Two American musicians from Iowa, Corey Taylor (vocalist) and Joel Eklman (bassist), founded their own rock band in 1992. It was named after the alcoholic drink Stone Sour (Russian. "Screwdriver"). A little later, a longtime friend of K. Taylor, Sean Economaki, joined them as a guitarist.
Corey and Joel remained the same members of the group. The guitarists changed very often, until in 1995 they found James Ruth.
At the beginning of its existence, the group did not receive wide fame, since the musicians did not record studio albums and did not conclude contracts with labels. The guys just performed at Des Moines nightlife.
C. Taylor's departure and the breakup of Stone Sour
After 5 years of the group's existence, in 1997, Corey decides to leave it. He joins the Slipknot team, which was already gaining popularity at that time, which at that time was looking for a vocalist. Without K. Taylor, “Stone Sour” gradually ceases to exist. Following him, James Ruth leaves. Sean later leaves the team, deciding to become a concert manager. And Joel leaves the scene indefinitely to spend more time with his family.
The revival of Stone Sur in the former composition
After some time, one of the former Stone Sour guitarists, Josh Randle, wrote several songs. In 2000, he decided to ask Corey what he was thinking about new songs. C. Taylor was impressed with Josh's songs. Among them were such tracks as Orchids, Get Inside, Idle Hands. Corey and Josh began working together again. It lasted more than a year. As a result, they were pleased with the result of cooperation and in 2001 decided to revive the Stone Sur group, and in the previous composition. At first the band wanted to change the old name to Closure or Project X, but later the musicians abandoned this idea.
The release of the band's first debut album
Concluding a contract with Roadrunner records, in 2002 the team released their first studio album. They called him, like the band, Stone Sour. The first Stone Sour concert in support of the disc took place on June 23 of that year. The album includes thirteen tracks. Josh Randle's songs Get Inside and Inhale were nominated for a Grammy Award.
In 2003, the disc was reissued along with five bonus tracks. The album "Stone Sur" was very successful, sold over 500,000 copies and became gold. So the musicians finally got world fame.
In one of his interviews, Corey Taylor said that “Stone Sour” is a group in which he can do what is prohibited in Slipknot due to creative differences in the team. Nevertheless, he remains the vocalist in both teams.
New album Come What (ever) May and replacement of drummer with Roy Mayorga
At the time of writing the third Slipknot album and the subsequent tour in support of it, Corey Taylor, and with him James Ruth, left the group. The remaining members begin to work on the second disc of Stone Sour, to then reunite in 2005, and in 2006 to release a new successful album called Come What (ever) May.
But the team loses its drummer D. Ecklman. Joel leaves the group due to tragic family circumstances - the death of his son. He is replaced by Roy Mayorga, who left the drummer's position in Supultura.
With the second album, “Stone Sur” went on an even longer tour. They visited many countries, including Russia. In Moscow, "Stone Sur" performed on October 18. After a long tour in 2009, the band begins work on their third album, Audio Secrecy.
Guitarist replacement and musical style changes with the release of Audio Secrecy's third album
And again, the group loses one of its members. This time the Iowa band leaves guitarist Sean Economaki. In his place comes Jameson Christopher.
In 2010, the musicians completed work on the Audio Secrecy album. In July, the first official single, Say you'll hang me, appeared, and in September the album itself was released. It turned out to be "softer" and more melodic than the two previous Stone Sour albums. With this album, the musicians decided to impress their fans with heartfelt lyrics. They managed to achieve the perfect balance between “soft” compositions and hard rock. If you listen to the album in order, you can see the transition from lighter tracks (Say You Haunt Me, Dying and Imperfect) to the heaviest (Mission Statement, Unfinished and The Bitter End).
Lead guitarist Jim Routh performs some of the best solos in his career. He plays masterly, precisely, technically. Drummer Roy Mayorga also performs his parts brilliantly. “Awesome-gorgeous” - this is exactly the characteristic that the band’s frontman Corey Taylor gave to the album.
The departure of guitarist James Root and subsequent albums of the group
Since the release of the third disc, only a year has passed and Corey announces that work will begin on the fourth.
In 2012, House of Gold and Bones Part1 was published. In 2013, the second part of this album, House of Gold and Bones Part2, was released.
In 2014, James Routh leaves Stone Sour, explaining that he needs to work on a new Slipknot CD. The band has no choice but to find a new guitar player. It becomes Christian Martuchi.
In 2015, “Stone Sur” releases a mid-album Meanwhile in Burbank, consisting of five covers of such groups as Alice in Chains, Kiss, Metallica, Judah Priest and Black Sabbath. Then the musicians begin to work on a new disc - Hydrograd. But only in April 2017 did Stone Sour begin to be as active as it once was. The musicians released several singles in a row and a new album.
This time the musicians decided to experiment and stepped back a bit from their previous sound, adding rock and roll.
Musical style and features
The musical style of "Stone Sur" includes the genres of hard rock, alternative and heavy metal. Two guitars provide harmonious vibration. Corey Taylor's vocal parts are mixed with screaming and growling. Guitar riffs are usually heavy, sometimes there is a double bass sound in songs. "Stone Sur" is often referred to as nu-metal, but the team has repeatedly stated that they do not rank themselves in this genre. Josh Rand said their style includes elements of thrash metal.
Corey Taylor has a wide vocal range. He sings both in a low voice and in falsetto. This allows him to stay in harmony with the sound of the guitar. A similar manner - heavy reefs with easy vocals, and vice versa, is also characteristic of the Deftones team.
In 2013, Corey Taylor received the Golden Gods Award as the best vocalist of the year. At the same time, the group itself was awarded this award. Later Golden Gods was handed over to Roy Mayorg as the drummer of the year.
The audience is always glad to see a group that works at a high level and can amaze them with their sound. This is exactly what Stone Sour did in every album.