12 Stones

In their teenage years, Paul McCoy on vocals, Kevin Dorr on bass, Eric Weaver on guitar, and Aaron Gainer on drums assembled 12 Stones in Mandeville, a modest suburb outside New Orleans, Louisiana. With no more than a dozen live shows behind them, the group carried its demo to New York City for an industry showcase, which secured a contract with Wind-Up Records and led to debut-album sessions produced by Jay Baumgardner. That self-titled collection appeared in 2002, still within two years of the band’s formation.

Further attention arrived in 2003 when McCoy joined Evanescence for the duet “Bring Me to Life,” a major hit featured on both the Daredevil soundtrack and Evanescence’s debut album, Fallen. The following year the quartet issued its second album, Potter’s Field, whose sound leaned heavier and more guitar-focused than the first record. After pausing to prioritize family time, the members regrouped for a third project shaped by Hurricane Katrina’s devastation of their hometown; they tracked Anthem for the Underdog in Memphis, Tennessee, with Justin Rimer and Skidd Mills through most of 2006, releasing the album in 2007.

While preparing a fourth release, Dorr rejoined after a five-year absence that began in 2004, and Mike McManus came aboard as the new drummer. Their initial recordings as this lineup surfaced on the summer 2010 EP The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday. Later that year the band left Wind-Up and aligned with Executive Music Group. In 2012 they again worked with producer Mills on the full-length Beneath the Scars, which included the singles “Bulletproof” and “Infected.” After signing with Cleopatra Records in 2016, the group delivered its fifth album, Picture Perfect, in summer 2017.