Stone Sour guitarist Josh Rand has stated that fans of the band can expect a follow-up to the album Hydrograd Machine Head vocalist Robb Flynn 's , he said that "there is no timetable for a comeback."
“Honestly, between Corey [ Taylor , vocals] doing his solo work, me working on The Life Project , Roy [ Mayorga , drums] working on Ministry … So, there’s simply no schedule,” he explained.
The guitarist also spoke about the comment he made last year regarding the band's indefinite hiatus. The fans' perception was that there would be no return.
“I don’t know if everyone thought I said ‘infinite’ instead of ‘indefinite.’ Suddenly, the band was over. It was like, ‘Oh my God! It’s over.’ All I was saying is that there’s no timeline. It’s no different from what we’ve done in the past. It’s just going to be a longer break,” Rand said.
According to Josh Rand, he and his bandmates "needed to expand," "try different things," and "work with different people" before returning to work together in Stone Sour.
“And so, whenever we get to the point where we come back, it will really be whatever is best for Stone Sour,” he explained. “There’s no doubt about that in my mind.”
He further added that, especially for Corey, it's difficult to bring in material that fits Stone Sour or Slipknot , because what he's doing is completely different.
“There will be growth that will benefit the band. I know some people may not be happy that it will happen sometime in the future, but it needs to happen this way. And that's what's best for everyone involved,” he added.
In the podcast, Rand was also asked about how he and Stone Sour opted to take a longer-than-usual break. He stated that towards the end of the tour cycle, they already had an idea that the hiatus was coming. Corey was already thinking about recording solo material, and Rand already had some songs that didn't fit with the band.
After reaching a consensus and making the decision, the pandemic hit. Despite initially feeling lost, Josh Rand said he wrote songs and worked on the piano.
Stone Sour has been off the road and out of sight since completing the Hydrograd . Taylor has been working with Slipknot since then, recording and touring behind the group's sixth album, We Are Not Your Kind , as well as making his solo album, CMFT .
In August 2020, Taylor said he was open to doing more recording and touring with the band in the future. But he admitted that “there had been some tension here and there” between band members in the past and added that it was “time” for him to “step away” and pursue his solo project for a while.
Furthermore, in June 2020, Corey told the show “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” that Stone Sour is “kind of on the back burner.”
“We all feel like we did exactly what we wanted to do in Hydrograd and we’re just taking a minute. I talked to the guys in the band about the solo thing and what I wanted to do, and they were totally on board with it. Everyone has things going on, so it’s all good. Yeah, I think Stone Sour is on hiatus right now, which is good. If we ever want to come back and do some stuff, it’ll be bigger than it was. Right now, we’re all focused on doing our own thing. But never say never.”
