Tri-State Rock - Latest Updates

For many fans, hearing that one of your favorite band is having a contest, is like being a kid again.  You get the rare chance to earn a special reward for your dedication and recognition as a loyal and supportive fan.  It gives the fans something to look forward to and creates yet another way for fans to connect with each other and the band that they mutually respect.

Stone Sour has created a very unique and super fun contest for fans to participate in at the Rockstar Enegry Drink Mayhem Festival.  The contest has been organized like a scavenger hunt, with fans searching for special envelopes with clues at the most recent stops of the Mayhem Festival.  The envelopes contain drumsticks, guitar pick sets and a page of lyrics from their upcoming album, handwritten by Corey Taylor.  One of the clue envelopes is pictured below:

Slipknot guitarist Jim Root reunited with the band on Friday, July 13 at the Tampa, Florida stop of the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival.  Root missed several dates of the tour due to a burst appendix, that could have potentially been life threatening. A statement issued by the rest of the group said that Root had been seriously ill for the past few weeks, before he discovered that he had a major appendicitis, and would have to miss several tour dates to recover.

The U.K.’s Terrorizer Magazine conducted an interview with Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison for the July 2012 issue recently.  He candidly discussed the difficulty in finding a replacement for Paul Grey, founding member and bassist of Slipknot that passed away of a drug overdose in Urbandale, Iowa in May 2010.  Jordison also discusses writing the new Slipknot album, which he says, “will be our deepest and most celebrated record.” 

On replacing Paul Grey:

While rock fans around North America nearly dirty up their pants with anxious anticipation of the band’s headlining set on this year’s Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, the Slipknot camp seems happy to add fuel to the fire. 

This year’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival is set to be one of the summer’s biggest concert events.  With headliners Anthrax, Motorhead, Slayer, and the one and only Slipknot, it seems like this summer festival is any metal head’s wet dream.

Stone Sour has officially entered the studio to ‘construct’ their latest album.  The band has previously disclosed that their latest effort will be a two-disc concept album, which is leaving fans both excitedly intrigued and apprehensive.  Vocalist Corey Taylor unabashedly stated.  “It’s gonna be a motherfucking MONSTER.” 

Got nothing to do this Saturday night?  Might I suggest to you a healthy serving of METAL? VH1 Classic’s “THAT METAL SHOW” airs a new episode Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 11p.m. Already in their 10th season, “THAT METAL SHOW” has had a veteran line up of guest hosts since 2008. Some of the guests over the years have included: RUSH, DREAM THEATER, Vinnie Paul (PANTERA), Frank Bello (Anthrax), Chris Jericho (WWE SUPERSTAR/FOZZY), and Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR). Check out a clip of ("THAT METAL SHOW" below)

Most summer concert festivals have used promotional videos on their websites to promote their upcoming events.  These videos usually feature some of the bands that are on the bill in a good, yet predictable, mash-up that is intended to make the concert-goer excited for the event.  At this point it’s concert-marketing protocol.  The 2012 Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, however, has done something much different. 

The video is on the front page of the concert’s website, www.rockstarmayhemfest.com, and can be seen immediately upon arriving on the page.  I naively stumbled upon this gem while intending to research a different story.

Construction of the new STONE SOUR album is now underway according to  a recent tweet from front-man Corey Taylor. The follow-up to 2010’s “Audio Secrecy” will be produced by David Bottrill (MUSE, TOOL, Peter Gabriel, etc.). 

Taylor sat down recently with Artisan News to talk a little bit about the direction the album is taking: