This year has been a banner one for studio-dormant bands finally releasing highly anticipated albums. Bands such as Behemoth and Judas Priest came back with guns blazing, and Slipknot will likely be added to that list with '.5: The Gray Chapter.'

Slipknot vocalist Corey Taylor has been gushing about the band's fifth studio album, and rightfully so. New songs 'The Negative One' and 'The Devil In I' have kept the maggots on a feeding frenzy, and Taylor promises to electrify fans further with the album's remaining tracks.

"As excited as the fans are, I am just as excited, if not more excited, to get this album out, so people can hear it," Corey Taylor told 94.3 KILO (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). "It is a fantastic piece of work. I'm really proud of it. I love the music. I haven't stopped listening to it since we started recording it — this is going all the way back to the demos, man. And I just love what we've been able to do. It's dark, it's moody, it's artistic, it's heavy as hell. There's some brutal screams on it, but there's also huge melodies on it. I can't tell you how stoked I am that we were able to pull this off, man. Especially, just from a personal point of view, telling the story that we need to tell, which is essentially the last four years, and everything that we've gone through since losing Paul [Gray, bass]. This album was too important to rush in and do, and I'm glad we took our time and really made sure that it was time to make it when we did. And the proof's in the pudding, man. I can't wait for people to hear it."

Taylor also addresses Slipknot's newest generation of masks, which will be revealed in full within the band's upcoming music video for 'The Devil In I.' "Some of them have changed in subtle ways, and others, like myself, my mask changes drastically from album to album," Taylor described, "because for me, the mask is a representation of what's going on for me spiritually, emotionally, artistically… just everything in my life."

Slipknot are also planning a gigantic world tour in support of '.5: The Gray Chapter,' with "at least three" trips across the U.S. promised by Taylor. The band has already announced a fall trek with Korn.

Get ready for '.5: The Gray Chapter,' which will hit fans on Oct. 21. To pre-order the album, click here.

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