We're a unique band, so why have a generic producer lumping you in a box with other bands that sound the same?

I wanna buy vinyl and I want to listen to records on it. I want to put on 'Dark Side of the Moon' in the dining room while I'm eating pasta or whatever. You know what I mean.

I've started to look at guitar playing from more than just a standpoint of using certain modes and techniques.

I like to keep my world positive. There's enough negativity kicking around.

People need to go back and figure out why it is that Slipknot plays the way it is. That way, maybe, you know, maybe every band doesn't start sounding the same anymore.

There are many different artforms that are just being lost because the whole digital revolution has homogenized everything, turned it all into Walmart.

You know, unfortunately I'm only one person. I can't really be in two places at one time and the amount of focus that I need to put into Slipknot makes it really difficult for me to be on tour with Stone Sour.

I plan for the best and expect the worst.

When we recorded 'Iowa,' we jammed, we went through the songs, we played as a band and we recorded as a band.

For Slipknot, I'd say drumming is only 50 or 60 percent of the job. The rest of it is who you are and what your personality is.

I'm definitely a lot more reserved without the mask on. And with the mask on, all those inhibitions kinda go out the window. I can act like Keith Richards, I guess!

It's the best thing, me leaving Stone Sour.

It's always been about the live show for us. We're having Halloween onstage every night.

That's why I don't necessarily enjoy it when bands cover other songs. You'll never recreate what has been done, especially if it's something that's legendary and classic.

There's a lot for us to achieve and a lot more music to explore. I'm not saying we want to start doing experimental prog or something, where it turns into elevator music after a few records, but I don't think we've even scratched the surface.

So many bands play to tracks - what's the point in coming to see them live if they're playing to a CD?

I don't consciously think of any certain direction when I'm writing. I only try not to be repetitive or redundant.

If you have a sickness, you gotta fix that sickness, but you can't keep putting somebody into treatment over and over and over again.

There's such an energy and emotion to rock music, which is a lot of the reason I go back to '60s and '70s bands and look at some of the fire they had.

We're still evolving as a band. I think that's really important for a band to do, especially after being around for so many years.

People that like Slipknot that could care less about Stone Sour, people that like Stone Sour that don't know a lot of Slipknot.

It became apparent to me near the end of the album cycle for 'House Of Gold & Bones' that it had basically run its course. But the band kept pushing for more dates, and I was just, like, 'It's time to stop!'

No, I would never in a million years compare anything we've done to anything we've previously done. I don't believe in it - I think it's bad.

I was spreading myself too thin. That was making me unhappy and that, in turn, was making the rest of Stone Sour unhappy.