Stone Sour | |
|---|---|
 Stone Sour performing atTarget Center in August 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
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| Origin | Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Works | Stone Sour discography |
| Years active |
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| Labels | Roadrunner |
| Past members |
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| Website | stonesour |
Stone Sour was an Americanrock band formed inDes Moines, Iowa, in 1992. The band performed for five years before disbanding in 1997. They reunited in 2000; since 2015, the group has consisted ofCorey Taylor (lead vocals, guitar),Josh Rand (guitar),Christian Martucci (guitar),Johny Chow (bass) andRoy Mayorga (drums). Longtime members Joel Ekman (drums, percussion) and Shawn Economaki (bass guitar) left the band in 2006 and 2011, respectively. Former lead guitaristJim Root left in 2014. The band has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2020.
To date, Stone Sour has released six studio albums:Stone Sour (2002);Come What(ever) May (2006);Audio Secrecy (2010);House of Gold & Bones – Part 1 (2012);House of Gold & Bones – Part 2 (2013) andHydrograd (2017). They also released a digital live album,Live in Moscow, in 2007. Their albumHydrograd was released in June 2017 and is their first album to feature guitaristChristian Martucci and bassistJohny Chow.
Stone Sour earned the group twoGrammy Award nominations, both forBest Metal Performance, for the singles "Get Inside", in 2003,[2] and "Inhale", in 2004.[3] For their albumCome What(ever) May, the group received another Grammy Award nomination for Best Metal Performance for the single "30/30-150", in 2007.[4] The band has sold 2.1 million albums in the United States as of April 2017.[5]
Stone Sour was founded by Corey Taylor, who later became the vocalist ofSlipknot, and former drummer Joel Ekman. The band's name comes from a cocktail menu at a local bar.[6] Taylor's longtime friend Shawn Economaki joined shortly after, and filled in as thebass player. During these formative years, Stone Sour recorded two demo tapes,[7] in 1993 and 1994. In 1995, Jim Root, who is now part of Slipknot with Taylor, joined the band. In 1996, this lineup recorded another demo tape, songs from which would be used in 2002 on theirself-titled debut album. In 1997, the band went on hiatus, during which Taylor and Root spent most of their time with Slipknot, who were another up-and-coming act in Des Moines and would soon earn a record deal.[citation needed]
After Josh Rand joined the band, the band recorded their debutself-titled album inCedar Falls. Upon release, the album charted at number 46 on theBillboard 200.[8] The song "Bother", which was featured on theSpider-Mansoundtrack (credited only to Taylor),[7] peaked at number 2 on theMainstream Rock Chart as well as number 4 on theModern Rock Tracks and 56 on theBillboard Hot 100.[9] The next single, "Inhale", peaked at 18 on the Mainstream Rock chart.[9] The group received twoGrammy Award nominations forBest Metal Performance for the singles "Get Inside"[2] and "Inhale"[3] in 2003 and 2004 respectively. The album went on to achieve Goldcertification.[7] The band toured for six months with label matesSinch andChevelle before going on a temporary hiatus as Taylor and Root went back to join Slipknot for another album and tour.[7]
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The band came back in 2006 to release their second studio album,Come What(ever) May. They parted ways with drummer Joel Ekman, currently drumming forIsaac James, who left to take care of his cancer-stricken son, and later recruited current drummer,Roy Mayorga (Soulfly, and laterAmebix andHellyeah). The track "30/30-150" was recorded withGodsmack drummerShannon Larkin.[10] The album was released on August 1, 2006. It was met with positive reviews from critics, and sold 80,000 copies in the first week, allowing it to debut at number four on theBillboard 200.[8] The band toured for the next year and a half, releasing theLive in Moscow album exclusively toiTunes on August 14, 2007.[7]
The single "Sillyworld" peaked at number 2 on the Mainstream Rock charts in 2006. "Through Glass" proved to be successful peaking at number 1 on the Mainstream Rock Chart,[9] 2 on the Modern Rock Tracks,[9] 12 on theAdult Top 40[9] and 39 on the Billboard Hot 100 also in 2006.[9] They released two more singles in 2007, "Made of Scars" and "Zzyzx Rd.", which managed to peak at numbers 21 and 29 on the Mainstream Rock charts respectively.[9] In 2006 they received aGrammy Award for Best Metal Performance nomination for the single "30/30-150".[4]
The band's third albumAudio Secrecy,[7] was recorded at the Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Nick Raskulinecz, who was the producer for the band's second albumCome What(ever) May.[11] and released on September 7, 2010.[12]
Stone Sour played the first annual Rockstar Energy DrinkUproar Festival withAvenged Sevenfold and Hollywood Undead among others.[13] Stone Sour set the release date ofAudio Secrecy as September 7. Stone Sour were part of theSoundwave Festival in late February/early March in Australia 2011.[14] Stone Sour headlined The Avalanche Tour in 2011, supported byTheory of a Deadman,Skillet,Halestorm andArt of Dying.[15] It was also announced that a Stone Sour live DVD will be released, filmed at the Brighton Centre in the United Kingdom.[16] The band toured withAvenged Sevenfold,New Medicine andHollywood Undead on the "Nightmare After Christmas Tour" 2011.[17]
On April 16, 2011, it was announced that bassist Shawn Economaki had left the tour for personal reasons.Jason Christopher, who had played withCorey Taylor previously during his solo performances and with theJunk Beer Kidnap Band, filled in for the tour.[18] In May 2011, Stone Sour canceled the remaining dates from their headline tour as drummerRoy Mayorga suffered a minor stroke. He made a full recovery.[19] The band played their last show of 2011 at the second day of theRock in Rio IV festival, which took place inRio de Janeiro,Brazil, between September 23 – October 2. DrummerRoy Mayorga was not present at the show as he was expecting his first child back home, and filling-in for him wasDream Theater andThe Winery Dogs drummerMike Portnoy.[20]
The band released a song called "The Pessimist" as a free download on their Facebook page on March 27, 2012. The song was previously only available on theiTunes deluxe version of thesoundtrack toTransformers: Dark of the Moon. They also released their first DVD Live at Brighton in the same year, capturing their performance on November 7, 2010.[21]
It was announced via Instagram on May 3, 2012, that bassist Shawn Economaki had parted ways with the band on amicable terms. He was replaced in the studio by currentSkid Row bassistRachel Bolan.[22] Stone Sour started recording their fourth studio album in early 2012.[23] Corey Taylor stated that the album would end up being adouble album orconcept album, and described the album's sound as "Pink Floyd'sThe Wall meetsAlice in Chains'sDirt".[24] It was later announced that the new material would be released as two separate albums. The first album,House of Gold & Bones – Part 1 was released worldwide on October 23, 2012, and the second albumHouse of Gold & Bones – Part 2 was released worldwide on April 9, 2013. The project also has a 4-part graphic novel series that accompanies the albums, telling the linear storyline featured in the twin albums' lyrics.[citation needed]
The first two songs fromPart 1, "Gone Sovereign" and the first official single, "Absolute Zero" were released for radio airplay in mid/late August 2012.[25] The first single fromHouse of Gold & Bones Part 2 was "Do Me a Favor".[26][27] It was released digitally on February 12.[28] Guitarist Josh Rand stated in an interview with O2 Academy that there was a song recorded for Part 1, an instrumental which was deemed 'not up to par' by the band. The song will likely be released in the future once James Root and Josh Rand do 'some stuff to it guitar-wise'.[29]
On October 5, 2012, Johny Chow ofFireball Ministry andCavalera Conspiracy was announced as the bassist for the band on theHouse of Gold & Bones tour cycle.[30] Stone Sour subsequently played Soundwave Festival 2013 in Australia and on the Sunday at Download Festival 2013. GuitaristJames Root did not tour with Stone Sour in the winter of 2013, as he had to take a brief hiatus from the group to work on.5: The Gray Chapter withSlipknot, although it was later revealed that he was fired from the band due to musical differences. He claimed that the band wanted to focus on "radio play and money," which Root fought against, leading to his departure.[31][32]
On October 5, 2014, it was announced via Stone Sour's Facebook page that the band had begun recording a covers EP, which is due to be titledMeanwhile in Burbank... and released in 2015.[33] Corey Taylor stated about the covers EP: "This is something that we've been talking about since the first album came out, with [Stone Sour]. We've always wanted to do this. Even as people have come, people have gone, this is still something we've always come back to, and we just never had the opportunity to do it. And we just kind of said, 'Well, screw it.'"[34] On February 9, 2015, Stone Sour released an official music video and track, which is a cover version of theMetal Church's song "The Dark".[34] The EP was released on April 18, 2015. Corey Taylor confirmed that two more covers EPs are to be produced, they will be titledStraight Outta Burbank andNo Sleep Till Burbank and will feature covers of songs by Rage Against The Machine, Mötley Crüe, Bad Brains and Violent Femmes.[35]
Straight Outta Burbank..., the second volume in the series, has since been released.[36]
Per Blabbermouth.net, On March 29, 2016, frontman Corey Taylor told the "Someone Who Isn't Me" podcast: "Originally we were going to do three [covers EPs], and now it sounds like we're just going to do the two and just keep the other stuff we recorded as extra content for when we make the next album."[37]
On July 26, 2016, Taylor announced the band had written and demoed 18 songs for their sixth studio album, with plans to enter the studio in January for a likely mid-2017 release.[38] On January 23, 2017, Taylor revealed that the band was in the process of recording their upcoming album namedHydrograd. Taylor indicated that the album would incorporate heavy metal elements found in previous releases, alongside hard rock styles.[39] Four singles have been released ahead of the album in promotion; "Fabuless", "Song #3", "Taipei Person/Allah Tea" and "Mercy" (A live recording from Sphere Studios), with St. Marie being released as single following the album's release.[40] Hydrograd released worldwide on June 30, 2017, to generally positive reviews.[41]
On November 6, 2019, the band announced that they would be releasing a live album titled,Hello, You Bastards: Live in Reno, on December 13 of the same year.[42][43]
On August 10, 2020, Taylor announced on'The Green Room with Neil Griffiths' podcast that Stone Sour was taking a hiatus, saying: "I feel like Stone Sour has kinda run its course for now," "We all talked as a band and decided to kinda put Stone Sour in indefinite hiatus. That's the way it is. We've put it on the shelf for now. Everyone's kind of going and doing their own thing."[44][45]
Their style has been described asalternative metal,[7][46]hard rock,[47]post-grunge,[48] andalternative rock.[49] Their music featuresdouble bass drum patterns, heavy guitarriffs, dual guitar harmonies, and a combination ofscreaming and singing.
Guitarist Josh Rand stated in an interview that he tries to bring a metal aspect and elements ofthrash metal in their music. He also stated that his writing style is different thanSlipknot's writing style.[50]
Stone Sour's fourth and fifth albums,House of Gold & Bones - Part 1 andPart 2 are notable for their concept album format, and have led to comparisons to progressive rock bands. When asked about this, Josh Rand stated: "I still think it's us. We never said that we would beGenesis orDream Theater orYes or any of those types of bands. We're not a prog band. We said we're going to adopt the ideas of those stories and stuff, but it's still going to be a Stone Sour record, where you can still pull those individual songs. We just wanted to offer something more - in a world where it's all about singles, we just wanted to do something different. We've always evolved from record to record, if you listen to our entire catalog."[51]
Last active lineup
Earlier members
Former touring musicians
Timeline (2000–2020)
| Role | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stone Sour (2002) | Come What(ever) May (2006) | Audio Secrecy (2010) | House of Gold & Bones – Part 1 (2012) | House of Gold & Bones – Part 2 (2013) | Hydrograd (2017) | |
| Lead vocals, additional guitar | Corey Taylor | |||||
| Lead guitar | Jim Root | Christian Martucci | ||||
| Rhythm guitar | Josh Rand | |||||
| Bass | Shawn Economaki/Josh Rand | Shawn Economaki | Rachel Bolan (session musician) | Johny Chow | ||
| Drums | Joel Ekman/Dan Spain | Roy Mayorga | ||||
Studio albums
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Get Inside" | Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance[2] | Nominated |
| 2004 | "Inhale" | Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance[3] | Nominated |
| 2007 | "30/30-150" | Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance[4] | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Roy Mayorga | Golden Gods Award for Best Drummer[64] | Nominated |
| 2013 | Corey Taylor | Golden Gods Award for Best Vocalist[64] | Won |
| 2012 | "House of Gold & Bones - Part 1" | Golden Gods Award for Album of the Year[64] | Nominated |
Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Stone Sour | Best International Band | Won[citation needed] |
Loudwire Music Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Stone Sour | Rock Band of the Year | Won[citation needed] |
| 2017 | Stone Sour | Hard Rock Artist of the Year | Won[citation needed] |
| Hydrograd | Hard Rock Album of the Year | Won[citation needed] | |
| Corey Taylor | Best Vocalist | Nominated[citation needed] |
Bandit Rock Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Hydrograd | Best International Album | Won[citation needed] |
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| Studio albums | |
| Live albums | |
| EPs | |
| Singles | |
| Tours | |
| Related articles | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
