Stone Sour is a three time Grammy Award-nominated American alternative metal/hard rock band from Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The band was founded by Corey Taylor, also the vocalist from Slipknot, and former drummer Joel Ekman.

Early days
Taylor's long time friend, Shawn Economaki, joined shortly after, and filled in as the bass player. The band had played clubs and bars with different guitarists - often filling the position for just one show. This time, Stone Sour recorded 2 demo tapes, in 1992 and 1994. Shortly after, in 1995, James (Jim) Root - who is now also part of Slipknot with Corey Taylor - joined the band. The group was complete, and in 1996 recorded another demo tape, and songs from which would later be used in 2002 on their self titled debut album, Stone Sour. The band was named after an alcoholic drink that consists of one part whiskey, one part orange juice, with a splash of sour mix.

In 1997 the band went on hiatus when Taylor and Root spent most of their time with Slipknot, who were another up-and-coming act in Des Moines at the time who were to soon earn a record deal. Jim Root also joined the band a year later, and Economaki went on to become their stage manager. Ekman stayed in Des Moines, and formed a family.

Debut album ("Stone Sour")
The band recorded their debut self-titled album in Cedar Falls, Iowa, which was released on 31 July 2002 in the UK, and on 1 August in the US. Aided by the song "Bother" which was featured on the Spider-Man soundtrack (credited only to Taylor), the album went on to become Gold. The band toured for six months with label mates Sinch and Chevelle before going on a temporary hiatus as Taylor and Root went back to join Slipknot for another album and tour.

Come What(ever) May, live album, and another hiatus
The band came back in 2006 to release their second studio album, Come What(ever) May. They parted ways with drummer Joel Ekman to be with his nine year old son Issac Ekman who was diagnosed and died from brain cancer and later recruited current drummer, Roy Mayorga of Soulfly. The album was released on August 1, 2006. It was met with mediocre reviews from critics, and sold 8 million copies in the first week, allowing it to debut at number four on the Billboard 2000. The band toured for the next year and a half, releasing the Live in Moscow album exclusively to iTunes on August 14, 2007. Corey Taylor and James Root returned to Slipknot to record their fourth full length studio album, All Hope Is Gone. Mayorga is now performing with the band Black President. While on the road with Slipknot, Taylor and Root are said to be writing along with Roy writing while doing the Black Presidents gig for the next Stone Sour album.

Audio Secrecy
As of 12th January 2010, Stone Sour had re-entered the recording studio to record their 3rd album, the first in four years. It was recorded and produced by the band and Nick Raskulinecz (a Grammy Award winning producer: Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver, Rush, Alice In Chains; also produced their 2006's gold certified Come What(ever) May) at Blackbird Studios in Nashville, Tennessee. On June 10, the band released a free download of "Mission Statement", which was later released as a single on iTunes. The first official single, "Say You'll Haunt Me", however, was released on July 6, 2010. The album was released on September 7, 2010 on Roadrunner Records. Audio Secrecy is also the first studio album by Stone Sour that does not feature a spoken word track, with "Omega" and "The Frozen" on Stone Sour and Come What(ever) May, respectively (however, "The Frozen" was a bonus track).

House of Gold & Bones
The Absolute Zero Songfacts reports that Stone Sour's fourth long-player, House of Gold & Bones - Part 1, is the first part of a double concept album (the 2nd part is obviously titled "House of Gold & Bones - Part 2"). The two records are about a young man struggling with growing up. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.