Stone Sour’s Josh Rand says he feels like a new person after receiving treatment for alcohol and Xanax dependency issues.
The guitarist checked in last month to say he was “doing well” after stepping back from the band in January this year to receive professional help.
And in a new interview with Hard Drive Radio at last weekend’s Rock On The Range, Rand says he now has the energy he had 16 years ago thanks to the support he’s received.
Rand says: “Everything came to a head when we did ShipRocked. I was prescribed a bunch of stuff and really that's the main thing that I needed to break away from. I didn't really start drinking until the last year and a half, but the problem is when you mix that with prescription drugs.
“It sent me in a downward spiral and into a depression where I didn't even get out of my bunk unless I had to. One day, I was like, ‘I feel terrible. I've got to do something.' I just made the decision on our way to Canada, which wasn't easy.
“We were in a connection to get up there and I just decided that I needed to go home and get stuff sorted. I just hit this wall where I just was in a funk and I knew there was more to life than feeling the way that I did.
“I thought, ‘I have all these positive things – I shouldn't feel the way that I do.' I went home and worked on that, with the support of the band and family and everything."
He continues: “I have a great support group, I’m very lucky. But the great thing is, when I came back, honestly, I have that energy of it being 2002 all over. It’s like this whole rebirth for me.”
Rand reports that he’s now a “workout maniac” and has been exercising before and after shows with the band and adds: “I feel better. As I said, one of the main reasons is I just felt terrible – physically and mentally, just tired. And since I've started working out and gotten off everything, I feel like a new person.”
Stone Sour will resume their live dates in support of their latest album Hydrograd when they return to Europe next month.
Stone Sour 2018 tour dates
Jun 01: Nurburg Rock Am Ring, Germany
Jun 02: Nuremberg Rock Im Park, Germany
Jun 05: Tallinn Pirita Convent Ruins, Estonia
Jun 06: Solvesborg Sweden Rock festival, Sweden
Jun 11: Hannover Swiss Life Hall, Germany
Jun 13: Warsaw Torwar Hall, Poland
Jun 14: Nickelsdorf Nova Rock, Austria
Jun 17: Manchester O2 Apollo, UK
Jun 18: London Roundhouse, UK
Jun 19: Nottingham Rock City, UK
Jun 22: Clisson Hellfest, France
Jun 23: Lausanne Les Docks, Switzerland
Jun 25: Budapest Barba negra Track Open Air, Hungary
Jun 26: Bucharest Arenele Romane, Romania
Jun 27: Sofia Airport Park, Bulgaria
Jun 29: Panensky Tynec Aerodrome, Czech Republic
Jul 02: Utrecht Tivoliredenburg, Netherlands
Jul 04: Leipzig Haus Auensee, Germany
Jul 07: Werchter Rock, Belgium
Jul 11: Lisbon Coliseum, Portugal
Jul 12-14: Viveiro Resurrection Fest, Spain
Aug 30: Allentown PPL Center, PA
Sep 01: Syracuse Lakeview Amphitheatre, NY
Sep 04: Toronto Budweiser Stage, ON
Sep 06: Mansfield Xfinity Center, MA
Sep 08: Wantagh Jones Beach, NY
Sep 10: Holmdel PNC Bank Arts, NJ
Sep 12: Camden BB&T Pavilion, NJ
Sep 14: Washington Jiffy Lube, DC
Sep 16: Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center, OH
Sep 19: Detroit DTE Energy, MI
Sep 21: Chicago Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, IL
Sep 23: Indianapolis Ruoff Home Mortgage, IN
Sep 26: Dallas Starplex Pavilion, TX
Sep 28: The Woodlands Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, TX
Sep 30: Albuquerque Isleta Amphitheatre, NM
Oct 02: Denver Pepsi Center, CO
Oct 04: West valley City USANA Amphitheatre, UT
Oct 06: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Oct 09: San Diego Mattress Firm Amphitheatre, CA
Oct 11: Hollywood Bowk, CA
Oct 13: Las Vegas MGM Grand, NV
Nov 15: St Petersburg A2 Greenconcert, Russia
Nov 16: Moscow Adrenaline Stadium, Russia
