New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Roadrunner Records) Stone Sour guitarist Josh Rand recently participated in IHeartRadio's Guest DJ program, setting up a
Stone Sour "station" featuring some of the band's favorite songs that you can listen to right now: https://www.iheart.com/original/Guest-DJ-Stone-Sour/
Josh also put together a Top Ten metal and hard rock list for the site, which includes:
Metallica , "
Orion" - "This track was everything about Cliff [Burton] that was special. His incredible sense of melody cut through the heaviness, even adding to it in a way. It's probably the quintessential Cliff moment actually."
Dream Theater , "Pull Me Under" - "A landmark track that served as an introduction to a new subgenre - combining heavy with another level of musicianship. This band went on to be one of the defining bands in the prog-metal world and one of my favorite bands! This is one of those rare bands that keeps getting better and stronger - I can't wait to hear the new one!"
Slayer , "South of Heaven" - "After taking fast as far as they could,
Slayer 's answer was to slow it down on this album - without losing an ounce of their aggression. Amazing groove. It was really the only place they could go and it showed they could be just as heavy while slowing down. I listen to this song right before going on stage to get fired up."
Read the full Top Ten following:
1. Metallica, "Orion"
"This track was everything about Cliff that was special," Josh Rand tells iHeartRadio. "His incredible sense of melody cut through the heaviness, even adding to it in a way. It’s probably the quintessential Cliff moment actually."
2. Dream Theater, "Pull Me Under"
"A landmark track that served as an introduction to a new subgenre - combining heavy with another level of musicianship. This band went on to be one of the defining bands in the prog-metal world and one of my favorite bands! This is one of those rare bands that keeps getting better and stronger - I can’t wait to hear the new one!"
3. Megadeth, "Symphony Of Destruction"
"A lyrical and technically awesome guitar lead. It’s probably my favorite guitar solo of all time. The band and songs are great but Megadeth is all about the guitars, and as a guitar player, Megadeth have a special meaning to me."
4. Ghost B.C., "Year Zero"
"Super fun. Maybe the oddball on this list since it's not super technical, but metal ain’t just about technique! This is one of the newer bands that I am really digging. They have such a great live show and I think the tunes really backs it up
5. Slayer, "South of Heaven"
After taking fast as far as they could, Slayer's answer was to slow it down on this album - without losing an ounce of their aggression. Amazing groove. It was really the only place they could go and it showed they could be just as heavy while slowing down. I listen to this song right before going on stage to get fired up."
6. Volbeat, "Still Counting"
"I am just now discovering these guys. So cool, and this song just kicks ass! Again, not technical. A fantastic mix of mainstream and the best parts of the heavy music genre. It has tastes of a lot of cool things like Social Distortion, the Misfits, Johnny Cash - just a killer band."
7. Steve Vai, "For The Love of God"
"The high priest of rock guitar, what else is there to say? All artists need to aspire to that next level, and Via inspires me to always try harder, to push to the next thing. He is just so technical and innovative - he has more than just the chops, he also writes just cool different stuff!"
8. Pantera, "Suicide Note Pt. 2"
"What else needs to be said about Pantera? One of the all time greats! The band that kept metal alive into the 90s. Dimebag was just so killer! Bad-ass attitude with the chops to match. Pantera didn’t need to break new ground, they just did what they did, and destroyed. They stood in opposition to alot of what was happening in music at the time."
9. Joe Satriani, "Always With Me"
"As with Vai, Satriani makes amazing music, which just happens to be inspirational to some of us with guitars! This is my favorite instrumental of all time. As a guitarist you need to listen to those that are trying to break new ground with everything they do."
10. Avenged Sevenfold, "Little Piece Of Heaven"
"Theatrical and cool as hell. Expanding the palette of what's cool about metal, and having some fun bending the genre. Probably the coolest track to come out in the last 5 years. I loved touring with them, such great guys, so much fun!"
