Puddle Of Mudd to replace Stone Sour at Rock On The Range 2011

Stone Sour has canceled all remaiing tour dates due to drummer Ray Mayorga having had a minor stroke. Puddle Of Mudd will replace Stone Sour at this weekends 2011 Rock On The Range festival.

Corey Taylor urges fans to relax regarding future of Slipknot.

Corey Taylor, playing a hometown show last week with Stone Sour gave a review to the Des Moines Register regarding his future with Slipknot. Here is an excerpt:

On whether he is excited to perform with SLIPKNOT again:

"I hope it goes well, I guess, but at the end of the day, it's about [late SLIPKNOT bassist]Paul[Gray] and what he meant to this band and the fans. People need to stop being so overly eager and let us take this one step at a time. I'm not a guy you want to force into a corner. I'll walk away."

On the writing process for STONE SOUR's latest album,"Audio Secrecy":

"I think the real thing that changed for me is how far I was willing to go talking about things I was going through up to that point. I was letting go of the aggression attached to relationships with women, my family and friends. I decided to stop playing it safe and let these dogs loose. At the end of the day it was easier for me to drop the chain and not worry about anyone else's feelings. It was more important to sort out my own."

On his first book,"The Seven Deadly Sins: Settling The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Goods", which covers topics like his troubled family life growing up, knowing it didn't always present them (or himself) in the best light:

"When you're the main character, you've got to go there. I didn't have the best life growing up, but I don't blame them. I wouldn't be who I am if I didn't go through that. I know I couldn't hold back and had to really go there. That's how I've always written, lyrically, and from the reaction I've seen, people really enjoy that."

Taylor's book comes out in July and can be pre-ordered here:

Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor unsure if the band will continue to exist

Here is a news article courtesy of Blabbermouth.net featuring a trascribed radio interview with Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor:

On why there has been such an inconsistency to the various public statements from all the SLIPKNOT bandmembers regarding the band's future and whether they have sat down to discuss their long-term plans in detail:

"No, that hasn't happened. The only thing we've really sat down together as a band and talked about was the tour, and what we're gonna do and whatnot. But I'm not the guy who's gonna sugarcoat anything, I'm not the one who's gonna spoonfeed false hope to the fans, especially about something like this. If this tour doesn't work, this band might be over — straight up. And I'm not gonna lie; I'm not the guy that's going to lie to the fans. I'm telling people as it is, because people [keep asking me], 'Any U.S. dates?' I'm like, 'Slow down, Beavis. Can we get through this and see what happens?'

"It's still a shock, man. I'm gonna be getting on stage without my brother. So until things make sense for me, I'm not gonna be the cheerleader — I just can't be. First of all, the fans would see through it. Second of all, I would feel terrible being that guy. So as long as I just keep it real and keep it in perspective, we'll see what happens."

On whether he is still in the running to be VELVET REVOLVER's new lead singer:

"No, I'm not VELVET REVOLVER's new lead singer. There's been so much speculation that I think that was one of the reasons that it kind of went away. At the end of the day, we got together, we jammed, some guys were feeling it, some weren't. It is what it is. And the last thing I need is a 12th band. Between writing and recording and writing with other people and writing books and whatnot, I'm set, I'm fine. I'm not losing any sleep about it. Plus I made some great friends."

On his plans for the rest of the year:

"I'm gonna take some well-deserved time off; it will be the first time I've had more than three weeks off in a long time, so I'm pretty stoked about that. And we're actually starting to work on new stuff for a STONE SOUR album — something very grandiose, something that could freak out a lot of people. And if we get to do it, it'll be huge and it'll be everything that anybody has ever wanted us to do."

Stone Sour bassist leaves band during Avanche tour

Stone Sour has released the following statement:

“We regret to announce that Shawn Economaki has gone home for personal issues. For the time being, we will continue to tour with a replacement bassist. We wish him all the best.”

Slash says Corey Taylor not a good fit for Velvet Revolver.

In a wide-ranging interview last week Slash, who is on tour in South America told Voterix.com that Corey Taylor is not the right fit for Velvet Revolver after all. He also gave some insight to Scott Weiland's relationship to the band, talked about projects and future plans and added doubt to whether or not we will see VR resurface at all in the next few years if ever. Here is an excerpt:

Slash: "What happens is with VELVET REVOLVER, when we parted ways with [singer] Scott Weiland, I was so frustrated because Scott was such a pain in the ass. And I thought, 'I just wanna have some quiet time and just write some music,' and then the idea of doing the solo record came up. And in the meantime, no new singers for VELVET REVOLVER, that were really good enough for VELVET REVOLVER, popped up. So I just started working on the solo record, and put it out and went on the road. But the whole time [I was] very conscious of [trying to find someone] who was going to sing forVELVET REVOLVER — but no one's turned up. So in the meantime I just keep doing what it is that I do and I've got a great bunch of guys that I work with [in my solo band], I enjoy working with them. I'm having a lot of fun; there's no unnecessary hassles or anything, and everybody's good players. And now we're writing music for [my] next [solo] record, which is gonna be killer. So, you know, with VELVET REVOLVER, it's like Duff's [McKagan, bass] got his own thing, I've got my thing, Matt's [Sorum, drums] got his thing. If a great singer comes and says, 'I wanna sing forVELVET REVOLVER,' and we all go, 'Yeah,' we'll make a VELVET record. But I can do my own thing — I don't have to go back and do that — unless it's good enough to do it, you know what I mean?!

"Next year I definitely will make another Slash record with [ALTER BRIDGEsinger] Myles Kennedy [and the rest of my solo band] and go on tour. So at least for the next couple of years, nothing is going to be happening withVELVET REVOLVER that I can see 'cause I'll be focused on this. And after that's over, if something happens… I'm just not really concerning myself with it right now. We had all these different guys try out, all really good singers, but nobody has fit the thing, so, you know, I have to move on."

On the rumor that VELVET REVOLVER was recording with Corey Taylor(SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR) and that VELVET REVOLVER was close to announcing Taylor as the band's new singer:

Slash: "Because of the social networking, and the way that information gets out so quickly now… We did work with Corey Taylor, and as soon as that rumor [got around], next thing you know, everybody is saying Corey's the new singer. And all we were doing was just rehearsing with him and trying him out — auditioning him, so to speak. So, in order to do that, our process is to… we take a lot of music that we wrote and we give it to him and he writes his lyrics and he comes in and we just perform it and record it and see [what it sounds like]. It's just an audition process; it's the way that we do it. So he did come in and do all that. But I just wasn't… It just didn't seem to fit right to me. And he's great — and I love Corey — but it didn't seem like the answer to the VELVET REVOLVER problem."

More dates announced for Avalanche tour featuring Stone Sour and Theory Of A Deadman

As the first annual Avalanche Tour featuring STONE SOUR, THEORY OF A DEADMAN, SKILLET, HALESTORM, and ART OF DYING gears up to launch March 24th in Chicago, additional shows have been announced.

The current Avalanche tour dates are as follows, with more shows to be announced soon.

March
24 - Chicago, IL - Aragon Ballroom
25 - Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom
26 - St. Paul, MN - Roy Wilkins Auditorium
28 - Bloomington, IL - US Cellular Coliseum
29 - Fort Wayne, IN - Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
30 - Nashville, TN - Nashville Municipal Auditorium

April
1 - Atlanta, GA - Masquerade Music Park
2 - Tampa, FL - St. Pete Times Forum
3 - Ladson, SC - Ladson Fairground
5 - Huntsville, AL - Von Braun Center (WRTT Radio Show)
6 - Tupelo, MS - BancorpSouth Arena
8 - San Antonio, TX - Illusion Theater at Alamodome
9 - Corpus Christi, TX - Concrete Street Amphitheater
10 - Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
12 - Houston, TX - Reliant Arena
13 - Wichita Falls, TX - Kay Yeager Coliseum
15 - Belton, TX - Bell County Expo Center
16 - Lubbock, TX - LoneStar Amphitheater
17 - El Paso, TX - El Paso County Coliseum
19 - Tulsa, OK - Tulsa Convention Center Arena
21 - Park City, KS - Hartman Arena
22 - Springfield, MO - Shrine Mosque
23 - Little Rock, AR - Arkansas State Fairground (KDGE Edgefest)
26 - Waterloo, IA - McElroy Auditorium
27 - Grand Rapids, MI - DeltaPlex
29 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
30 - Bangor, ME - Bangor Waterfront

May
1 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
3 - Richmond, VA - Richmond Coliseum
6 - Pittsburgh, PA - First Niagara Pavilion (X Fest)
7 - Charlotte, NC - Metrolina Expo Center (Carolina Rebellion)
8 - Jacksonville, FL - Metropolitan Park (Welcome To Rockville Festival)

Slipknot's Corey Taylor speaks indepth about Sipknot creating new music

Undercover in Australia recently interviewed Slipknot/Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor. The interview was transcribed courtesy of Blabbermouth.net:

On the differences between the way he approaches STONE SOUR and his role in SLIPKNOT:

Corey: "The great thing about STONE SOUR is that, for the most part, these are guys that I grew with. I mean, me and Shawn [Economaki, bass] and Josh [Rand, guitar] have known each other since we were teenagers. And then Jim [Root, guitar] was a guy that we kind of grew up going to see play live — his band was the most popular band in town, so we went and saw him play, and then years later he joined and he just naturally made STONE SOUR better. And it's kind of the same thing that happened when Roy [Mayorga, drums] joined — when Roy joined the band, it just naturally elevated everything; he was a guy that I'd known since '98. So it really is a family, it really is a strong brotherhood. With SLIPKNOT — I mean, I'm very proud of what I did with SLIPKNOT, and obviously, I'm close with those guys, but it's completely different. It was a band that joined later and I, honestly, in a lot of ways, never really felt connected to it — for whatever reason; it might have been me, it might have been them. I cast no aspersions on anyone. But that's just the dynamic. STONE SOUR's always had a really special spot in my heart, because it's the first real band that I started, and I put so much work into it, and I'm still with these guys that I've known 20 years. I mean, it's always gonna be right there."

On talking about SLIPKNOT in the past tense:

Corey: "Well, it's not the same, obviously, is it?! [Referring to the May 2010 passing of the band's bassist, Paul Gray.] I mean, it's never gonna be the same, so there's no way I can look at it any differently than that."

On whether he thinks new music from both SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR will be affected by Paul Gray's passing:

Corey: "If it happens, if it happens... There'll definitely be new STONE SOUR music, but with SLIPKNOT, there's such a huge piece missing now — a piece that the fans can't even understand. And, honestly, it drives me nuts trying to explain it to them. I mean, Paul always was that unconscious, almost lynchpin that held everything together. And he had such a great mind for the music that we created that without him, I don't see it happening very soon, let's ut it that way. If we do, it's gonna be way down the line, and it's gonna be when everyone's ready. Because there are other things in the band that are affecting things right now." After the interviewer points out that "Everyone must still be tender" following Paul's death, Corey goes on to say, "It's not even about that. It's individual issues, let's put it that way, and that's all I'll say about it. Obviously, we're doing these shows in the summer at Sonisphere and that's pretty much gonna be us dipping a toe in the water to see what happens. To me, it's baby steps. I think everybody's racing ahead without realizing that we kind of have to pick ourselves up first. Everyone needs to be realistic about it and it seems like I'm the only one who's being realistic. And it's a heavy responsibility to be the guy who is kind of coming off as the doomsayer, but at the end of the day, that's respect. I'm not just racing right ahead and going, 'Oh, yeah, we're gonna go...' I lost my brother last year, and people need to understand that and respect it before I start getting all 'hip, hip hooray' about everything."

On whether his feelings fluctuate about SLIPKNOT carrying on without Paul Gray:

Corey: "Yeah, a little bit. I mean, it's always going to. There's not a part of me that's very happy about jumping up on stage without Paul; it's gonna be very, very weird. If I'm cautious, it's because I respect what we've done, and I respect him and I respect his memory. I think too many people are just ready for us to kind of rush past that, and it's, like, that's not how the healing process works, and it's never a good thing to do that. So I'm tentative. I'm hoping it goes well. But I'm also gonna be realistic, I'm gonna be pragmatic and that's just the way I am."

Slash comments on Corey Taylor joining Velvet Revolver rumors

In a interview with Australia's Courier Mail, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash was asked about the rumors of Stone Sour/Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor could be joining Velvet Revolver.

"A couple of people have said one thing or another, but it's been blown out of proportion. I've made no comment on that one," Slash said of Taylor joining Velvet Revolver.

Carolina Rebellion Festival To Feature Godsmack, Avenged Sevenfold. Stone Sour, Seether

Remember this POST which we informed you of the Rock on the Range organizers helping put on a similar festival in North Carolina? Today we can announce the first ever Carolina Rebellion Festival. Scheduled for May 7 at Charlotte’s Metrolina Expo, Carolina Rebellion will feature performances by Avenged Sevenfold, Godsmack, Three Days Grace, Stone Sour, Seether, Bullet For My Valentine, Theory Of A Deadman, Alter Bridge, Hinder, Skillet, Saving Abel, Halestorm, Black Stone Cherry, My Darkest Days, Cavo, Rev Theory, Pop Evil and Art Of Dying with more acts to be announced. Tickets for the general admission festival go on sale Feb. 18 at 10 a.m. EST and start at $49.50 for a limited time. VIP packages, which include hotel rooms, are also available in three exciting flavors, Silver, Gold and Platinum. For more information, visit CarolinaRebellion.com.

Corey Taylor Joining Velvet Revolver Rumors Intensify

According to The Pulse Of Radio rumors of Slipknot/Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor joining Velvet Revolver are heating up due to comments from bassist Duff McKagan in a recent interview with ESPN.com. Asked by a fan what the most important attribute is that a lead singer should have besides a great voice, McKagan responded, "Any good artist has to have . . . the ability to tap the dark stuff and have it be real. Great lead singers have the ability to tap that. No inhibitions helps as well. Axl (Rose) and Scott (Weiland) are two of the best front men ever. Corey Taylor is one of those guys as well. He can tap it."

When asked about the rumors that Taylor was going to join Velvet Revolver, McKagan wrote, "I can neither confirm nor deny . . . He is a bad dude though. I like him as a human being and a singer. He's the voice of a whole new generation."

Korn, Avenged Sevenfold, Staind, Stone Sour, Alter Bridge Confirmed For Rock On The Range 2011

We can confirm the following bands for the 2011 Rock On The Range:

Korn
Avenged Sevenfold
Staind
Saving Abel
Stone Sour
Alter Bridge
Black Stone Cherry
A Day To Remember


Alot of these bands were in our RotR 2011 predictions post a few days ago which you can read by clicking HERE.

Corey Taylor Speaks Out On Velvet Revolver, Slipknot, and Stone Sour

Billobard.com recently conducted an interview with Slipknot/Stone Sour vocalist Corey Taylor. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:

When asked about rumors he is the new frontman for Velvet Revolver:

"To be continued!" Taylor tells Billboard.com.

Speaking about the future of Slipknot since the death of bandmate Paul Grey:

"I go back and forth," he acknowledges. Though the group has three Sonisphere Festival shows this summer in Europe and is tipped to play at this year's Rock in Rio festival, Taylor says that "there are moments when I'm like, 'Let's keep going for (Gray),' and there are moments when I'm like, 'It's not the same without him.' Right now my main concern is baby steps. We lost a huge piece of our band. We lost a huge member of our family -- in my opinion the biggest -- and it's a different vibe now. So right now I'm just taking it step by step, and I can only hope that the other guys in the band are as well."

About a new Slipknot album, Corey said the following:

"There's a lot of things I've got to figure out about myself before I can even contemplate that," he explains. "There's a big part of me that wonders if I'm the guy for that band anymore. I'm in such a different place in my life...musically, spiritually. I'm not the angry kid anymore. A lot of things don't mean the same to me anymore, and there's a lot of things I don't feel like saying anymore. Does it make sense anymore? We'll just have to see."

Corey also unveiled information about a fourth Stone Sour album being a possibility sooner rather than later:

"We were talking about doing that even before Paul passed away," he says. "It's something we're just kind of throwing around now. It's in its infancy, but we've definitely been talking about making another Stone Sour album."

Avalanche tour featuring Stone Sour, Theory Of A Deadman, & Halestorm announced

Stone Sour, Theory Of A Deadman, Skillet, Halestorm & The Art Of Dying have teamed up for the first ever Avalanche Tour. Here are the tour dates:

03/24 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom
03/25 Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
03/26 St. Paul, MN – Roy Wilkins Auditorium
03/28 Bloomington, IL – US Cellular Coliseum
03/29 Fort Wayne, IN – Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
04/01 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade Music Park
04/02 Tampa, FL – St. Pete Times Forum
04/03 Ladson, SC – Ladson Fairground
04/08 San Antonio, TX – Illusion Theater at Alamodome
04/09 Corpus Christi, TX – Concrete Street Amphitheater
04/10 Grand Prairie, TX – Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
04/12 Houston, TX – Reliant Arena
04/13 Wichita Falls, TX – Kay Yeager Coliseum
04/15 Belton, TX – Bell County Expo Center
04/16 Lubbock, TX – LoneStar Amphitheater
04/17 El Paso, TX – El Paso County Coliseum
04/19 Tulsa, OK – Tulsa Convention Center Arena
04/21 Park City, KS – Hartman Arena
04/22 Springfield, MO – Shrine Mosque
04/29 New York, NY – Hammerstein Ballroom
04/30 Bangor, ME – Bangor Waterfront
05/01 Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena

More dates will be released soon. Tickets go onsale Feb. 5th.

Avenged Sevenfold and Stone Sour setlists from Nightmare tour revealed

Stone Sour and Avenged Sevenfold have teamed up for the Nightmare After Christmas tour. From our friends at http://www.metalsetlists.com/ we can reveal both bands current set list for the tour:

Stone Sour
Mission Statement
Reborn
Digital
Hesitate
Made Of Scars
Say You'll Haunt Me
Bother
Through Glass
Hell And Consequences
30/30 - 150

A7X
Nightmare
Critical Acclaim
Welcome To The Family
Danger Line
Buried Alive
So Far Away
Afterlife
God Hates Us
Bat Country
Unholy Confessions

Encore:
Fiction
A Little Piece Of Heaven

Slipknot Guitarist Speaks On The Future Of The Band

Slipknot guitarist Mick Thomson was recently interviewed. Here is a transcript of the interview for your reading pleasure:

On the possibility of U.S. shows later this year:

Mick: "Nothing for the States as of right now. We've got just a month in Europe we're gonna do — festivals, that kind of thing. A couple of our own headlining, some with METALLICA and some with IRON MAIDEN. And that's all our plans, currently."

On the progress of the songwriting sessions for SLIPKNOT's next studio album:

Mick: "We've got different people in different places. Joey's [Jordison, drums] out doing his thing. Corey's [Taylor, vocals] out doing his. But we all work all the time anyway. I know that Joey's got a bunch of parts. I mean, we always do — everybody always does. I've got different things. It's just a matter of coming together and assembling things and getting to work together. When you sit and play, sometimes I'll come up with something that is a SLIPKNOT fit, and sometimes it's just whatever. So, yeah, eventually we're gonna get together and start working on more stuff."

On when SLIPKNOT expects to return to the studio to begin work on its next album:

Mick: "We've got so much to figure out — what we're gonna do, how we're gonna do it. I mean, there are just so many things right now. We've had a couple of meetings and we've talked about things and everything's positive and we're working towards doing things again and doing them the right way."

SLIPKNOT recently announced that it will make a number festival appearances this summer, including the U.K.'s Sonisphere, Belgium's Graspop Metal Meeting and Brazil's Rock In Rio. These will mark the band's first shows without late bassist Paul Gray, who was found dead in a hotel room in a Des Moines, Iowa suburb last May at the age of 38 from an overdose of morphine.

That news was courtesy of Full Metal Jackie, Artisan News Service and Blabbermouth.net

Huge Rock On The Range 2011 Update!!!

We at vdob.blogspot.com can confirm a few artists who will definitely be at Rock On The Range 2011. We can exclusively confirm that following artists will be at the festival this year:


Staind
Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge and Slash
Corey Taylor from Slipknot and Stone Sour

This will leave some of you wondering, "Hey which bands are playing because I bet Corey and Myles will only be playing with one of their bands..."

Other rumored bands which we cannot confirm include Foo Fighters, Avenged Sevenfold, and Deftones.

Stay tuned ;)

Stone Sour to headline Avalanche Tour

Within the next few weeks a new tour dubbed 'Avalanche' will be announced. Sources have informed us that Stone Sour will headline the tour. Other bands rumored for the tour are:

Theory of a Deadman
Sevendust
Halestorm
36 Crazyfists

Is the new Velvet Revolver vocalist Slipknot/Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor ?

Slipknot/Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor has reportedly landed the vocalist slot for Velvet Revolver. There has been no official announcement made yet.

Recently Slash's wife Perla posted a message on her Twitter account about her and Slash having dinner with "Mr. Corey". Considering Slash recently hinted that the new vocalist is younger, known and from a heavier band, could this rumor be truth?