Stone Sour’s Josh Rand Opens Up About His Addiction Issues

Back in January Stone Sour announced that guitarist Josh Rand, who joined the band in 2001 and has been the only member to appear on all their albums aside from Corey Taylor, had taken a leave of absence to seek treatment and would be missing their upcoming tours. Rand and the band kept quiet about the nature of the treatment he was receiving, with Taylor explaining in an interview later on only that “he seems to be doing really well” in his recovery.

Things for Rand continue to be on the up and up to the point where Rand now feels comfortable sharing details with fans. In a post to Stone Sour’s Facebook page, Rand explained that his dependence on Xanax and alcohol to cope with anxiety led him to seek treatment, and that he’s now “doing well, but still a work in progress.” Here’s the full statement:

“As many of you may already know, in January of this year I made the difficult decision to step away from the Canadian leg of the Stone Sour tour. I hit a personal breaking point and it was imperative that I address it.

“My high anxiety and desire to feel comfortable in my own skin over the years led to an alcohol and Xanax dependency. That along with aggression issues made me feel miserable and I just could not continue to live that way. Thankfully, with the support of my band, family, and friends I was able to come home and seek help.

“Now (three months later) I’m doing well, but still a work in progress. I want to sincerely thank all of you for your thoughts, prayers, and positive words. It means a lot to me.

“Much love,
Josh Rand”

As someone who also suffers from high anxiety, it’s easy for me to see how someone could develop an addiction to Xanax; that stuff is incredibly powerful, and it works (fast). Wishing all the best to Josh in his continued recovery and for having the guts to come clean with his fans about his issues.

[via Loudwire]