Stone Sour
"Bother" is just about the farthest you could get away from Slipknot, but at the same time Corey Taylor has just pulled a huge double bluff on the thousands of pop fans that tap into the band through what can only be described as a rock ballad. Stone Sour was the band which Corey originally formed prior to joining the Knot and as such it was always his first love. Following a near breakdown towards the end of the Iowa tour he decided to take a time out and rediscover the freedom he found within his original band. As the rumours spread about the demise of Slipknot and the bands last ever album we caught up with Corey and found out the truth.
Q: Obviously you've been here countless times before,
but this is the first UK Tour for you with Stone Sour. What's the reaction
been like and how has it been different to the Slipknot dates last year?
A: It's been awesome and I couldn't be happier. The great
thing about this band is that we come really alive when were playing live
shows - it's one thing to listen to the album but then when we get on stage
it's like a whole new form of it. The crowds energy is almost totally different
to every song and if it's a slower track they really absorb it and that's
something you don't really get with the other band. I mean I can still
remember the time when the crowd first sung the words back to with Slipknot,
but I still get the same kick out of it today and it's such a big thing
for me because the lyrics are really personal for me.
The things is if you're not into Stone Sour don't show
up. If you're a Slipknot fan and you're not into Stone Sour you're not
going to break my heart because there's a lot of kids who are into Stone
Sour and couldn't give two tosses about Slipknot. People are very opinionated
and they like one, they like the other but there's a whole crowd in the
middle who like both and it's awesome.
Q: "Bother" is out on March 3rd and to me it's such
a double bluff of a track. For those people who aren't into rock music
you can imagine their thought process: Singer from Slipknot to "Bother"
and then picking up a copy of album and realizing it's totally different
again?
A: It's such a departure from what I was doing with Slipknot
that at first I was a little wary about putting it out, but then I was
just like "F**k It". If i'm going to gauge what I play off of people's
reactions then I don't deserve to be here, if I don't make music for myself
then it's not a pure reason.
It is pretty funny though the double shock element of
it all though, it's pretty funny. Everyone keeps asking me if it's a good
representation of Stone Sour and it's a piece of what it is. You can't
pick any one song on the album and say the album is like this. That's what's
the great thing about - it's really all over the place and it really kind
of takes you on a ride.
Q: There must be a lot more freedom in Stone Sour than
you've been used to for the past few years. Is that the case?
A: There's so much more I can do in this band than with
Slipknot. The thing with Slipknot is that although were very eclectic in
the metal sense, we are still very stringent in metal. In Stone Sour we
can do anything and get away with it.
Q: Was it always in the back of your mind the whole
time you were playing with Slipknot?
A: This was something I always wanted to...even when
I joined Slipknot I knew that Stone Sour wasn't over. We'd get together
every so often when I wasn't on tour and we'd get together and jam and
record some stuff, but it was nothing major at first. At the time I was
really really into what was going on with Slipknot and towards the end
of the Iowa tour cycle I was really getting burnt out on everything...it
just wasn't fun anymore. The thought of doing it was really making me sick
to my stomach and it's not a good place to be - I was like if I have to
turn round and do another Slipknot album i'm going to lose my mind and
kill myself!!!
Q: I know in the past you've said that Stone Sour is
not a side project. But do find it hard juggling the two and realizing
that at set point you're going to have to go back to Slipknot?
A: No, it's actually kind of helped me get into the mood
of doing Slipknot again which is kind of why I wanted to do it in the first
place. They are two different bands and if I cut myself off from one and
I can't do the other. So because i've been able to go out and do this i'm
really looking forward to working with Slipknot again and I think everybody
else is feeling that way as well.
Q: There's been a lot of talk in the music press that
this next Slipknot album will be the last. Could you tell us what the real
story is from your point of view?
A: Rumours are bullshit - that's all people have to remember.
If I had my way we'd do one more album and do a really good world tour
and then call it day. Just for the fact that if you over stay your welcome
you turn into a joke and i'd never want that to happen to Slipknot. We'll
do this album and go out on tour and see what happens.
Q: Are you thinking about the next Stone Sour album
at the moment?
A: We've got enough material for 10 albums and a box-set.
There's going to be loads of material and when the time comes we'll go
in the studio, crank it out and go out on the road. The next album will
probably be even more eclectic than the debut because there was so much
stuff we could have recorded that we just didn't have time to. We recorded
the album in about a month and then mixed in about two weeks so there was
loads of stuff left over that really is going to blow a lot of people's
minds.
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"Bother" is released on March 3rd.
The Stone Sour album is out now
For more info
www.stonesour.com
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