"Audio secrecy" CD by Stone Sour

by Nicko Emmerich (08.07.2010) Just a short time ago, masked Metal heads Slipknot were mourning the tragic death of their bassist Paul Gray - but now, there’s some positive news from Des Moines/Iowa to announce. Parallel to the release of the second Murderdolls album, Slipknot’s frontster Corey Taylor and his guitarist James Root, keeping themselves busy with their side project Stone Sour, unleash "Audio secrecy" - a bizarre, fascinating, and saturnine output. Stone Sour’s unique mixture of irate and soft, heavy and catchy parts could be best described as Dark Pop Metal - and they have gone and honed their stuff even more on longplayer #3: "Mission statement" is a brutal punch in your face, but a bit later you’re surrounded by the melancholic thoughts of "Say you`ll haunt me" - and the almost fragile epic ballad "Hesitate" even features a string orchestra. That’s what I’d call a secret glimpse at unmasked personalities...

by Peter Kupfer (20.09.2010) A few years ago it was unimaginable that Corey Taylor of Slipknot starts an alternative band. As figurehead of his Metal band nobody thought about Mainstream music composed by this shouter. Years later, the aforementioned alternative band strikes again with their third studio record “Audio Secrecy“. Time to take stock! Compared with the previous records the band grew up in different ways. First, the new material sounds darker and more mature. Further, there are more great riffs than ever. Jim Root and Josh Rand spread their solos out across the album and make a big sound. Drummer Mayorga is also in top shape and throws great fills. The most important fact is that there are more moments reminiscent of Slipknot, such as on the track “Let‘s Be Honest“, where Taylor screams. On the other hand his voice can soar over the instrumental part and attributes these unique moments. Doubtless, this album is sometimes a radio rock album with catchy hooks, but in the end an Alternative Rock record with tons of memorable moments and much more songs to sing along.