According to The Pulse Of Radio, with rumors swirling that STONE SOUR and SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor could be adding VELVET REVOLVER to the list of bands he sings for, that group's bassist, Duff McKagan (also LOADED, ex-GUNS N' ROSES), added fuel to the fire in a chat he did on Wednesday (February 9) at ESPN.com. Asked by a fan what the most important attribute is that a lead singer should have besides a great voice, McKagan responded, "Any good artist has to have . . . the ability to tap the dark stuff and have it be real. Great lead singers have the ability to tap that. No inhibitions helps as well. Axl (Rose) and Scott (Weiland) are two of the best front men ever. Corey Taylor is one of those guys as well. He can tap it."

When asked about the rumors that Taylor was going to join Velvet Revolver, McKagan wrote, "I can neither confirm nor deny . . . He is a bad dude though. I like him as a human being and a singer. He's the voice of a whole new generation."

Taylor himself "neither confirmed nor denied" the rumors in an interview with Billboard.com last month, merely laughing and saying, "To be continued!" when asked about it.

The singer, whose band Slipknot lost bassist Paul Gray to a drug overdose last May, told The Pulse Of Radio that he's got a different outlook and a wide range of options on the table this year. "2010 was a weird year," he said. "A lot of weird things happened. And it kind of shook up my perspective. You know, I really decided that I was gonna take a positive outlook on everything. I've really kind of dedicated myself to pursuing things that to me are very positive. And, you know, I've got a host of different things that are kind of on the horizon, and I'm in a really good spot right now."

Taylor has been touring with Stone Sour since last summer behind the band's "Audio Secrecy" album. He has been publicly ambivalent about continuing with Slipknot in the wake of Gray's death, although he will join the band for some festival gigs this summer.

Velvet Revolver has been without a singer since firing Scott Weiland in April 2008. McKagan, guitarist Slash and drummer Matt Sorum have all hinted in recent months that the band was finally close to settling on a new frontman.