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Stone Sour
Countless groups have come and gone without making a dent. Usually, the most talented or driven members join other groups. Others drift into day jobs and real lives. Rarely does an unsuccessful group revive itself and finally achieve success. With a few twists and turns, that's the Stone Sour story.
Though it might be tempting to classify Stone Sour as a Slipknot side project, fact is, Stone Sour, the name taken from a whiskey and orange juice concoction, was around first. The Des Moines based group formed in '92. But after five years of club gigs and a failure to dial in anything that worked on a large scale, vocalist Corey Taylor left for Slipknot. He was followed, in short order, by guitarist Jim Root. Stone Sour bassist Sean Economaki became Slipknot's stage manager.
In '00, guitarist Josh Rand, who'd been in Stone Sour for a time, approached Taylor with a number of songs. That led to a year and a half long songwriting collaboration. Taylor and Root then advanced the notion of re-forming Stone Sour. Economaki and original drummer Joel Ekman were recruited along with DJ Sid Wilson.
The first order of business was a song for the "Spider Man" soundtrack ("Bother") which was originally credited as a Taylor solo effort. The group's self-titled debut followed later in '02.
Sour Sour's sophomore effort, "Come What(ever) May," hit in August of '06. In interviews, Taylor was very enthusiastic (that should be expected) about the album. "It's good, heavy Rock that's going to kick you in the face." He also said that the set was superior to its predecessor. "The songs are better, the performance is better, the production is better. It shows what a second album should be."
Ekman left the band in '06 to take care of his cancer-stricken son. Roy Mayorga was selected as his replacement though Godsmack's Shannon Larkin played drums on the set's opening track "30/30-150."
From "Come What(ever) May" the single "Through Glass" topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart while "Sillyworld" peaked at #2 on the same chart. Two other singles, "Made Of Scars" and "Zzyzx" stalled in the 20's.
Stone Sour rolled into the studio in '10 to record their third album. "I can say the material is darker than 'Come What(ever) May'. But a lot more melodic, a lot stronger, a lot more mature, and the lyrics that are coming out of me are really good," said Taylor. They teamed again with producer Nick Raskulinecz (he was at the controls for "Come What(ever) May" and the group's self-titled debut album - both certified gold by the RIAA).
With the sessions completed Taylor was still enthused. "'Audio Secrecy' {the album's title} is the summation of everything we want, everything we crave and everything we fight for," Taylor told Blabbermouth. "The dimensions go further than anything we've ever tried before."
All Taylor would say regarding the death (on 5/24/10) of Slipknot's founding bassist Paul Gray was that it was "too soon to say" what might happen. But when the conversation turned to Stone Sour's "Audio Secrecy" Taylor was upbeat again.
"I'm just sort of blown away and ecstatic," he said. "There's a lot of buzz and people are really stoked. This album is not only better than the first two Stone Sour albums combined, to me it's the most well-rounded and diverse album I've ever been able to make."
An "Audio Secrecy" highlight was "Say You'll Haunt Me," the band's first single in 3 years. "I'd come in and I'd sang it, and I put my heart into it because the lyrics are about my wife and how I feel about my wife, and then I left," explained Taylor. "And I came back and they {the band} had just made it incredible. Now I can't get it out of my head." "Say You'll Haunt Me" topped Billboard's Rock Songs chart.
As '12 was getting underway, Taylor talked about the group's fourth album - already in progress. "Our ultimate goal is a double concept album, which the only way I can describe it is [Pink Floyd's] 'The Wall' meets [Alice In Chains'] 'Dirt' on steroids." Taylor, Rand and Root all had songs in the works. "I think it's gonna be fantastic," added Taylor.
Albums:
2002 Stone Sour
2006 Come What(ever) May
2010 Audio Secrecy
While trying for a slightly more tuneful approach than Slipknot, Stone Sour doesn't travel far from the source. The hit ballad "Bother" is an atypical track. "Orchids" is a lean Rocker and the set's best effort. "Cold Reader" and "Take A Number" shows the group's "melodic" Metal side. However, the opening cut "Get Inside" is a hostile churner that may cause brain damage.
"Come What(ever) May" is better than the group's debut but the difference isn't all that significant. Stone Sour still oscillate between Hard Rock and Slipknot's thrash and burn. There are also a couple of good ballads, "Sillyworld" and "Through Glass," and a forgettable one, "Zzyzy Rd," in there as well.
Taylor roars "they left us alone in the maelstrom" on "30/30-150" and that sets the tone. The title track, "Hell & Consequences," "Made Of Scars" and "Your God" are potent.
"1st Person" is a Slipknot-type throat shredder. But Taylor can change direction. For "Cardiff" he offers compellingly moody vocals then convincingly ponders the consequences of being too far gone on "Socio."
"Audio Secrecy" makes an immediate impact with the electric/acoustic "Say You'll Haunt Me" and the passionate "Let's Be Honest."
Aside from the title track, anchored by a dreary piano, the album delivers one powerful song after another (even the ballads). They skate toward Slipknot here and there but lean more confidently on Arena Rock to get over - which they do.