Single Review: Corey Taylor - CMFT Must Be Stopped

Corey Taylor has had a good few years. 2019’s We Are Not Your Kind saw the Slipknot frontman regroup with the band after a four-year hiatus, resulting in an incendiary return to form as well as a highly successful world tour in which the group headlined some of Europe’s biggest festivals. 2017 even witnessed Taylor return to his original band, Stone Sour and release Hydrograd, the much anticipated follow up to the acclaimed House of Gold & Bones albums, in addition to embarking on their biggest UK tour to date. However, not being enough to satiate Taylor’s creative appetite, the powerhouse vocalist has decided to release a solo record, due out in October. Alongside the announcement of the record, Taylor dropped the lead single ‘CMFT Must Be Stopped’ and skilfully managed to not only abruptly end his winning streak, but also drop the worst single of 2020 so far.

A track that would sound more at home on a Limp Bizkit B-side collection, rather than a lead single for a debut album, ‘CMFT Must Be Stopped’ is built around a bland guitar riff and a frankly embarrassing chorus, making its five minute run time feel much, much longer. Taylor, introduces the chorus’ call and response refrain as he obnoxiously shouts ‘I don’t need nothing’ as the stomach churning response vocals shriek back ‘Not a motherfucking thing.’ The response vocals, reminiscent of non-league football spectators, then remind us that the star of the track is ‘C-Motherfuckin-T.’ As well as the petulant chorus, Corey decides to further tarnish his reputation by attempting a rap verse. Any fans of the first Slipknot record will know that Taylor can actually rap pretty well, yet here we have a verse that clashes so horribly with the instrumental that it becomes genuinely rather painful to listen to. The flow is atrocious, the rhymes are elementary and the lyrics are cringe inducing, with ‘Can’t hurt a symbol when it’s burned in the brass/ Quite accustomed to getting my way and kicking your ass’ being a particular low point.

The flow is atrocious, the rhymes are elementary and the lyrics are cringe inducing

‘CMFT Must Be Stopped’ also puzzlingly features respective verses from rappers Kid Bookie and Tech N9ne. It is unclear as to why both artists feature on the song, but it sounds like it is because Taylor ran out of ideas after his own dismal verse and decided to palm the rest of the track off to someone else, not that they do much of a better job. In fairness to Kid Bookie, the track’s mixing is so bad that the guitar overpowers most of his verse, but his lyrics are sub-par and forgettable so perhaps it’s for the best. Tech N9ne’s appearance is the closest thing the track has to a highlight, as, at the very least, he delivers a listenable verse that coherently lines up to the instrumental. However, for the most part, Tech N9ne tries to deliver speed over substance, and falls flat.

If ‘CMFT Must Be Stopped’ is anything to go by, then Corey Taylor’s debut album could be in the running for 2020’s worst album. Taylor defiantly shouts ‘I don’t need nothing’ half a hundred times on the track, but it is clear that what he really needs is the judgement of his other band mates who can advise Corey when a song deserves to be left on the cutting room floor. ‘CMFT Must Be Stopped’ is certainly one of those songs.