Slipknot was in a bad place in 2001. Everyone was. The band was touring on the back of Iowa, an album that sounds like a collective mental breakdown recorded in a meat locker. It was loud. It was ugly. It was perfect. And right in the middle of that beautiful, sonic filth was "My Plague."
If you grew up in the early 2000s, you probably first heard this track while watching Milla Jovovich kick a zombie dog in the face. It was the lead single for the first Resident Evil movie. But if you only know the "New Abuse Mix" from the soundtrack, you’re missing the point. The Slipknot My Plague lyrics aren't just about hating people—though, let’s be honest, that’s a big part of it. It’s actually a surgical strike against the "scenester" culture that was trying to swallow the band whole at the time.
The "New Abuse" Controversy
Let’s get the technical stuff out of the way first. There are two versions of this song. The original Iowa version is a jagged, experimental mess of vocal effects and raw screaming. Then you have the New Abuse Mix.
The movie version is... cleaner. Sanitized. Corey Taylor’s vocals are stripped of the weird pitch-shifting layers. The "Kill you, fuck you, I will never be you" bridge? Gone. Deleted for radio play. Slipknot bassist Paul Gray later explained that they wanted a version where you could actually hear Corey sing.
Some fans hate it. They call it the "Vol. 3 version" of an Iowa song—too polished for its own good. But honestly? It worked. It put Slipknot in front of millions of people who wouldn’t usually touch a death-metal-adjacent record with a ten-foot pole.
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What are the Slipknot My Plague lyrics actually about?
Corey Taylor has never been one to mince words. He’s the guy who once said the title of another song was inspired by the Yorkshire Ripper. For "My Plague," the target was much closer to home.
The song is a massive "screw you" to the people who were suddenly pretending to be "maggots" (the band's name for their fans) just because it was trendy. Think about 2001. Nu-metal was the biggest thing on the planet. Suddenly, the kids who used to bully the weirdos in the Slipknot shirts were wearing the jumpsuits themselves.
Breaking down the vitriol
The opening lines are iconic: "I'm in no shape to be alone / Contrary to the shit you might have known." It’s an immediate admission of instability. Taylor is telling the listener that the "tough guy" persona everyone expects is a lie. He’s in pain. But then, he turns that pain outward.
- The "Copycat" Theme: "You faked your whole life down to the memories." This is the heart of the song. It’s about people who adopt a lifestyle or a "struggle" because they think it makes them look interesting.
- The "Plague": The title itself refers to these people. To the band, these fake fans and industry vultures were a disease. They were "My Plague"—something the band was forced to carry whether they wanted to or not.
- The Chorus: "I know why you plague me / I know why you blame yourself." This is surprisingly deep for a song that most people just mosh to. It suggests that the person Taylor is attacking is actually acting out because of their own internal misery. It’s a moment of clarity in a sea of distortion.
Why it still resonates in 2026
You’d think a 25-year-old song about the nu-metal scene would feel dated. It doesn't. Why? Because the internet happened.
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In a recent chat with Knotfest, Taylor mentioned how the themes of manipulation and social performance in these older tracks feel even more relevant now. We live in a world of "clout chasing." The Slipknot My Plague lyrics about faking a life down to the memories? That’s basically a description of a curated Instagram feed or a manufactured TikTok persona.
We are all still dealing with the "plague" of people who perform their personalities rather than living them.
The Yin and Yang of the Human Spirit
Taylor once told Louder that he wanted the song to represent the "yin and yang" of people. The light and the dark.
"Sometimes the struggle to balance those two sides really drive you mad," he said. That’s why the song jumps so wildly between melodic singing and throat-shredding screams. It’s not just for show. It’s a musical representation of a person trying—and failing—to keep it together.
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The legacy of the Iowa era
Iowa was a dark time for the band. They were all struggling with addiction, fame, and each other. You can hear that exhaustion in the lyrics. "My Plague" is one of the few songs on that record that actually has a "hook," but even the hook feels like it’s dripping with sarcasm.
When you listen to the line "The only thing you really know about me is... that's all you'll ever know," it’s a wall. It’s a boundary. It’s Slipknot telling the world that despite the masks being off (metaphorically) in the lyrics, you don’t actually own them.
How to actually appreciate this track today
If you want the full experience, don't just stream it on a shitty pair of earbuds. To really get what they were doing with the Slipknot My Plague lyrics, you need to do a few things:
- Listen to the original album version first. Skip the movie mix. You need the vocal effects. You need the bridge.
- Read the lyrics alongside the music. Notice the wordplay. Taylor loves internal rhymes that you might miss when he's screaming at 110 decibels.
- Watch the 2002 music video. Yes, even the one with the Resident Evil clips. It’s a perfect time capsule of that era’s "horror-core" aesthetic.
- Compare it to "Wait and Bleed." Notice how much darker and more cynical "My Plague" is. It’s the sound of a band that grew up and realized the world was much uglier than they originally thought.
The reality is that "My Plague" isn't just a song. It’s a warning. It’s a reminder that authenticity is the only thing that matters, and if you’re faking it, the people who actually live it will see right through you.