12 Stones

Did You Know?

• The band's music has been categorized as post-grunge, nu metal, alternative rock, alternative metal, and hard rock.
• They have insisted they are not a Christian band, saying their positive message is universal.
• Their music often deals with questions of good versus evil against a background of personal faith and optimism.

History

12 Stones came together in Mandeville, Louisiana, a town just north of New Orleans, and landed a deal with Wind-up Records within fifteen months of forming. Their lead singer, Paul McCoy, appeared on Evanescence's 2003 hit "Bring Me to Life," which took home a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2004. The band's music has popped up in plenty of movies and TV shows. From their first album, "My Life" made the soundtrack for the 2002 film The Scorpion King, "Broken" became the official theme for WWE's Judgment Day pay-per-view in May 2002, and "Home" was used in a WWE tribute video for Kurt Angle. Off their second record, Potter's Field, "Shadows" appeared in a trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, and "Photograph" landed on the soundtrack for the 2005 movie Elektra. They also cut a track called "Let Go" just for the Daredevil soundtrack, and "Running out of Pain" and "Back Up" were featured on the Eddie Guerrero documentary Cheating Death, Stealing Life. In November 2009, the band started work on their fourth album with producer David Bendeth. The first single, "We Are One," dropped on April 6, 2010, after premiering on Noisecreep on March 29. That song got a lot of mileage: WWE used it as the theme for the Nexus faction from NXT's first season, it opened every ACC Network broadcast of the 2011 ACC men's basketball tournament, and the Washington Capitals played it in their pre-game video during the 2010-11 NHL season at the Verizon Center. On August 24, 2010, 12 Stones announced they were leaving Wind-up after nine years, saying they felt it was time for a change and that their vision for the band was best pursued elsewhere. They then signed with Executive Music Group and released Beneath the Scars digitally on May 22, 2012, with physical stores getting it a week later on May 29. Their fifth album, Picture Perfect, came out on July 14, 2017, with the title track premiering on Loudwire on June 14. A five-song EP, Smoke and Mirrors, Volume 1, followed on November 13, 2020.