Stone Sour
By Stone Sour
Roadrunner Records
2002

After working like a dog with his nine-man metal monster, otherwise known as Slipknot, front man Corey Taylor has returned to his home town of Des Moins, Iowa, to unleash the long awaited debut album for his decade-old side project, Stone Sour.

Stone Sour formed back in 1992 in Des Moines when Corey Taylor and drummer Joel Ekman started playing together. Soon came the addition of Shawn Economaki on bass and James Root on guitar.

After a grueling five year stint in Stone Sour, Corey grew tired of going nowhere and made the move to Slipknot and took up the duties as singer/songwriter. This decision proved fatal for Stone Sour and with nothing left of the band James Root followed Corey and became guitarist for Slipknot. Quickly realizing just how weak the music scene in Iowa was, Shawn Economaki took on the position as stage manager for Slipknot, leaving Joel Ekman in Iowa to start a family.

Slipknot is a band that became notorious for covering their faces at all times with gruesome masks. Because of the mysterious identities of all nine members, people started gravitating to the band and they soon signed a record deal with Roadrunner Records. This lead to four years of non-stop touring and recording that left the nine-man metal army exhausted.

With two records and a countless number of headlining tours, such as the Pledge Of Allegiance tour with System of A Down and 2001's Ozzfest under their belts, Slipknot decided to take a break, which was highly anticipated by all nine members.

This break proved to be the perfect opportunity for Corey to rekindle his old band Stone Sour, which takes its name from an Orange Juice and Whiskey cocktail.

After making sure all the old members were ready to dust off their instruments, Corey and James used their Slipknot connections and landed a deal with Roadrunner. The next step was to enlist the help of legendary producer Ross Robinson who has worked with some of the best in the music industry.

Stone Sour recorded their self-titled debut in two short months and released their first single "Bother", a soulful ballad most people will know from the Spiderman Soundtrack.

On August 27th Stone Sour finally released their Album upon the masses with the hopes of erasing all rumours that they were nothing but a Slipknot prodigy, which they quickly accomplished. The album mixes the brutality of Slipknot with a very melodic sound producing an amazing rock album.

All but one of the 13 songs features Corey Taylor's signature growl which is very reminiscent of the past two Slipknot albums but one can clearly see that the two are like night and day. The band also manages to work in some great guitar solos displaying the ever growing talent of James and Shawn giving some of the songs a very 80's metal feel, kind of like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest but in a good way.

Most of the lyrics focus on real life problems, which most commonly affect those of society's most unwanted. A lot of the songs use metaphors and the CD as a whole gets you thinking about your very existence, begging the question do we serve a purpose or purposely serve.

The album also manages to make you look at Corey Taylor in a new light. It displays his vocal range as never before. His haunting lyrics give all the songs a very Alice In Chains meets Pantaras "Cemetery Gates" feel.

This CD is a very refreshing change from the hard-hitting sound delivered by Slipknot. Stone Sour serves its fans with 13 tracks displaying rock at its purest form. The songs provide a musical texture that grabs you and pulls you in. From the heavy aggressive sound of "Orchids" to the melodic harmonies of "Bother" Stone Sour has surpassed the expectations of many including myself and they have managed to provide us with a wonderfully written heartfelt album that is delivered with the ever so infamous yells and screams of true rock.

If you're expecting to buy this CD to get a quick Slipknot fix while they are on a hiatus, don't . This album is simply a good rock and roll CD and if that's what you're looking for then this CD is sure to impress.