Corey Taylor is starting to "make peace with the fact" he is "an addict".
Corey Taylor
The Slipknot frontman - who has three kids Angelina, 26, Griffin, 16, and daughter Aravis - has opened up about his battle with addiction, admitting he "dealing with the crazy things" in his life, but he is "embracing" being alive.
Corey - who has previously spoken about suffering from depression and being a victim of sexual abuse - said: "I'm looking to the world through clearer eyes. I'm also just starting to make peace with the fact that there are dark pieces of my chapters that I've had to relinquish and let go of. I've said, 'Look, if it wasn't for all these dark things happening to me, I wouldn't be the guy I am right now.'
"This has made me deal with the fact that I am an addict. It's made me deal with the fact that I'm in my 40s, I've got kids, and I need to take care of them.
"I'm dealing with all of these crazy things in my life that make me 'me', and yet I should be embracing the fact that I'm alive. I should be embracing fact that I'm a father, I should be embracing the fact that I'm in two great bands."
The 44-year-old singer admits he wasn't a big "fan" of himself until "the last year or so", but he is learning to appreciate himself a lot more with the help of his friends.
Speaking on Apple's Beats 1 radio station, he added: "It's good, man. It's allowed me to get out of my own way and enjoy life. Get out of my own head and enjoy the things that I have.
"It doesn't mean that it's the death of desire or anything like that, but it's allowed me to really take advantage of the time I have right now and like the person who I am.
"I was never a huge Corey Taylor fan, until maybe the last year or so. I was like, 'What? There's a lot about me that's really, really cool.' I've luckily had a lot of great people around me to encourage that and go, 'We've been saying that for years.' "
In 2017, Corey admitted he suffered from "bouts of severe depression", but he was trying to cut out alcohol and "stay healthy enough".
He said: "I exercise. I try to stay healthy as much as possible. I've tried to cut out all the negative s**t in my life, as far as chemicals, boozing, all that s**t.
"I've tried to focus on the s**t that matters, which is my career, my kids, my creativity, and just trying to stay healthy enough, because I want to be able to do them for a very long time. So I guess that's kept the emotions at bay.
"It doesn't always work. I do have bouts of severe depression, which are very, very hard to deal with sometimes."
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