(Credit: José Goulão)
Fri 14 November 2025 19:03, UK
The thought of picking a soundtrack for your own funeral is enormously morbid, but most music lovers have all considered this topic at length, including Slipknot’s Corey Taylor. While none of us will be there to witness the moment, the musical choice still needs to be carefully considered and reflective of the person being laid to rest.
We have spent our entire lives soundtracking our lives, so it makes sense, when being presented with a crescendo moment, that we would, as music lovers, aim to have one last track added to the playlist of one’s life.
Through his work as a lyricist with Slipknot, Taylor is no stranger to contemplating mortality, which acts as a persistent thread through their art. Slipknot’s obsession with the topic is the norm within the heavy metal scene, but for his own funeral, Taylor has eyed up a song by a legendary classic rock act rather than from his genre of expertise.
The act in question is Led Zeppelin, who have left an indelible mark on the musical landscape. With his other band, Stone Sour, Taylor previously paid tribute to the group on the track ‘Fabuless’, released on their 2017 album Hydrogad, which name-checks ‘Rock and Roll’, which appeared on Led Zeppelin’s fourth record.
Speaking on Loudwire Nights, he explained how Led Zeppelin’s camp were “super into it” and “really ecstatic” to be referenced in the song, which meant the world to Taylor as he’s idolised them from an early age.
Corey Taylor of Slipknot. (Credits: Far Out / TIDAL)
However, the Led Zeppelin track he wants played at his funeral is ‘In My Time Of Dying’, the longest song in the band’s career. With a running time of over 11 minutes, the Physical Graffiti number epitomises the grandiose majesty of the band.
While Blind Willie Johnson was responsible for the song’s genesis, they transformed his gospel creation into a rock ‘n’ roll masterpiece and moved it into a completely different realm.
In conversation with Metal Hammer, Taylor was initially asked about the album he wished to be played at his funeral, which he changed to song. Explaining his choice, the Slipknot singer said: “I don’t think I’d want an album that’d be a long-ass funeral, but I’ve always wanted ‘In My Time Of Dying’ by Led Zeppelin.”
He added: “It’s so multi-dimensional and goes through so many twists and turns, and I don’t think it gets enough credit for how fucking gorgeous it is. It’s a killer tune: the slide guitars and Bonham’s backbeat on that tune is unrelenting!”
This tune is proof that the English quartet were the masters of delta blues, and this song holds some nifty demonstrations of slide guitar from the band’s musical director and lead guitarist. The longest song in the band’s studio canon, the recording is notable for Bonham’s furious drumming and Plant’s rollicking vocal delivery.
And yet in the eyes of producer Rick Rubin, it’s the bass playing that makes the song worth listening to.”The bass line in the fast grooves is so interesting and unexpected,” Rubin said. “It keeps shifting gears, over and over.” Jones was always the most underestimated member by the public, but he was actually the most accomplished musician of the group, and frequently added to their arrangements.
Tragically, ‘In My Time Of Dying’ is already associated with the death of one rock hero as it was the final song ever to be played by the late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell before he died in 2017. While the track wasn’t a staple of the band’s setlist, Cornell treated the crowd to an impromptu snippet of the Led Zeppelin classic at Detroit’s Fox Theatre as his final act before his heartbreaking departure.
Listen to ‘In My Time Of Dying’ below.
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