A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Heaven

Corey Taylor, that sly beast, has done it again. As if I wasn't awed enough by his first book he had to show himself up and wow me again. Well done.

As I've stated before, it's not fair that a musician (Corey is the lead singer of both Slipknot and Stone Sour) as talented as Corey Taylor has the amazing and uncanny ability to pick up writing and not just do it well, but do it fucking amazing! Save some for the rest of us buddy!

Anyhow, this book is not a sequel to his first foray into writing, "Seven Deadly Sins," but rather a philosophical debate and cache of stories about the paranormal, afterlife, and ghosts. Corey hilariously retells spooky events that have occurred to him and his friends throughout their lives and discusses the ethics and philosophies of the paranormal.His musings really get you thinking! Yes he may ramble a bit (thankfully, his ramblings are hilarious) but as he says:

But what do I know? I am a singer in a band.. I am prone to outbursts of profound berserker ramblings that fade into one-way lanes before over correcting to keep my Mopar mind on the road... I am the Buddha of babble - witness the vitriol and savor its profundity.

This book will make you think, you may not agree with what he says, but that's not the point, as Corey states,

No one here is going to scoff or judge or fuck with you. I will not allow it. That right there is a beautiful thing about new knowledge, really. It may be strange, and it may scare the fucking shit out of you, but you will wonder. YOU WILL WONDER.

Seven Deadly Sins: Settling the Argument Between Born Bad and Damaged Good

"The way is never shut if the light you seek is bright enough. If you are feeling a little dark, you can always change the bulb. Never let the limits of your understanding dictate how far you can go. We can be better."

Personally, if you had told me that a high school drop out, former addict, and heavy metal rock star had written that I would have laughed at you, but I guess I like to be proven wrong. This book was nothing what I expected, but FANTASTIC none the less. I had imagined that this book would be a rock and roll biography but I was happily proven wrong when it turned out to be a collection of essays on the "7 deadly sins" and why they aren't really sins and aren't deadly. It was pure unadulterated genius.

Corey Taylor writes like a mix between Hunter S. Thompson and Chuck Klosterman, all over the place and full of pop culture references making it impossible to put down. This book reads like part biography, part philosophy, and is all around kick ass. It really challenges you to think about what sin really is and how do we identify or grow past it. Are there new more current deadly sins? You bet! Taylor identifies what he thinks are our societies biggest pitfalls at the end of the book, his choices are actually spot on.

I highly, highly recommend this read, it's full of great quotes and stories, and insights on our society today. I truly hope that Corey Taylor doesn't put the pen down and starts working on another. Bravo.