Origin:	Des Moines, IA, USA
Genres:	Nu-Metal, Alternative Metal

Stone Sour

Stone Sour is one of a couple of bands that are often mentioned as Slipknot side projects. This is really only half correct -- yes, there are two Slipknot members here, but Stone Sour's history predates Slipknot's by several years, formed back in 1992 by vocalist Corey Taylor and drummer Joel Ekman. After several years of building up a local following in the Midwest, they essentially broke up in 1997, with Taylor and guitarist James Root joining Slipknot (bassist Shawn Economaki also joined the Slipknot camp as a manager). It wasn't until 2000 that guitarist Josh Rand approached the others and they formally reunited, releasing their debut in 2002. They got major airplay from the ballad "Bother", which appeared on the Spider-Man soundtrack as well as on the debut, though this song is not representative of their basic sound. Nor is there really a lot of similarities to Slipknot, as Stone Sour takes a more mid-paced, mainstream alterna-metal sound, with Taylor occasionally lapsing into his shouts but usually singing clean. Though there's no question that the Slipknot connection aided the band exposure-wise, the album stands well on its own.

Joined by veteran drummer Roy Mayorga, the band's second album, Come What(ever) May, was released in the summer of 2006.