ABC/Randy HolmesCorey Taylor‘s new Slipknot mask has been the subject of great debate among fans, with some saying they like it to others declaring it to be the “worst mask ever.” In response to all the controversy, one Slipknot fan has shared an emotional story about what the design of Taylor’s mask means to them.
In a Reddit post, the fan describes that Taylor’s mask looks a lot like the transparent facial orthosis mask, or TFO, that they had to wear for almost two years after suffering third-degree burns in a house fire at the age of five. The fan had to deal with bullying from classmates, along with the physical pain of wearing the mask.
When the fan saw Taylor’s mask in Slipknot’s new “Unsainted” video, they immediately recognized the similarities between it and their TFO mask.
“It wasn’t terrifying but it was a massive ‘right in the feels’ moment for me,” they write.
“Corey’s mask may not be what some wanted, but to me it’s a massive image of character change and reformation,” the post continues. “The breaking of a person and the steps required to be better. It’s not scary but that mask, my mask, made me into a stronger…bulletproof person than what I may have turned out to be before I had to put it on.”
After seeing the post, Taylor himself shared it on his Twitter.
“Wow. I’m humbled by that story, and so glad that it could explain something I was trying to describe,” Taylor wrote. “This album is indeed about rising above the pain and being reborn. And the mask is also a reflection of it all.”
Slipknot’s new album We Are Not Your Kind is due out August 9. They’ll launch a North American tour July 26 in Mountain View, California.
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