Slipknot eye u.s. tour in 2012

Slipknot are eyeing a U.S. tour next year (12) after a series of comeback shows in Europe left them feeling more "positive" about the future of the band following the death of bassist Paul Gray.

The rockers recently played dates in the U.K. and across mainland Europe as part of the Sonisphere travelling festival, marking their return to the stage following the tragedy last year (10).

They had previously thrown the group's future into doubt by warning fans they might never record a new album - but frontman Corey Taylor has now confirmed they have held talks about a U.S. tour next year following their Sonisphere success.

He tells HardDrive Radio, "Definitely after this tour, I'm definitely much more positive than I was. Am I ready to run into a studio? No. Everybody just slow down, because it's still very fresh to me. It still doesn't make sense yet, you know, there's still a lot of healing that we've got to do before we can get there.

"Am I open to more tours? Absolutely. I mean, we've talked about doing something next year in the States and, you know, letting the fans kind of celebrate as well. So time will tell."

Taylor also thanked fans who attended their set at Sonisphere shows and observed the two-minute silence in honour of their late bandmate, adding: "The whole tour has been great. Thank you to everyone who came and everyone who participated in the two minutes of silence for Paulie - he would have been so proud."

Gray died from an accidental drug overdose in a motel room in Iowa in May last year.