STONE SOUR guitarist Josh Rand is featured in a new inrterview with Ultimate-Guitar.com. An excerpt is available below.

UG: Audio Secrecy is Stone Sour’s third album and it’s truly reflected in the cohesion of the songs and the performances. The band was really on the same page for this one.

Josh Rand: "Yeah, we’re on our third record so obviously we’re getting more and more comfortable with one another and what another brings to the band. We’re just evolving as a band and people."

UG: Part of that comfort factor was going for more of a live performance? You and Jim Root actually recorded the guitar parts at the same time? That’s not an easy thing to do.

Josh Rand: "Yeah, we actually tracked together for all the basic rhythm stuff which was really cool. It was something that Nick [Raskulinecz], the producer, always wanted to do but he felt it would take something special for two guys to be able to do it. And I think he thought me and Jim could do it so we thought it would be cool to try. It was more about capturing a vibe between the two of us and the drum take than us playing to a grid. That’s what happens pretty much when you go in and record individually; then you have to match that person and then it becomes more of everything just being lined up to the Pro Tools grid. So it’s a lot looser, the way that we recorded, and I think it makes it breathe a lot more. It’s not pinpoint perfect; it just feels right instead of being completely dialed into being perfect on a grid."

UG: Does it get as specific as working out different voicings of a chord? You play something low on the neck and Jim will augment that with something higher up?

Josh Rand: "We kinda just do what we do. He’s gonna do all that ear candy stuff and it’s really not, 'What part are you gonna play?' We really don’t do that; we kinda just know what our roles are and we just do it. I guess there’s really no massive plan on any of the stuff where we need to know who is gonna do what. The only song that was like that was 'Digital' and it was the guitar breakdown in the middle because it was like, 'OK, what harmony are you gonna play? Which one do you wanna take: the low one or the high one?' We just had to discuss who was gonna play what."

UG: Are you trying to push each other guitar-wise in a healthy way?

Josh Rand: "I think it is from the aspect of trying to create the best song possible. Because even from a songwriting point of view, we write so different from one another. Actually we all do that so it’s all different. And then from a solo point of view, we play a lot different from one another. Both of us come from the school of shred and even though I can play a lot of that stuff really I’m a fan of making stuff sing. My top favorite solos of all time are really simple stuff like KISS' 'Detroit Rock City', MÖTLEY CRÜE's 'Home Sweet Home' and stuff that can be sung and stick with you and take you to a different place. Make a statement within the song and not necessarily just be shred for the sake of shredding. It seems to be like the popular thing these last couple years. There’s very few guys that are up and coming that I think that can play from a technical standpoint and still be tasteful. Like right now everything’s 'My fingers can go that fast; check it out.'"

Click here for the complete interview.