"It's essentially something that a lot of people don't talk about," Corey Taylor says of the notion at the heart of Stone Sour's new concept album, House of Gold & Bones. "It's about being at that middle of the road in life where you're kind of staring it down and going, What comes next? What choices do I make? Do I evolve into a stronger person or do I stagnate spiritually and just keep making the same mistakes and spinning my wheels in life's mud?"
For Taylor, the right path has always been clear. He's coming off a period of time where, he says, "I was in a very dark and melancholy place" after dealing with the 2010 death of Slipknot bassist Paul Gray and, the following year, the minor stroke suffered by Stone Sour drummer Roy Mayorga. But it also proved to be a creatively fruitful stretch. "This concept had been jogging around in my head for a few years, and for some reason during this time, it came screaming to the forefront and became very real," he says. "And that triggered this crazy amount of songwriting on my part. I think I sat down and wrote 15 songs, just machine-gun-to-mouth. And the more I wrote, the bigger the story became."
The result is the most ambitious recording of Stone Sour's career. Though lyrically the songs on the recently released House of Gold & Bones Part 1 are joined by a shared story line, musically it's a wildly diverse record, veering from modern thrash ("Gone Sovereign," "RU486") to straight-up melodic hard rock ("Absolute Zero," "Tired") to more gentle and atmospheric acoustic numbers that are variously colored with piano and orchestration ("The Travelers, Pt. 1," "Taciturn"). What's more, these 11 tracks are, as the album's title suggests, only the beginning: House of Gold & Bones Part 2 has already been recorded, and is scheduled for release in early 2013.
Clearly, there's a lot to talk about when it comes to House of Gold & Bones, and when we asked our readers to submit questions for the Stone Sour frontman, there were many queries about the new album. But others touched on topics including Taylor's love of dance music and Justin Bieber, dislike of being hit with things while onstage, and what animal he would most like to be. "Now that's a question!" he said with noticeable delight. And with that, we're off…
Was the inspiration for House of Gold & Bones based on your own life experiences and choices you have made? —Chelsea Kozelka
Definitely. I essentially created this world that's very science fiction, but once you strip that away, the characters themselves are about 85 percent autobiographical. And the other 15 percent is stuff I've seen my friends and various people that have come in and out of my life go through. And I think that's why the story will resonate with people. It's a very fantastical world, but I tried to ground these characters in some kind of reality. I wanted to make it as human as possible.
If you were in the main character's shoes, would you choose to stay young or to grow older? —Kimberly Slichter
I'm always looking forward and trying to evolve into that better person. To realize my potential and become stronger. So I really have no fear about getting older. My only thing is, it's a pain in the ass. You ache a little more. But it's a lot more fun to explore the new instead of mining the old.
Why did longtime Stone Sour bassist Shawn Economaki split with the band earlier this year? —Jason Cerid
Unfortunately, it was one of those situations where we were going down different paths. Without getting too personal about it, it was just time to part ways. It was unfortunate but it was meant to be.
I've always loved Rachel Bolan's bass playing with Skid Row. How did he wind up playing on the new album —Michael Arneau
Josh [Rand, Stone Sour guitarist] and I were sitting at my kitchen table in Des Moines trying to think of who we could get to play bass. We wanted it to be someone who could come in and really elevate the songs. Josh was the one who actually said Rachel's name. And because we're both such huge Skid Row fans, it made so much sense. Skid Row were, and still are, one of my favorite hard-rock bands. Because they could do it all. I know when people think of Skid Row now they immediately go to "I Remember You." But what they forget is just how awesome and heavy Slave to the Grind and Subhuman Race were. So I was immediately like, "Fuck yes." I was able to get Rachel's number and I called him up literally the next day and he was so in. I could hear the excitement in his voice. And he locked in with Roy so well. We were blown away. The guy doesn't get enough credit for how good he is.
What are your all-time favorite concept albums? —Ryder Daniels
Obviously Pink Floyd's The Wall is a fantastic piece. To me, it's probably the best of the concept albums. It's certainly the one that's the grandest. That kind of epic scale is really what I was pushing for on House of Gold & Bones. The Who's Quadrophenia is another fantastic album. And Queensryche's Operation: Mindcrime is, to this day, an album I can listen to top to bottom and it still blows me away. Those are just a handful of them.
I saw you on your solo acoustic tour and I thought it was so cool that you covered songs from guys like Cat Stevens and Eric Clapton. What artist do you think people would be most surprised to know that you listen to? —Jordan Donaldson
At this point, it would surprise me if people were surprised by anything I listen to. Because I wear my variety on my sleeve—people talk about guilty pleasures but I've never had a guilty pleasure my whole life. I don't feel guilty about anything I listen to. If I derive pleasure from a type of music then what the fuck is there to feel guilty about? So I love everything from Poison to Pantera to Paul Simon. I love dance-pop music as much as I love brutal Slayer riffs. I follow my heart. I think the mistake people make when they listen to music is that they think too much. They let their brain talk them out of enjoying something instead of just having a natural reaction to it.
I found a YouTube clip where you were giving props to Justin Bieber. So what's your favorite tune from the Biebs? —Damian Wells
I'm gonna be a whore and say it's the "Psychosocial Baby" mashup [of Slipknot's "Psychosocial" and Justin Bieber's "Baby"]. I know Justin wasn't responsible for it, but I just thought it was so cool. Everybody thought I'd be pissed about it, but I was blown away. Like, Who the fuck thought this would be a good idea? But I give him respect. He's a very talented kid and he goes above and beyond for his fans. Perfect example: I was in Baltimore on my book tour and Justin was nearby in Washington, D.C. I tried to get him down to my reading because I wanted to try to do an acoustic version of "Psychosocial Baby" together. But he was actually visiting children's hospitals. And you can't say anything bad about a guy who's visiting children's hospitals, you know? If you do, you're a fucking asshole!
What's the worst thing you've been hit by onstage? —Ashley Wilson
Jesus, I've been hit by a lot of shit. In France, I got hit with a dead rabbit. That was a bad gig. I've caught a nine-volt battery in the face. I've been hit by a giant fucking Jäger bottle. And people don't necessarily throw stuff out of angry feelings, but just because when the fans get crazy, they don't know what the shit they're doing. I can't tell you how many fucking shoes I've been hit with. It's gotten to the point where I can almost feel them coming. And who throws a shoe? Honestly!
Any chance of a solo record coming our way in the future? —Grant Cleveland
One of the beautiful things about being in two different bands is that musically I'm never left wanting. So not yet, but I'm sure there's a solo album in me. I can tell you that I have not-so-secret plans to make a secret dance album. I want to do basically the Steel Panther version of a dance record. Something funny and sarcastic. And I'm talking '70s dance—not that tired fucking dubstep bullshit. I want to make it something that's got that old-school feel to it but with a modern twinge. Just get ridiculous with it. I've already got a name for myself: The Boogie Knight. And I want to call the first album The Boogie Knight Rises.
Does your throat ever hurt after a gig? If so, how do you deal with it? —Asher Bowden
Sometimes. It really depends. Because I play so many shows, I've really developed a knack for knowing my own health. The time I really run into trouble is when I get sick. But even then, the show must go on. I'm very proud of the fact that I've only had to cancel four shows in my career. The only time I really get a sore throat is probably the beginning of a tour because there's such a different energy level from rehearsal to a real show. You tend to push it a little harder. So the first couple shows usually kick the shit out of me. But then I fall into a rhythm.
If you could be any animal what would you be and why? —Courtney Moore
I'd probably be a great white shark because I'm terrified of them. For real, sharks scare the shit out of me. Like, hyperventilating, sweating through my clothes, screaming-like-a-fucking-girl scared. And of course, I married a woman who's just obsessed with them. So there's some type of schadenfreude going on in my life where I love to fuck with myself. But nobody fucks with a great white shark.
Photo by Kathryn Gamble
