Review: Stone Sour – Audio Secrecy

Sergio reviews Stone Sour’s Audio Secrecy.

Artist Name: Stone Sour
Album Name: Audio Secrecy
Year: 2010
Genre: Rock/Hard Rock

Audio Secrecy has caused quite a stir since its release earlier this week. Many fans complained that they were not happy with the more commercial direction and some have even gone as far as terming it a sell-out. Are they correct? In terms of the sound, yes – this record is far more commercially viable than any other Stone Sour album, even more so than Come What(ever) May. With regards to selling out, I tend to disagree. The band hasn’t suddenly become Blink-182 or Nickelback, instead Audio Secrecy is halfway between sensitive and ferocious – it’s still heavier than a Saving Abel album, but less intense than Slipknot. Stone Sour were never going to be a project which imitates Slipknot – so diehard ’knot fans need to put away their ‘People=Shit’ shirts and accept that this is not a metal album. I repeat, this is not a metal album!

The secret to Stone Sour has always been Corey’s voice. Corey is one of the few vocalists around who can growl with the fury of Satan (such as in the intro to ‘Nylon 6/6’) and then croon a beautiful ballad to sway your partner’s heart (‘Hesitate’). But let’s get something straight, Stone Sour is not just “The Corey Taylor Show”, the musicianship behind him (created by: Jim Root, Josh Rand, Shawn Economaki, and Roy Mayorga) is also rock solid. Look, they’re not reinventing the wheel or doing something entirely unique, but they do form a quality backdrop for Corey to let his majestic voice shine.

With every passing album, Stone Sour have moved towards a more rock sound. Is it good or bad, you may ask? Well, that depends on your preference. If you believe Slipknot are the messiahs and cherish every bit of aggression they spew, you might find Stone Sour’s Audio Secrecy to be a bit too soft for your liking – but if you have diverse taste in music, you’ll probably find more than a few relics on here.

PS you’ll still enjoy a headbang or two to ‘The Bitter End’ and ‘Mission Statement’ – the delectable down-tuned guitars will make sure of that.

Best Tracks: ‘Dying’, ‘Hesitate’, ‘The Bitter End’, and ‘Imperfect’

77/100

- Sergio Pereira
sergio@musicreview.co.za
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