Photo: WENN
Slipknot's Corey Taylor has spoken out against racism in metal after Phil Anselmo made a Nazi salute at a metal festival earlier this month.
The incident took place at Dimebash 2016, which pays tribute to Anselmo's late bandmate, Dimebag Darrell. At the end of his set, as the crowd cheered, Anselmo - who was formerly lead singer of Pantera - stood away from his microphone, held a Nazi salute for several seconds and yelled, "White power!" before walking off.
Footage of the incident has been seen by nearly 800,000 people and has, of course, attracted widespread criticism. Though Anselmo initially dismissed it as a "joke", he subsequently released a statement apologising for his actions.
While taking part in a fan Q&A for The Guardian, Slipknot's Corey Taylor was asked for his thoughts on the incident. "I haven’t seen the video of it," he replied, "though I’ve been told by many people that it’s blatant, and there’s no way to misrepresent what was done."
He continued, "I will say this. This is a bigger problem than what happened that night. Slipknot has dedicated itself to bringing people together, to fighting racism, to fighting hate in general since the day we were started. I don’t have time for people who judge other people by the colour of their skin."
He added, " know there is a problem in metal, and it all comes down to, at least in America, where you grow up and what that culture is passed on from: parents, family members, friends, adults. It’s a generational thing. I thought we were close to phasing it out, but unfortunately I was proven wrong. So I just dedicate myself to fighting it."
Read Corey Taylor's full response to Phil Anselmo's racism here.
