COREY TAYLOR On STONE SOUR's Split With JIM ROOT: 'It Was The Right Decision'

STONE SOUR singer Corey Taylor says that Jim Root "wasn't happy" before he was dismissed from the group late last year so that the guitarist could work on material for the new SLIPKNOT album, explaining that the split was necessary "to make sure that both bands could still exist."

Root recently compared STONE SOUR to a "sinking ship" in an interview with TeamRock, saying, "I spent 12 years helping that band, writing songs for that band and doing things for them. When people conspire and turn their back on you because you have a bigger obligation to get to, it's a little bit like, 'Well, I guess that's that.' . . . If people are going to make decisions like that for their career, I honestly would rather get on the life raft and get away from that sinking ship."

Root continued, "Maybe there's neurotic people who are nervous and don't know what their future is — so they have to make rash decisions to try to make sure they have a future. But that's short-sighted. I tend to look past the end of my nose for my future."

The split between STONE SOUR and Root made things uncomfortable for the guitarist and Taylor, who's also a member of both bands, with Corey telling Loaded Radio (hear audio below): "It was awkward at first. But the more we've talked and we've hung out and the more we've seen the success of the [SLIPKNOT] album kind of burgeon, that takes a lot of the pressure off. And I think it's kind of helped him see that it was the right decision. He just seems happier in SLIPKNOT. And that was one of the reasons why we kind of had to go our separate ways, because at the end of the day, with all due respect to Jim, I just want him to be happy, and for the longest time it just seemed like he wasn't happy. And it just made the most sense to try and cut those… do what we had to do to make sure that both bands could still exist."

SLIPKNOT is on tour now in support of its fifth album, ".5: The Gray Chapter", which came out in October.

STONE SOUR is prepping a covers album called "Meanwhile In Burbank" for release "late, late next year," according to Taylor. The singer told Loaded Radio: "We're just kind of putting stuff together [for the CD] on our downtime and just kind of doing it piece by piece and trying to have fun with it. But yeah, there's nothing immediate [planned for the album's release], nothing… It's kind of way on the backburner. But it's cool, because that means that we can kind of take our time and have fun with it."

There's no word yet on which songs STONE SOUR intends to include on "Meanwhile In Burbank", which is being recorded at the Burbank, California studio of the group's drummer, Roy Mayorga.

STONE SOUR has released five studio albums and has sold more than 4 million albums worldwide.

The band was named after an alcoholic drink comprised of one part whiskey, one part orange juice and a splash of sour mix.

The original STONE SOUR went on hiatus in 1997, allowing Root and Taylor to both eventually join SLIPKNOT in time to record their 1999 debut.