're talking about the people show up to be their most fucking rat bottom feeding scumbag cell four and there's plenty of bands people do that over but it's weird they get it the worst although you remember you're old like me bring me got it back in the day yeah biggest

heavy band in the world like at the time like most you know fastest rising heavy band in the world which sleep token are now. To look at the internet or to talk to primarily young men, most hated band in the world, but they just went like this. And sleep token is exactly the same. But with masks.

Pretty fucking cool masks. I can't allow myself, because we're going to start to sound like old guys who are just pissed off at the young internet. I'm trying to so hard to find that line. You can switch it up. I've got to ask you how the fuck Corey Taylor happened. Is that where you want to go? Yeah. I mean, You want to go more on sleep tugging internet shit.

It's good clicks for me. It's fine. It's fine. We've made our points. It took a long time for me to build the nerve up to ask them. You know, thankfully we have a bit of a relationship. You know, his wife, Alicia, works for us. She is part of the Cherry Bombs, which we have on stage.

He's been around a few times. And like, we've talked and I try to, like, maintain a distance. I don't ever want to be, you know, the cringy, fan boy or anything like that but the facts are that you know it's cori taylor is like a hero of not just me but everyone in our band um so he's always very nice he's like the kindest most sweet person and uh pretty much came to like the final minute of like okay i have to ask this now or it just won't able to be it will not be able to be a thing so i reached out and it was just like yeah sure help or fuck yeah let's do it awesome great

I was just like I there no you were like worry and know what's gonna happen yeah shivering and he was just this so sick dude and I don't know whether he'd want me to say this or not but he did more than I even asked him to do with features I hate when it's like a verse or a bridge I want the feature to be a truth

you know woven into the song feature so I sent two options hey, you know, here's what I was thinking for this or this. And he was like, cool, yep, got it, went in and sent back so much more. And I was like, oh my God. And then hearing it for the first time, I was like, this is straight up fucking Iowa Corey. This is people equal shit, pissed off Corey.

I just can't really describe to you what that's like to like think back to being in seventh grade hearing the self-title. Yeah, it's crazy. Until now. It's fucked. It's crazy. I just think he went psychotic on the song. You did. It's like you got to get the fuck up in the intro. I didn't ask for that. That's a Corey Taylor like fucking mark of approval. I had it in like the demo version that I sent and then he just did it. And I was just right off the bat, I was just like, all right. That bit gives Iowa like straight away. Yes. It's like people who shit. Yes.

Is it your lyrics or his? Mine. Yeah. Is that normally the case? you're... Most of the time, yeah. That was actually a part of the song. I was curious if he would want to do or not. Like, the song is obviously very slip-not-inspired,

but the lyrics are very intentionally, like, on the nose. You know, like some songs we do where the lyrics are metaphorical, you know, very poetic. Other songs are stupid and fun, like not my type. Other songs are sarcastic, satirical, on the nose, and that's kind of more one of those, where it's just meant to, to be what it is.

And I was like, I don't know if he would be, I mean, he's had some lyrics, you know, I want to, you know, slice your throat, cut your throat and fuck the wound. Like that's pretty insane lyric, you know? So, like, there's not that in the song, but stuff similarly to that. There's like a line about a boot.

Lick the fucking dirt off my boots like a good dog. That seems like a line Corey would have said, you know? Yeah, that's a great line. But I was like, I don't know if that's where he's at now, you know? and he, dear, I just can't tell you. I wish I, I didn't think to film myself when I heard it for the first time, psychotic, ballistic, maniacal, he's crazy.

It's got a bug at this year. By the way, everyone, we're on a time crunch because we're at a festival, so big thanks to Christ, for being here. I had to read me a partial to a massage, a massage. Correct, yes. Ever had it go wrong? Not really.

I've had some pretty terrible, like, I don't know if this person really actually has a license, to be a professional. They've never tried the old... No, God, no. Oh, my God. I had it once in China. Where I went for one,

I was trying to get an actual massage. Terrible massage. No way. And then flipped me over at the end and was just like started doing it. I was like, no, no, no, no, we're good. And what I've learned from this, so if you're trying to find massages on tour,

which I often am, I have to do some deep level research to find out that they're not doing that. In my experience, what I've learned is you can't put your 10,000 hours in on both things. No. You're either greater one or you're greater the other. That's funny.

And I just want that good massage. That's very funny. I'm sorry that that happened to you. That's absolutely fine. Our tour manager can definitely give you the number. I don't actually know if it's rock doc that is the network that also does massage therapist and everything. But if it's not rock doc, then it's something equal to that. where there's just like a head group of people that have a network of like true professional

therapists all over the world that will contact them and kind of source it for you. I'm going to have to get that number of you. It's actually amazing, like, how willing to help a lot of doctors and therapists are now. Like, it's just awesome. So we're very lucky and, you know, we have direct links to all the different professionals all over the place and everything's great. Being six one on a tour bus, dude, like, massages are so, like, required. Like, it's a cool way to relax, but, like, it is more of a requirement, headbanging.

I don't headbang as much anymore because I just, like, after sleeping in a van for so long, the bus bunks for so long, like the pain, like the recovery time of some, I have pretty bad issues up here in my neck and traps that just gets so aggravated by. I also have to sing a lot better now these days. So head begging makes it a little tougher to do that. I was super impressed. Number one, it's really funny. I said, we're on a time crunch, and then I asked him about massages.

Side point real quick, I was so impressed those two times that I filled in. Because a lot of bands in our genre, there's like a lot of backing track going on. I had Vinnie's mix. I had everything. And I was like, I'm going to find out if it was such a... And you are fucking...

You are fucking seeing it. You are... Like, it's fucking happening. I was so fucking impressed. Thank you very much. Quick fire, because you've got to go. First album you ever bought. Weird Al, Bad Hair Day.

Insane. Crazy, dude. That's funny. Amish Paradise. Banger until death. Have you seen the movie? No. Bro, there was a movie with Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe.

No. It's like a fake biopic. I've not seen it. Weird Al wrote it. It's a fake story of his life. He like starts dating Madonna and shit. And it's Harry Potter. It's funny.

First show you ever went to? No doubt. tragic kingdom tour bangers straight bangers was there a specific moment in your career that you thought

I've made it it's tough to remember there are like different versions of I've made it I mean I toured with bleeding through was like this is like

the ultimate dream I've always wanted you know it's my favorite band Brandon straight up grabbed me I was front row every night screaming along as a fan

that just so happened to be on tour with them Brandon just like reached down pulled me up, puts the mic on my hand for revenge I seek, it was like this is the pinnacle of my life. It will not get better than this. That's fucking awesome. I'm talking about those

guys in like 2006, like Prime. Bang a band, really nice guy. Last time you cried. You know how like sometimes when like emotions just get so overwhelming that like your body in itself like... Just needs a cry. Whether it's crying or just like

I think turning in the album because I've been working on it for so long, and deadline just got closer and closer and closer. And there's a billion things. It's not just the music, it's the mix, the master the artwork, the photos, the music video. Like, there are so many things that go into the rollout of an album. And it all, unfortunately, the way the timing all worked was all so in the same block of time. So I think turning it in, I was just like, you know, like, it wasn't a cry.

It was that where you exhale, but you're like, Like you got really badly told off as a kid And you're trying not to cry Okay That's funny Anything left on the bucket list I guess to touch on what we said earlier I would like to do like at least one tour

Where I feel in my mind Is like the full ultimate realization Of an emotionless headliner I think it's coming for you Any advice for anyone out there Who wants to start a band or do what you do Especially more now than ever I think that you have to be willing to

to seriously sacrifice everything. And that's what we did. That's what I did. There's obviously a billion more technological helping hands now. But in the same breath, that has made it to the point where you're entering a situation that is so oversaturated, where everybody can create anything.

I would just say stay true to what it is that you really want and be willing to give everything and so much more than you can even give. because that is the only way you're going to break through now, you know, especially as like this AI infection of just, I just saw recently on the top 20 on like the iTunes metal chart, an AI band has like four songs in the top 20. That's who you're competing with, you know?

And, you know, to stand out in that world of things, just be willing to just grind yourself nearly to death, but it will be worth it because if you do succeed the feeling that you have earned it truly will be so much more fulfilling. That's great advice. And we're done.

I'm not going to take any more of your time. Thank you so much. You are the fucking best. Thank you, me. Thanks guys.