Stereoboard Chat To Stone Sour About The UK Tour, The Latest Record & The Pending Second Instalment
Monday, 17 December 2012
Written by Heather McDaid
Stone Sour have pulled quite a blinder. Where many struggle to pull off one concept record, they've opted for two - and part one is a pretty solid start. Bringing their promotion to the UK for two headline London shows before continuing around the country, Josh took some time out to talk about their current tour, their latest record and that pending second instalment.
"[The European tour has] been going really well and you know, pretty much all of the shows are sold out so, can’t complain!" he begins. "We get along with [Papa Roach] really well so we love touring with them. I mean, that’s why we’re going out to the US too with them. You know, the bands get along great and everyone that works for us it’s just a very, uh, friendly atmosphere to work in. [Being friends] makes time pass a lot easier and less stressfully; it makes the time go by faster, you know. We’ve been in situations, in the past where you kinda just don’t get along with another camp and it uh... kind of makes the tour seem a lot longer than it is!"
With their new record out for a little while now, how has he found the initial response? "It's gone down very well. A lot of people go like, “This should have been the follow-up to ‘Come What(Ever) May’” to some degree and it’s bringing in a lot of new fans. I thinks it’s more because of the concept theme or you know or being a concept record and not just a collection of songs, but so far the response has been great. [The live response has been] amazing, actually. All the new songs are amazing live, everybody has been singing along to all of them and y’know, it's all going very well."
One nuance on the new record that stood out was the pre-recorded introduction to 'RU 486', that eerily proclaims "This record is an unseen enemy of the human mind...". Was that a recording they stumbled upon and thought to be perfectly suited, or something they created? "It’s actually a sample of a therapist," explains Josh. "Wait, a hypnotist not a therapist. It was actually a whole record Corey bought us from this pawn shop type thing - I think it’s called the Majestic Lion or something, it’s like an antique store. So that was an ideal sample. Well there’s two things that are sampled in the records - that one and one that’s going to be on the second record."
This record is quite a change for Stone Sour compared to their previous work; how does he personally see this record in terms of their progression? "I think Part One is definitely the best album that we’ve done. I think it takes elements of the previous three and puts them all together. Like, there’s a rawness and energy in it like the first record and the hooks and the riffs are like the second and third records. We did that intentionally because we wanted that energy back. We felt like Audio Secrecy was really polished, we wanted the rawness back. Part two is the most experimental record we've done, because we’ve brought out all this different instrumentation and tones. Even vocally, for Corey. Corey sings a certain way on two songs that he hasn’t done in either bands yet. It really pushed us to do different stuff."
"Oh, I think the opening track, ‘Red City’ on part two, when people first hear it, they are going to be very shocked," he adds. "I think it shows this different instrumentation that I’m talking about and him taking his vocals somewhere we’ve never been."
So, what should fans expect from Stone Sour in 2013? "Well we’ve got the comic book coming out," he begins. "We have a very busy year. We have part two coming out, tons of touring. We plan to go, like, everywhere. A four part comic book series. Hopefully by the end of the year/beginning of 2014 we'll have planned this: we want to do this tour or this show that is one ticket two nights. The first night we would play Part One in its entirety from start to finish with an encore and the next night we'd play Part Two in its entirety with a different encore the full production hopefully. Nobody has ever done it before so you know, it’s kinda like a dream and hopefully we can make it happen. It all may be select cities and the tour would probably only last like 3 weeks to a month, you know. The great thing is, here you have a lot of cities so I’m sure you will be included!"
As we chatted, the zombie apocalypse (cough) was merely ten days away. What are his survival plans for the ill-fated December 21st? "We’re actually flying that day, back to the US. How awesome is that?," he laughs. And, our counter question - as everything needs a soundtrack, what Stone Sour song does he think would be best for this occasion? "Hmm, probably 'Last of The Real' off the new album. Just, lyrically, if you go back and read the lyrics, off the top of my head that would be the one. I’m just trying to think what would fit, but honestly that would be my pick."
And finally, the interview ends with some parting words for fans. "You know, I just want to thank them," he smiles. "This is the 10th anniversary for the band and to be able to still do this a decade in is pretty amazing and you know we wouldn’t be able to do it without the support, so thank you!"
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"[The European tour has] been going really well and you know, pretty much all of the shows are sold out so, can’t complain!" he begins. "We get along with [Papa Roach] really well so we love touring with them. I mean, that’s why we’re going out to the US too with them. You know, the bands get along great and everyone that works for us it’s just a very, uh, friendly atmosphere to work in. [Being friends] makes time pass a lot easier and less stressfully; it makes the time go by faster, you know. We’ve been in situations, in the past where you kinda just don’t get along with another camp and it uh... kind of makes the tour seem a lot longer than it is!" 
