STONE SOUR 'Didn't Lose A Step' After JIM ROOT's Exit From Band, Says COREY TAYLOR

Corey Taylor says that STONE SOUR "didn't lose a step" after Jim Root's exit from the band.

STONE SOUR in 2015 named Christian Martucci as the permanent replacement for Root, who was dismissed from the band in late 2013 after he decided to sit out the group's last tour in order to begin working on the new SLIPKNOT album. Martucci was recruited to play on that tour and was confirmed as a permanent member in March 2015 in a Facebook post.

In a new interview with Loaded Radio's "In Yer Face" podcast, Taylor was asked if the lineup change affected the writing process for STONE SOUR's latest album, "Hydrograd". He said (hear audio below): "There's obviously gonna be a difference. Jim brought a certain type of creativity in, and for what we were doing, it worked, absolutely. But then these [other] guys [in the band], they really filled that in — I mean, perfectly. We didn't lose a step as far as the creativity and the flow, 'cause we all brought in music."

He continued: "I know people think that Jim brought in a lot of the music, but it was actually very much equal parts. So those guys really came in, pulled their own weight, they were ready to go, and we were able to make it very much STONE SOUR."

Taylor admitted that there was some awkwardness "at first" when he began collaborating with Root on what became SLIPKNOT's ".5: The Gray Chapter" album, but he said that "because of the fact that we realized that Jim's just a lot happier in SLIPKNOT — that's just his realm, man; he loves that realm — that kind of helped that tension go away right away. And he realized that I was gonna put the same kind of focus and intensity into that, working and being able to go back and forth. So, yeah, there was nothing lost there."

Root did not speak kindly of STONE SOUR in interviews after he was fired, saying, "Some of the guys in STONE SOUR, I think they just want to be a radio band and write strictly for radio and try to be more of a poppy rock band. And that's not really what I'm into. There's at least one guy in the band that's only concerned about money. I really have no desire to associate with people like that anymore."

Root played on the first five STONE SOUR studio records, including 2010's "Audio Secrecy" and "House Of Gold And Bones", a double concept album which was released in two parts in 2012 and 2013.

"Hydrograd" was released on June 30 via Roadrunner Records. The disc was recorded at Sphere Studios in North Hollywood, California with producer Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX and STEEL PANTHER.