With the release of their sixth studio album, 'Hydrograd', hard rock US band Stone Sour are now enjoying the touring cycle; Australia is next on their itinerary.
It’s been four years since the band visited our shores and bassist Josh Rand says they couldn’t be more stoked to return. “Every time we’ve come down there we haven’t played our show. We’ve always been a part of Soundwave or as a support band for somebody else, so the fact that we get to come down and put on a full proper set is exciting.
“We’re a very diverse band, so we need an hour, or an hour and a half… We’ve always been part of a festival or somebody else’s show… so this will be awesome.”
Josh says the band will be mixing up the setlist, with a fusion of old and new songs requested by the fans. “We’ve just released 'Hydrograd' [and] the recording session went as smooth as it possibly could.
“We recorded the core of the record pretty much in a month. All of us got into one big room… and the fixes were very minimal, no quick tracks. It was just from a feeling. Like they used to make records years ago. So we had fun. We laughed every day. It was like hanging out and being in the garage or a basement again, and before we knew it we had the record done. It was amazing.”
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Stone Sour’s ‘Song #3’ was a hit for the band, reaching #1 on the US Rock Radio charts. “[The song] is different from anything we’ve done before. So, we’re stoked and especially since we had a bunch of songs that were #1 for five weeks and we beat Metallica and Foo Fighters.
"We felt the song was special… [and] felt like that along with ‘Fabuless’, released at the same time, was a good plan. We knew the song was a chart-topper from the start, but we didn’t want to assume too much.”
For a band known for their distinctive sound, mixing it up can often be a hit or miss. But with Stone Sour, the risk paid off. “We always try to outdo ourselves with each album. And it’s natural... because you don’t want all albums to sound the same.
“We’re big fans of all different styles of music. We didn’t want to be a band painted into a corner and to have a certain style. And because of that, it allows us to keep expanding. This record I think is the most diverse record overall that we’ve ever done.
“I think if you had a different singer on each song you’d think it was the same band… There’s all these different elements and styles but it still all works together. And it doesn’t sound like ‘oh my god, that doesn’t belong on there’, which is awesome.”
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Josh says Stone Sour are keen to play their new music on tour, particularly as it’s been 11 years since their last trip to Australia. “Hopefully, we get to make two trips to Australia. The plan is to evolve as the full cycle progresses. The plan is to go to every place at least twice. A lot of touring for us.
“[But] the main thing we’re excited about is to be able to do a full proper set… It'll being a proper Stone Sour show and it not being Stone Sour in a festival. We’ve got enough albums, enough songs, so we can put together a great evening.”
Stone Sour Shows
Fri 25 Aug - Festival Hall (Melbourne)Sat 26 Aug - Hordern Pavilion (Sydney)
29-30 Aug - Eatons Hill Hotel (Brisbane)
