Corey Taylor Slips Some John Mellencamp and Neil Diamond Into His New Cover of ‘On the Dark Side’

Slipknot’s Corey Taylor has released a rendition of John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band’s 1983 song, “On the Dark Side,” the lead single from his upcoming EP CMFB… Sides, set to arrive Feb. 25 via Roadrunner Records.

For his cover of “On the Dark Side,” Taylor leans into a distinctly Eighties palette with shimmering guitars and big, gated snares, but there’s still plenty of hard rock power in his vocals and the fret-tapped guitar solos. But Taylor really makes the cover his own by turning the bridge into a trip down rock & roll memory lane as he gleefully throws in some hooks from other pop hits that sound similar to “On the Dark Side”: John Mellencamp’s “R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.,” the Romantics’ “What I Like About You,” and Neil Diamond’s “Cherry, Cherry.”

CMFB… Sides will feature a mix of covers and acoustic and live renditions of Taylor’s own songs. Along with “On the Dark Side,” the EP will boast covers of Metallica’s “Hollier Than Thou,” Kiss’ “Got to Choose,” the Dead Boys’ “All This and More,” Red Rider’s “Lunatic Fringe,” and Eddie Money’s “Shakin’.” Taylor’s also included acoustic renditions of two songs from his 2020 solo debut, CMFT, “Kansas” and “Halfway Down,” plus a live performance medley of “Home” and his Stone Sour track, “Zzyxz Rd.”

Along with prepping CMFB… Sides, Taylor and Slipknot are reportedly working on their next album. Though a release date and album title have not been announced, last November, the band released a new track, “The Chapletown Rag,” which marked their first bit of music in two years. Slipknot’s last album, We Are Not Your Kind, came out in 2019.