Stone Sour: The Dynamic Force of Modern Hard Rock

Stone Sour is an American hard rock band from Des Moines, Iowa, co-founded by vocalist Corey Taylor and guitarist Josh Rand. The group has carved a distinct path separate from Taylor's work with Slipknot, achieving multi-platinum success and earning multiple Grammy Award nominations throughout their career.

Early career

Originally formed in 1992, the band's early lineup struggled to gain traction and disbanded by 1997. The project was resurrected in 2000 after Taylor and Rand recruited guitarist Jim Root, bassist Shawn Economaki, and drummer Joel Ekman. This renewed effort led to a demo that secured the band a deal with Roadrunner Records in 2002, setting the stage for their official debut.

Breakthrough

Stone Sour's self-titled debut album arrived in 2002, propelled by the massive success of the melodic singles Bother and Inhale. Bother became a mainstream rock radio staple, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance and helping drive the album to RIAA platinum certification in the United States.

Key tracks

Bother — This acoustic-driven ballad was the band's first major hit, showcasing Corey Taylor's vocal versatility and earning a Grammy nomination.

Through Glass — The lead single from 2006's Come What(ever) May, it became the band's highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 and is certified platinum.

Say You'll Haunt Me — This track from 2010's Audio Secrecy topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart, demonstrating their consistent hit-making ability.

Song #3 — A powerful single from their 2017 album Hydrograd, it marked a strong return and secured the band's sixth number-one hit on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart.

The band's subsequent albums, including Come What(ever) May (2006) and House of Gold & Bones (a two-part concept album released in 2012 and 2013), solidified their reputation for blending heavy riffs with strong melodies. The House of Gold & Bones project was particularly ambitious, accompanied by a comic book series that detailed its narrative. Lineup changes have occurred over the years, with members like Christian Martucci and Roy Mayorga joining, but the core creative drive of Taylor and Rand has remained constant.

Fans of Stone Sour's blend of aggressive rock and melodic hooks often appreciate the work of similar American hard rock acts. Slipknot shares the intense vocal power of Corey Taylor, though with a more extreme metal approach. Halestorm delivers a comparable mix of hard rock anthems and vulnerable, powerful ballads. Shinedown operates in the same arena of massive, radio-friendly modern rock with a focus on songcraft. Avenged Sevenfold parallels Stone Sour's ability to weave complex concepts and musicality into accessible hard rock formats.

Stone Sour's catalog maintains a strong presence on rock radio formats, from active rock stations that champion their heavier singles to classic rock FM stations that revisit their early 2000s hits. Their music is a fixture on alternative rock radio stations and various online rock radio streams that cater to fans of modern, melody-driven heavy music.

Listeners can explore the powerful discography of Stone Sour through the dedicated rock stations featured on our website. Tune in to onairium.com to hear their iconic hits and deep cuts across a variety of independent music radio stations and curated rock channels.