After the departure of original bassist Shawn Economaki, heavy metallers Stone Sour returned to the studio earlier this year to produce their 4th album, a double concept album at that. Corey Taylor did an excellent job of building the anticipation levels, was it worth it?

Gone Sovereign sets up an intense opener before heading into familiar Stone Sour territory with pounding drums, harsh riffs and punchy, sharp vocals from Corey Taylor. The echoing vocal pattern leads in to the ferocious Absolute Zero; a powerful track that highlights the musical growth within the group, a killer track. The acoustic The Travelers Pt.1 see’s the introduction of violins carried into the beautiful Tired; both tracks bring new strings to the Stone Sour bow broadening their musical horizons. The brutal RU486 follows; a metal anthem that will send crowds insane in a live setting. Without doubt, Taciturn is a shining star on the record, Taylor’s performance is simply stunning. He has an incredible commanding vocal presence, even more so in the more melodic tracks. Every element within the group clicks together perfectly for this album, the understanding between musicians is evident in the solid sound they have produced. This record deserves to be heard in it’s entirety, right up until the final, hard hitting track Last Of The Real, every song has it’s own character that results in a powerful album from start to finish.

Stone Sour’s musical experimentation has paid off for them in a huge way creating a strong, diverse album that builds upon their previous work. On this showing, I can’t wait for part 2!

Laura Woodhead