No! Not that Stone Sour! Toss the glass and pull a few hard swigs right off that whisky bottle. Yeah, it's kinda like that! Feel the buzz! The "infamous" Whisky A-Go-Go offered up a smooth shot of 100 proof hard rock. Stone Sour played songs from their upcoming self-titled album, which is due out on Roadrunner Records, August 27th. They also filmed the video for the first single, "Get Inside." Stone Sour is the reunion of guitarist Josh Rand and bassist Sean Economaki, along with their old band mates (you might know them from a little project called Slipknot), vocalist Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root. Newcomer Joel Ekman balances out the band on drums. The Whisky was packed with fans who were anxiously anticipating Stone Sour's performance. If the audience rode in on the coattails of the Slipknot hype, they left with admiration and respect for a new great band. This Sour combo also had a few more notable onlookers. Wednesday 13 of the band Murderdolls showed up along with Joey Jordison (also of Slipknot). Casey Chaos of Amen was there, along with Ahrue of Machine Head. One of those dudes from that Papa Roach band was said to be there somewhere. Seems that the buzz about this band has everyone waiting to see what they can do. Well, don't get me wrong, I do dig the holy hell out of Slipknot because I love and live for the percussive madness. There is a purpose in the aggression. With that said, I think Stone Sour is a better band for the direction things seem to be going. Some people grow tired of aggression just for aggression's sake. And most people can't hear past the insane screaming of Slipknot to realize that musically they can actually play damn well. Stone Sour can give people something that is more tangible and more real. That is a barrier that Slipknot can't get past even with some people who tend to be a bit more open to current music. Hope this band is prepared to be something big because they can't bow out now. They showed us what they've got and people will be begging for more. One or two of the tunes were too much in the same vein as Slipknot, only with Corey singing. They even tried to blend in some Joey Jordison type drums, only the drummer doesn't have those chops. He was enhanced on two tunes with back-up tracks to get that rapid fire sound. Musically this is more toned down and stripped bare--relentless, brutal, honest, yet still yielding. The name does the sound justice, Stone Sour can be bitter and hard as hell but the slam is a bit more subtle. It's like when you suddenly realize you've have one drink too many, but by that time you're already hammered! The songs were pure, clean, and crisp in a more true ROCK vein. They don't do riff-driven or hooky tunes. The songs were more complex than that. There were a couple of moments where you could pick up a slight flavor of old Sabbath style guitar. Also, Jim would totally unleash some guitar God style solos to show just how he could handle the axe. The songs were melodic, interesting, and nicely composed without being purposely pretentious. The lyrics were understandable and compelling. There was no mistaking this was like an emotional homecoming for them all, they played like a tight unit and played it well. It was interesting to see him and Jim sans masks too. It's just about the music, and they don't need to dehumanize themselves to get you to hear it. Corey once again took the crowd by the balls. No surprise there since this is a man that can force an entire room to its knees from behind a mask. What people didn't know was the incredible amount of charisma that goes along with his larger than life stage presence. He has an energy that draws you in and holds you. Corey joked at one point about most of the tunes being about sex with dead people. A humorous cover-up for the fact that this musical endeavor is just more naked and vulnerable than his other project. Corey uses his voice, which is a good thing cause underneath the gut splitting-angst he really does have some smooth pipes. Near the end, Corey did an acoustic version of the song from the Spider-Man Soundtrack called "Bother." That was the next to last song for the night. That was probably the best part of the evening. The crowd sang along to every word while Corey alone on the stage with a guitar tried to keep his composure to finish th song. It was great. This show was a real high! Stone Sour has some real talent and the potential to be the next big thing. There were some perfect moments. I can't wait to see and hear more from this band. If this sounds like your type of thing, check it out and see what they are all about. Go to the Roadrunner Records site at www.roadrun.com and check out the downloads or get the free CD Music to Burn By featuring "Get Inside," as well as other great tunes by Roadrunner artists. Also, look for the Spider-Man Soundtrack featuring the track "Bother." August 27th is just around the corner so until then go see what Roadrunner Records has to offer. Take a couple more pulls off that whisky bottle and imagine you were there at the Stone Sour show!
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