STONE SOUR's JOSH RAND Is Working On New Music For THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT

May 25, 2024

In a new interview with the Nothing Shocking podcast, PARALANDRA vocalist/guitarist Casandra Carson spoke about the status of her THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT in which she is joined by STONE SOUR guitarist Josh Rand. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "As of just less than a week ago, Josh is back playing guitar. He had back surgery that he'd been out of commission for a little over a year at this point, so we've just kind of been waiting for his recovery. So now the plans are to continue writing. We've already got, like, five songs that have been written and recorded that we just haven't released 'cause we wanna be able to actually go out and tour and support it when we do release it. So, yeah, [we're] kind of getting back into the swing of things, but I'm super excited. It's some good music."

Regarding how she balances PARALANDRA and THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT, Casandra said: "It's difficult. PARALANDRA is my baby and I live in Springfield [Missouri], and that's where everybody lives for PARALANDRA. So it's much easier to get together twice a week to have practices. And we write songs organically right there in the garage, whereas with Josh, it's, like, you send off the track to get drums recorded and then you send it off to get the bass done. It's a very different process. So I'm kind of in two different worlds, but I do try to do both of them at the same time as often as I can."

In September 2022, THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT released a new single, "Dying Of The Light".

Earlier that year, THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT completed a run of U.S. dates as the support act for ALICE IN CHAINS, BREAKING BENJAMIN and BUSH.

THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT made its live debut on April 30, 2022 at The Riff in Springfield, Missouri.

In an interview with HardDrive Radio's Lou Brutus, Rand stated about THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT: "In a sense, it was just something that I started doing a [few] years ago, just writing music myself. And then I just decided I wanted to get a female vocalist, basically, to work on these songs and sing on them. And I found Casandra through a mutual friend — actually, STONE SOUR's [then-]A&R person, Dave Rath — and we hit it off. And then we've just been working on stuff kind of just here and there.

"So, that's really what it's about," he continued. "It's just me musically trying different stuff, but also getting back to where I originally came from, as far as my musical journey. So it's kind of getting back to my roots and just having fun with it. That's what THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT is for me — it's a different vehicle to express myself, I guess, artistically with truly no boundaries, but leaning more towards, musically, I think, coming at it as an educated teenager. What I mean by that is it's the fire of that teenager — that drive, that style of music that I was playing 30 years ago — but now doing it with the experience, the knowledge and all that. So it's kind of like revisiting the past, in a way, or going home in some ways."

THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT released a four-song EP, titled "Big F.O.U.R.", 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.

Rand previously stated about the EP: "Recording a 'Big F.O.U.R.' cover EP is something that I have wanted to do for a very, very long time, and [in the] fall [of 2021] I decided to finally do it with THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT.

"Without these four bands (METALLICA, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX and SLAYER),my musical career wouldn't be where it is today. In some ways, you could say this project is paying homage to them or, how I see it, a return to where it all started in my parents' house as a teenager trying to learn just a piece of the music.

"Each of the four songs that I picked were pivotal in my development as a musician, whether it was learning the intro to 'One' on guitar, drums on 'Symphony [Of Destruction]' or bass lines in 'Caught In A Mosh'.

"This EP was a true love and passion project for myself. I feel I captured the vibe and the spirit of the original but with THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT sound. Hopefully you hear it too!"

Stylistically, THE L.I.F.E. PROJECT is a fluid combination of classic metal sensibility and Rand's penchant for pushing the boundaries of contemporary heavy.

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.

Josh and Casandra's debut single, "The Nothingness", was featured on several major playlists across streaming platforms, including Rock Hard on Spotify, Breaking Metal on Apple Music, Break Through Rock on Amazon and Metal Radar on Deezer. "The Nothingness" was also included on SiriusXM Octane's "Test Drive" show on release.

Find more on Stone sour
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).