STONE SOUR's Third Covers EP Will Include Version Of VAN HALEN's 'Unchained'

STONE SOUR will release two more EPs of cover songs following the arrival of its first one, "Meanwhile In Burbank…", on April 18 as a Record Store Day exclusive. STONE SOUR vocalist Corey Taylor revealed that the next two will be titled "Straight Out Of Burbank" and "No Sleep 'Till Burbank" and will feature five songs each, including new versions of tracks from RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, MÖTLEY CRÜE, BAD BRAINS and the VIOLENT FEMMES.

"Meanwhile In Burbank…" contained songs originally done by BLACK SABBATH, JUDAS PRIEST, METALLICA, KISS and ALICE IN CHAINS.

Asked by the WGRD 97.9 FM radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan how STONE SOUR went about choosing which songs to cover for the three EPs, Taylor responded: "It's kind of cool, because this is something we've been threatening to do for a very long time. So when the opportunity afforded itself, we already had the list put together. We just kind of went around and said, 'What do you wanna play?'"

He continued: "Our biggest thing was a) representing the bands who have inspired us to do what we do, and b) just to have fun with it. This wasn't like days on end spent agonizing over vocal takes or anything like that. I mean, we did the majority of the music live at Roy's [Mayorga, drums] studio, and then, for two days, I would just sing my ass off. And all those vocals on the first one were done in two days. The one I just finished up, the vocals were all done in two days. I mean, it was just, like, 'Hit it and get the vibe and get out. Don't overthink it. Don't sing it with the thought of, 'Oh, we're gonna Auto-Tune this later,'' which is just such a copout. It was, 'Capture the vibe and have fun with it.' And that's what we did. I think that's why it pops off the album the way it does. We've gotten so many compliments from so many people about the spirit of it and the sound of it that it just feels good to know that we did these songs justice. And, yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing the reaction from people when we put the second one out."

Asked if there were any songs that he was particularly looking forward to covering, Taylor said: "The one song that I've always wanted to cover was 'Unchained' by VAN HALEN. And that's gonna be on the third [EP] that we put out. The music is already done. I haven't sang it yet. I mean, that's one of my all-time favorite songs, full stop, because it's just got such a great vibe to it. And I love that band so much. I just feel like that song just kind of sumps up everything about that band that's awesome. So when the time came, I was, like, 'We're definitely doing 'Unchained'. Everybody can shut up. We're definitely doing 'Unchained', and that's the way it's gonna be.' So I'm looking forward to that one. That's the one that a) I know I can sing, and b) I know that I'm just gonna have a ton of fun singing it."

Taylor told The Pulse Of Radio why he enjoys covering other artists' songs. "The thing I love about playing covers is that it's a chance to walk in the footsteps of your heroes," he said. "It's a chance to have fun. There's a certain amount of relaxation that comes when you don't have to worry about your song. This is someone else's song, you know. This is where you can relax and just remember why you're a music fan in the first place."

On its last North American tour, STONE SOUR played a different cover every night, including songs that made the EP such as METALLICA's "Creeping Death", KISS's "Love Gun" and JUDAS PRIEST's "Heading Out To The Highway".

Taylor is currently on tour with his other band, SLIPKNOT, and did not indicate when the next two covers EPs will see the light of day.