With the sad news that Stone Sour have entered an indefinite hiatus, it's time to take a look back at some of the band's biggest bangers in their catalogue.
Predating Slipknot by some years, the band formed in 1992 but didn't release their debut self-titled record until 2002. Over 18 years and six albums, the band have released some huge tunes with memorable choruses and singalongs - in no particular order, here's our pick for ten of their biggest tracks!
Through Glass
Corey Taylor wrote this song wrote this song to express his outrage with the artificial direction of the music industry, having been stuck in a European hotel room watching MTV while recovering from a bout of food poisoning.
What we got was a huge rock anthem that managed to be both radio-friendly and yet a deep listen full of shade and light. It's one of those tracks that is an absolute joy to sing along to, especially in a live setting if you've been lucky enough.
'Through Glass' remains as Stone Sour's most successful song ever, racking up almost 80 million YouTube videos and having gone platinum in the US too.
30/30-150
The fact that this track shares the same album as 'Through Glass' really highlights the impressive range of Stone Sour's songwriting abilities.
Arguably the heaviest song from Come What(ever) May (aside from maybe 'Reborn'), '30/30-150' pulls out the double kicks, chugging riffs from Jim Root and some raw vocal intensity from Corey Taylor to boot.
It's not the same kind of unhinged, chaotic fury you'd find on a Slipknot track though; here you get a cohesive and directed burst of angst that fits around the music perfectly.
Tired
Man, did both volumes of The House Of Gold & Bones have some bangers or what?!
'Tired' is a perfect track for winding your windows down and cranking it loud as you drive through an open road on a sunny, spring day. The anthemic vibe here is lifted to soaring heights with the inclusion of orchestral strings, while Corey Taylor is able to deliver a powerful vocal performance without the need to scream once.
Absolute Zero
Is it possible to not bang your head to this one? Possibly, but we're yet to find out, because this one is just straight balls-to-the-wall hard rock bliss every time.
Angsty lyrics ("Another zealot with the weight of the fucking world!") spat by a roaring Corey, along with an impressive Jim Root guitar solo and Roy Mayorga holding it all together with pumping drums - it's all very Stone Sour, and you gotta love it.
Somehow, that recurring vocal sample in the background also reminds us of AC/DC's 'Thunderstruck' too!
Song #3
Stone Sour proved that they still had plenty of juice in the tank with 'Song #3' in 2017, which became a massive hit for the band and spurred on the success of their last album Hydrograd.
The chorus is the real star of the show here, hooking you in with an uplifting and hopeful take on finding love, which Corey describes as it being:
"'...about a certain kind of love that I don’t think songwriters really talk about. It’s that strong passionate love but also that undying love. That really, really good s–t, you know? Everybody talks about the sappy stuff, everybody talks about the sexy stuff, but there’s that middle section where one meets the other and you just never know which way it’s going to tip at any given moment.
One of their biggest, and best songs for sure!
Fabuless
From the opening charge of Roy Mayorga's driving snare hits and the ensuing "OH YEAH!", 'Fabuless' brings a high energy that rarely lets up until the end.
A 43-year old Corey Taylor demonstrates his impressive vocal range while moving from Slipknot-esque screams, to crooning and everything in between, while catchy choruses and a ripping solo keep it distinctly Stone Sour.
Bother
'Bother' is almost as far away as you could get from Corey Taylor's usual works of aggression, but it stands as one of Stone Sour's most powerful songs.
A pensive Corey sings about finding and losing himself in the same breath, while clean guitars and strings crescendo in the background to add to the emotional energy.
This was the second single to be released from their 2002 debut album, and it pushed Stone Sour right into the mainstream, being featured in the first Spider-Man feature film.
Get Inside
THIS is how you launch a career - the opening track from Stone Sour's debut self-titled hits like a damn truck, and it's one of the few times you can definitely hear Slipknot's influence seep into the mix.
It's also one of the only times Josh Rand moved from rhythm guitar to take the lead guitar role over Jim Root.
The band actually released a demo version of this song earlier in 2020 with an interesting backstory as to how it came to be.
Say You'll Haunt Me
'Say You'll Haunt Me' features some of the most flavoursome instrumental work in Stone Sour's catalogue, with intricate basslines and melodic guitars that dance around each other, while Roy Mayorga's drums pull back exactly when they need to.
Even though this one came out in 2010 on their third record Audio Secrecy, it's got that ability to evoke a deep sense of nostalgia.
Made Of Scars
Whether emotional or physical, we've all got scars of some kind, which makes this Stone Sour track instantly rousing and relatable.
It's got some serious bounce which makes it all too easy to find yourself banging your head without realising, and it's a great one to catch live (hopefully again in the future!).
What's more is that it sits right in the middle of two more bangers on Come What(ever) May, 'sillyworld' and 'Reborn'!
There are so many more great Stone Sour tracks out there that explore a huge spectrum of the rock genre ('Zzyzx Rd.', anyone?) - are there any songs you love that we didn't include here?
Hopefully it won't be goodbye to Stone Sour forever, but we've been gifted some absolute tunes over the years anyway!
Listen to Stone Sour now.
