Stone Sour, the Grammy-nominated alt-metal band fronted by Slipknot singer Corey Taylor, will release "Audio Secrecy" on Sept. 7, the group's first new release in nearly four years. Taylor wasn't sure what kid of reaction the new music would get from fans.
 
So late last week, Taylor was pleasantly surprised when new song "Mission Statement" was downloaded over 50,000 times for free during a special 48-hour period at the group's website.
 
"I'm just sort of blown away and ecstatic," Taylor says. "There's a lot of buzz and people are really stoked. This album is not only better than the first two Stone Sour albums combined, to me it's the most well-rounded and diverse album I've ever been able to make. The music is just so visceral, and 'Mission Statement' is a perfect example of where it's at. That's a great anthem. It's got a little bit of the heavy but also is melodic as hell."
 
There's no secret that Stone Sour provides Taylor with creative expression and exploration that he's unable to attain with Slipknot's aggressive style. Taylor declined to comment directly about the recent death of Slipknot bassist Paul Gray, he did offer a "too soon to say right now" regarding the masked band's future.
 
"Yeah, I get a lot of latitude," Taylor says. "As diverse as Slipknot is, it's always kind of a cornerstone for a certain kind of music and I love that, I really do. We kind of set the standards and defined a genre for a while. And to me, I'll never take anything away from that but it has always been very locked in that sort of style. We've broken away and done some different things but we've always come back to what makes us us. With Stone Sour, there aren't those boundaries or locks or chains. I think that's what has kept us moving, right out of the gate that we're not afraid to take chances and do our own thing."
 
Currently overseas playing European festivals for the rest of this month, Stone Sour returns with stateside dates on the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival coming in August. Taylor hints fans can expect to hear new tracks such as lead single "Say You'll Haunt Me" (ships to modern and rock radio July 6), the prog-rockish "Digitial" and the heavy "The Bitter End."
 
Looking ahead, the group plans on visiting Japan, Australia and Canada, as well as a return visit to Europe, before mounting its own headlining American run next spring.
 
"Right now I'm looking at a year and a half of my life," Taylor says. "We're just going to tour the world and have a good time."