15 Things Only Stone Sour Fans Will Understand

By WhatCulture / August 26, 2015

If ever a band deserved more publicity, it's Stone Sour. They've forever been thrown into the shadow of Corey Taylor's more famous "other" band, Slipknot, meaning that they have far too frequently just been referred to as his side-project, or as "Slipknot-lite". It's pretty depressing. Stone Sour fans know this isn't the case. First of all, because there isn't actually any comparison to be made. They're different bands. And secondly, because Stone Sour have some of the most incredible songs to have been released in metal in the twenty-first century so far. Corey is a stunning vocalist, Josh is an exceptional guitarist, and the other musicians that have orbited the band (Roy, Jim, Christian, Johny, Rami, Joel, Shawn, Jason and Mike) are all truly gifted too. This piece is for the real Stone Sour fans. The people that don't need to talk about Slipknot when mentioning Stone Sour. Those that have followed every tour, listened to all of their amazing cover songs, cried along to Bother and Through Glass, moshed to Get Inside. Here are 15 things that apply to Stone Sour fans, and Stone Sour fans alone. This is a band that absolutely rewards dedication. As they themselves put it - "only the committed will survive".

15. Slipknot Comparisons

Ugh. As every Stone Sour fan knows, comparisons to the "other" band of Corey and former member Jim are everywhere. They're constant. "Oh, Slipknot are better because they're heavier". "No, Stone Sour rule because they have the best songs". Whatever the argument is, it's irrelevant. They're separate groups! It's something that just refuses to go away. Stone Sour fans have just had to get used to it. It's a trend that clearly annoys the members, too. As Corey says,

There's a lot of people that think when I sing heavy with Stone Sour that I'm trying to do Slipknot. And then vice versa - when I sing more melodic with Slipknot, I'm trying to be more Stone Sour. And it's, like, but you're not hearing the music, you're putting everything together. Like 'The Devil In I', a lot of people compared it to Stone Sour because a lot of it is melodic until it gets to that chorus and it punches, you know. And I'm, like, 'Ehhh€ Not really.' It's SLIPKNOT music, so it's a SLIPKNOT song. And I think it's because a lot of people choose the easy way to figure out what they're thinking about, or what their opinion is. So if they read somebody say, 'Well, he's singing melodically, it has to be Stone Sour,' a lot of people pick that up, because it's easier to go with the crowd than it is to think differently.

Real Stone Sour fans, then, should think differently. There's nothing wrong with liking both bands, or enjoying one but not the other - but don't keep comparing them!