Review Summary: Creating a strong album with a solid balance of heaviness and accessibility, Stone Sour set the stage for an epic finale in Part Two.
Slipknot are a band everyone loves to hate. Oftentimes it’s the notion that they’re “posers” and “aren’t metal enough”. Other times it’s that their mask gimmick is stale and overdone. It could even be the fact that they have seemingly more members than Lynyrd Skynyrd. There wasn’t a lot of positive reception when it was discovered that “the vocalist in Slipknot” had another band that had been around even before the dreaded mask-wearing freaks.
However, Corey Taylor had different plans for his side project. It was the lessening of the chaotic playing and increase of developed song structure by Slipknot in their later albums that influenced Taylor on the material for his other band. Although Stone Sour’s first few albums lacked consistency and weren’t too well-received, for their fourth release they decided to try something new: a record with a story told throughout each song. Concept albums have been hit or miss in the past, and Stone Sour was taking a risk creating not only one, but two records with a recurring theme. Thankfully, they were able to pull it off. On
HOGAB Part 1, they cleaned up the poor writing and craftsmanship of their previous releases, and produced their best album up to that point in their career.
Immediately we get the feeling that the songs on this album have more of a purpose. They feel complete and meaningful when compared to Stone Sour’s previous release, and this is in large part due to the story surrounding them. The lead single duo of
Gone Sovereign and
Absolute Zero are two of the heavier tracks on here, and their aggressiveness is mirrored with the catchiness of their melodies. These tracks harken back to material from
Come What(ever) May and early Slipknot moments, but they up the level in melody and writing to a more impressive standard. The songs flow into one another, and establish the tone of the album, as well as the condition of the protagonist. The heaviness is prevalent for sure, but the lyrics seem somewhat forced, mainly in
Absolute Zero. Some lines of the song almost seem as if they were included simply to rhyme with the previous part. This isn’t a complete detraction, though, and the music makes up for it with its’ punishing behavior and speedy guitar solos. The aggression continues elsewhere on tracks like
RU486 and
Last of the Real. There’s nothing flashy about either song, really; they simply do their job by giving the listener loud riffs and drum patterns that they can bang their head to.
Those looking for Slipknot’s “brutality” won’t completely find it here, though. That’s really for the best, however, as the softer moments on this album shine extremely well. Stone Sour add to their previous success in ballads with
The Travelers Parts 1 & 2 and
Taciturn. The first part of
The Travelers is more acoustic with string elements in the background, setting the basis for what is to follow in part two. Corey Taylor does a fantastic job harmonizing against the guitars, and his line delivery and lyrics stand out especially on both halves.
Part 2 utilizes the same melodies, but to a grander extent. Here, James Root and Josh Rand include electric guitars to make this version more bombastic and empowering. Again, Taylor’s vocals hit home in an emotional way. He truly carries these two songs with his passionate voice, showing that he’s more talented at singing cleans than he is at growling or screaming. He continues this trend on
Taciturn. With each word sung the listener feels his anguish to a great effect. Taylor begs for someone to come to his aid, and his performance on this song is one that invokes a sense of urgency. We almost believe that something is truly wrong at this moment for him. Corey Taylor’s vocals are outstanding in generating tear-jerking songs that turn out to be some of the album’s strongest points.
The rest of the tracks on
House of Gold and Bones Part 1 are fine enough. They do their job of providing story for the album, and have good to decent melodies and moments of their own. There aren’t really any major negatives with these tracks, or with the album in general. Although certain songs are significantly stronger than others, it’s an enjoyable listen regardless. This is an album that’s heavy enough to please the “metal-heads”, yet also delicate in areas to satisfy people that aren’t fans of Slipknot. On their fourth album, Stone Sour set the stage for what’s to come in part two of their tale. They succeed in avoiding the trend of generic and friendly radio-metal that populates stations, and offer a boost in their songwriting strengths, while still keeping the music accessible and entertaining for their audience.
Recommended Songs
Gone Sovereign
Absolute Zero
The Travelers Parts 1 & 2
Taciturn
