STONE SOUR Guitarist JOSH RAND Undergoes Spinal Surgery, Opens Up About Mental Health Issues

STONE SOUR guitarist Josh Rand says that he recently underwent spinal surgery after dealing with chronic back pain for what seems like forever".

The 49-year-old musician, who left STONE SOUR's tour in 2018 to seek out treatment for "an alcohol and Xanax dependency," also revealed that he has been meeting with a licensed professional to address his mental health issues.

Earlier today (Thursday, November 9),Rand shared the following update via his social media: "It's been a while since my last post and I just wanted to update you all with what I've been up to and to say I'm alive and doing well.

"There's really two parts to my journey in 2023, mental health and physical health. Back in 2018 when I was getting sober from alcohol and pills, my mental health started to take a downward spiral. Come to find out my newfound sobriety would release all the negative shit in my head that I had been suppressing for many years by chemicals. Looking back now, by the end of 2019 I had lost the ability to control my emotions. The highs were high, and the lows were low except there were no highs. I had hit rock bottom; I had become someone else and not in a good way.

"In the beginning of 2020 after several events known as 'explosive behavior' it became very apparent to me I needed help. With the support of my wife, I began therapy. I can honestly say it's completely changed my life and it's one of the best things I've done and continue to do.

"Now on the physical side. I've just been dealing with chronic back pain for what seems like forever. This past March, the pain got to the point I could barely get out of bed. The sciatic pain was that bad. At the end of August, I had spinal surgery fusing L4, L5 to S1. I'm still in the 'get as much rest' phase right now. I'm hoping to start PT soon and get back to playing.

"I want to stress this is not a sympathy or 'poor me' post, but my 1st on the importance of mental health.

"Be safe, be well. #endthestigma #mentalhealthmatters #therapydog".

After Rand emerged from treatment in April 2018, he admitted he had been struggling with Xanax and alcohol dependencies. He previously told Lazer 103.3 that he was first prescribed Xanax eight years earlier for anxiety related to flying. He added in a 2018 interview: "And then over the course of the last couple years, I started drinking and when we started touring, I was basically day-drinking. But not drinking to get messed up, but just to maintain, I guess. Or to be able to cope, to have this buzz."

The guitarist said he just started feeling "horrible and miserable" and that things came to a head for him in January 2018 on the ShipRocked cruise.

Rand recalled: "We were flying from Florida back up to Canada, and, basically, we were in the airport and I just had made the decision that I had to come home. Luckily, I had the support of the other guys and my family to make that decision. I had hit a wall and knew that I needed to regroup and deal with my stuff. So that's what I did."

Rand went on to say that he wanted to get help because STONE SOUR was only "a fraction" of his life, and that he had "the rest of my life to think about also, and my family, which is the number one thing."

Josh said that he wanted to address his issues publicly because he wanted to break the negative stigma surrounding addiction and to let other addicts know that there is no shame in getting help when it is needed.

STONE SOUR has been off the road since completing the touring cycle for its 2017 studio album "Hydrograd".

Singer Corey Taylor has said in various interviews in the last few years that STONE SOUR was "on the back burner" while he focused all of his attention on SLIPKNOT and his solo career. He also said that STONE SOUR had "run its course."

A STONE SOUR live album, "Hello, You Bastards: Live In Reno", came out in December 2019.

Less than three years ago, Rand teamed up with PARALANDRA vocalist/guitarist Casandra Carson in a new band called THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT.

THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT's debut self-titled EP came out in the summer of 2021 and was made available exclusively through the band's webstore or via the Nuclear Blast store. A follow-up effort, "Big F.O.U.R.", arrived in March 2022 via Bloodblast. The collection featured a clutch of cover versions, one each from heavy music's pioneering icons METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX.