Back in May, it was revealed that guitarist Jim Root was no longer a member of Stone Sour. Root was open with the fact that he was "not happy about it," but in a new interview, the guitarist gathered some hindsight and said he "wasn't really happy" in Stone Sour anymore and the decision was "for the better."

On May 17, a fan caught wind that Jim Root would be sitting out Stone Sour's July 18-20 tour dates. After asking Root about the concerts via Instagram, he received a reply that none of us were expecting: "I'm not in that band anymore. Not my decision. Not happy about it."

Later that day, Stone Sour would follow up with an official statement:

As some of you might have heard by now, Stone Sour and Jim Root have indeed parted ways. We were trying to wait until the completion of the new SK [Slipknot] album, but in light of recent events, we are going to confirm this information and move on. We feel it’s best for both bands and hope that is reflected in the days to come. We will give you more information when the time comes.

Fans questioned the future of Stone Sour, along with the future of Slipknot, of which both Root and Stone Sour vocalist Corey Taylor are members. Luckily, according to Root, it seems like there are no more hard feelings. "It became apparent to me near the end of the album cycle for 'House Of Gold & Bones' that it had basically run its course," Root tells Revolver. "But the band kept pushing for more dates, and I was just, like, 'It's time to stop!' Slipknot made it possible for Stone Sour to have everything that it has and there were people in Slipknot that have been sitting idly waiting to do a new album. And I had fans asking me every day, 'When are you doing Slipknot?' It just seemed like it was in the air."

He continues, "I guess you could say I was 'given the opportunity' to start the Slipknot album, to put it sort of nicely. Essentially in November, I found out that Stone Sour wanted to do some more shows and they didn't want me to be a part of it. "I had so many emotions going on in my head when I was writing this s--t. I was mad because Stone Sour wanted to go do a tour and they didn't want me to be a part of it. So I had a little anger, and I had a little bit of f---ing depression. I was kind of hurt. But at the same time, it was probably all for the better, because I wasn't really happy in that band anymore."

The guitarist concludes, "I love Stone Sour. I love the music that we created. and it was a fun ride. But if I'm going to sacrifice all of my free time and my life for something, it has to be something that I a thousand-percent believe in, and something where I have a thousand-percent communication with everyone involved. And that something is Slipknot." [via Blabbermouth]

Be sure to pick up the Oct./Nov. issue of Revolver.

Watch 20 Epic Stage Dives by Slipknot's Sid Wilson:

More From Loudwire