Stone Sour
House of Gold & Bones Part 1
Roadrunner Records
2012
The strange thing with this band is that although it started out earlier than Slipknot, it took a big break for about 5 years and returned in 2002. Of course, some members were worldwide known at that time period due to Spliknot, but I think that Stone Sour had always been a better and more qualitative band than Slipknot. Definitely, lots of you won’t agree with that, and since I really can’t stand Slipknot at all, it is quite weird how on earth I fancy Stone Sour that much. I’m not a fan of modern sound in the least, but they blend up heavy metal, modern, nu-metal, alternative, post-grunge & hard rock so wonderfully that it’s kinda hard not to give in to their music.
All their previous works are good with great heavy songs and especially, amazing/touching ballads… but they were missing that consistency so as to be considered more than good. They had some very good songs but some so-so ones hence the overall result was not of great balance. Just to make it clear, the previous albums are decent & okay. I own them all and I’m pretty happy I do for they do contain some exceptional songs.
So, what does “House of Gold & Bones Part 1” have that the other ones are missing? Hmm, it flows greatly as a cohesive piece of music and it is actually a consistent work that has no “downs”. I used to believe that “Audio Secrecy” was the band’s utmost work but now with “House of Gold & Bones Part 1” I have to reconsider.
The heavy songs are powerful with memorable melodies… while the acoustic/ballad ones are once again magnificent in any way. That’s after all the strong point of this band. They can easily create amazingly moody, atmospheric and emotive ballads with catchy choruses. Not that their heavier ones are second-rate of something huh. The production is crackin’ and heavy as f@ck! No wondering about the result since the Grammy awarded producer David Bottrill (King Crimson, Tool, Dream Theater, Mudvayne, Muse, Fair to Midland etc.) did it.
Curiously, the bassist Shawn Economaki left the band in 2012, so the bass on the album was recorded by Rachel Bolan (Skid Row). That was totally unanticipated for me as Shawn had been a steady member of the band since the beginning, thus now they are on their way up… he had to let go. Definitely, he knows better than us so I hope he is happy with his decision.
“House of Gold & Bones Part 1” as the title reveals is the first part of a double concept album and the second part is gonna be released later in 2013. Both the albums were recorded simultaneously therefore, I think that there won’t be any big differences between them. Let’s also hope they have kept some big tunes in store for the second part as well.
It’s time to let Slipknot aside and seriously deal with Stone Sour, for this band is their future and they seem to be in great shape and ready to go bigger. “House of Gold & Bones Part 1” is not only a very good album but also the best Stone Sour have released to date…
All their previous works are good with great heavy songs and especially, amazing/touching ballads… but they were missing that consistency so as to be considered more than good. They had some very good songs but some so-so ones hence the overall result was not of great balance. Just to make it clear, the previous albums are decent & okay. I own them all and I’m pretty happy I do for they do contain some exceptional songs.
So, what does “House of Gold & Bones Part 1” have that the other ones are missing? Hmm, it flows greatly as a cohesive piece of music and it is actually a consistent work that has no “downs”. I used to believe that “Audio Secrecy” was the band’s utmost work but now with “House of Gold & Bones Part 1” I have to reconsider.
The heavy songs are powerful with memorable melodies… while the acoustic/ballad ones are once again magnificent in any way. That’s after all the strong point of this band. They can easily create amazingly moody, atmospheric and emotive ballads with catchy choruses. Not that their heavier ones are second-rate of something huh. The production is crackin’ and heavy as f@ck! No wondering about the result since the Grammy awarded producer David Bottrill (King Crimson, Tool, Dream Theater, Mudvayne, Muse, Fair to Midland etc.) did it.
Curiously, the bassist Shawn Economaki left the band in 2012, so the bass on the album was recorded by Rachel Bolan (Skid Row). That was totally unanticipated for me as Shawn had been a steady member of the band since the beginning, thus now they are on their way up… he had to let go. Definitely, he knows better than us so I hope he is happy with his decision.
“House of Gold & Bones Part 1” as the title reveals is the first part of a double concept album and the second part is gonna be released later in 2013. Both the albums were recorded simultaneously therefore, I think that there won’t be any big differences between them. Let’s also hope they have kept some big tunes in store for the second part as well.
It’s time to let Slipknot aside and seriously deal with Stone Sour, for this band is their future and they seem to be in great shape and ready to go bigger. “House of Gold & Bones Part 1” is not only a very good album but also the best Stone Sour have released to date…