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Biography (courtesy of Wind-up Records)

The two years since the release of 12 Stones' debut album have been "definitely a whirlwind," according to singer Paul McCoy. The group sold over 300,000 copies of that album, largely through touring with the likes of Creed and 3 Doors Down and word-of-mouth. Throw in McCoy's featured vocals on Evanescence's breakthrough hit Bring Me to Life and a steadily growing fan base, and you've got a hard-rocking band on the brink of a major breakthrough.

The two years since the release of 12 Stones' debut album have been "definitely a whirlwind," according to singer Paul McCoy. The group sold over 300,000 copies of that album, largely through touring with the likes of Creed and 3 Doors Down and word-of-mouth. Throw in McCoy's featured vocals on Evanescence's breakthrough hit Bring Me to Life and a steadily growing fan base, and you've got a hard-rocking band on the brink of a major breakthrough.

Potter's Field, the group's take-no-prisoners second album, should be that breakthrough.

"This is a bigger record all the way around," McCoy states. "We wrote it the way we wanted it to be put out. A lot of the songs don't necessarily sound like 12 Stones songs; people might say, 'That's not the 12 Stones I know.' Maybe not, but it's the 12 Stones you're about to know."

"I'm extremely proud of it," adds drummer Aaron Gainer. "I feel like we've really come together musically, it's heavier in some senses, but also a bit more musical as well."

Filled with crunching, memorable riffs and melodies, and spotlighting McCoy's aggressively expressive vocals, Potter's Field runs the gamut from the intense, emotional grind of "Photograph" to the wistful, introspective "In Closing." One of the album's many highlights is the first single "Far Away," which is an energetic, melodic powerhouse.

"The shape of that song was pretty much the way it sounds on the record from day one," McCoy says. "It's about a friend of my sister's, who in high school was in a relationship that ended about three months in—and how he killed himself in a very weak way."

The arrangement, he continues, "was a reflection of how I felt sad about what had happened. As I started working on the song it started to make me angry, that someone would take their life over something so trivial. A lot of people might expect Photograph to somehow be reassuring and say, 'It's okay'—but it's not okay. Instead, it steps up and says, 'Don't be a punk.'"

Songwriting in 12 Stones is shared equally by all four members, and is "pretty much an all-the-time thing," says guitarist Eric Weaver. "Every time I have a guitar in my hands I start messing around with ideas. Very often we'll start out in a room together, and each of us will start throwing ideas around. What works, works, and what doesn't we leave out."

Production duties on Potter's Field were handled by Dave Fortman who, in addition to co-producing the group's debut album and working with such acts as Evanescence and Atomship, also played guitar in Ugly Kid Joe.

"He's very musical, and a lot of respect comes with that," Weaver says. "There are some producers who might want you to change something but can't really give you a reason why. We take direction a lot better from someone who's been in our shoes before."

12 Stones also takes a lot of energy from the byplay with its concert audiences. "It's really inspirational for us to walk onstage," Weaver says. "When we're backstage, getting ourselves together, you can tell from the noise level when our banner goes up. It can get really crazy—but in a good way,"

"12 Stones to me is primarily a live experience," says Gainer. "The show. The music. The energy exchanged between us and the crowd, it's the whole reason we exist as a band. Anyone can make an album, but not everyone can reproduce it live. We wanted to capture that on the record, and we feel like we did."

"Touring is really all we've got," McCoy adds. "It's so great to see these people coming to our shows, and singing along with every song. That's what we love about what we do."

In fact, the group's four members didn't know each other that well when they started playing together. "We were all hanging out at this record store [in Mandeville, La.] and randomly met," McCoy recalls. "We just started jamming, which led to practicing, which seven months later led to being on a label."

The 12 Stones album was well received by fans and critics alike, but it was after McCoy's appearance on Bring Me to Life that the band members felt a new phase beginning.

"That really did wonders," McCoy says. "Evanescence's album has sold 12 million worldwide, so that many people at least have now heard of 12 Stones. It's given us a much broader market."

Seeing the phenomenal success of their Wind-up Records label mates, and being exposed to new cultures and ideas through its relentless touring schedule, helped 12 Stones grow into the more cohesive unit that's so evident on Potter's Field. "We were very naïve when we started, and we've learned so much in the years since the first album came out," Weaver says. "We've figured out where everybody's place is and what everyone brings to the party."

As for the album's title, McCoy explains: "Typically a potter's field is the cemetery where they bury the Jane and John Does, the homeless people who have no family or relations or friends, who are really lost. And that's the way musicians very often are, working anonymously a lot of the time. We may have sold over 300,000 units but at the end of the day there are still a lot of people who have never heard of 12 Stones.

"On the other hand we've received a lot of messages from people saying they heard a particular track of ours, and it helped to change their life," he continues. "That's a great feeling, that we're able to reach out to all those John and Jane Does and possibly effect their lives."

Though the 12 Stones sound remains forcefully muscular, there remains a sense of intelligence and a feeling of vulnerability that very much separates the group from the pack.

"There's a massive amount of hateful music out there right now," McCoy admits. "It's important for someone to step up and say yes, you can be angry and scream, but you need to keep your heads up. Everyone feels confused at some point, and needs guidance. I'm not saying we're there to guide people, but we want them to know they're not alone—that there will be a brighter day, no matter what goes on."