Stone Sour Album: “Come What(Ever) May [PA]”

This cd took me by surprise but it has grown on me. Stone Sour has been very unique since day one, so I didn't know what to expect with this cd. It is not as heavy as their original debut. There are no songs that match the intensity of the songs "Get Inside" or "Choose" from their self-titled release. But this is not a bad thing...only for people who were looking for it.

"Through Glass" is obviously the song that will attract the most listeners, so if this is the case there may be a great deal of new listeners expecting to hear a cd full of softer acoustic sounding songs. Wrong. It is difficult to put a label on what exact genre this is, but none of the songs sound like "Through Glass", for sure. Based on the songs "30/30-150", "Hell and Consequences", "Reborn" and "1st person", one would call this metal. "Come what(ever) may" and "Made of Scars" have a bit of an edge, but would probably be considered alternative rock songs. "Your God","Socio", and "Cardiff" all sound like mainstream rock songs. "Zzyzx Road" and "Sillyworld" are both more mellowed out slow songs. I am not going to get too far into the meanings of these songs, but I just want to make the point that this cd is all over the place with its music. If you are looking for a cd that only focuses on one genre, you will not find it.

It is also hard to hear much of a slipknot influence in the music( although some of the riffs sound like those of vol 3:subliminal verses). Something that really changed in Stone Sour is Corey's screaming. If and when he does, it is high pitched and much different sounding than those on the self titled album. One song where it is very apparent is during the chorus of Reborn. I have started to like it gradually, but it sounded very strange at first listen; unlike anything I've ever heard from Corey. I can also say I never envisioned Corey singing a song with a piano background (as in "Zzyzx Road"). But these are all signs that he and the band have matured, and they have indeed expanded their horizons.

If you are looking for one of those albums where almost every song sounds the same, do not buy this album. If you are open to a whole new style, this is a great cd to check out.

Stone Sour is more then just a 'side-project' of the two Slipknot members Corey and James. It's a full project, a real band. Stone Sour's first release was a self-titled album and made me a fan from the start. The sound was a bit raw but the lyrics were fantastic and so was the diversity of the songs on the album, from Omega to Bother and from Inhale to Get Inside.

Well, they did it again! Come What(ever) May is another masterpiece. This time, they made a very balanced album, in my opinion even better then their first release. Energetic songs like 'Reborn' and '30-30/150' proof that Stone Sour has still got the metal spirit in them, and with songs like Zzyx Rd. they show that they're even better in writing and recording sessitve songs then they were before. Stone Sour just does their own thing, never heard of a band that goes their own way so strongly like them. Corey's vocals are the best on this album, his famous 'growls' are a bit more high pitched and that sounds really good. His singing on 'slower songs' like 'Through Glass' is very clean, another reason that Stone Sour is my nr.1 band. Not only does Corey sing clean on those songs, also during the heavier songs like 'Cardiff' and 'Socio' his singing is amazing, even more when you imagine that the second later, he is screaming again.

The guitar work is awesome, a few more solo's then before, but the riffs are so much improved! They give you this heavy and energetic feeling that Stone Sour is famous for (in my head at least). James and Josh do a really good job here, again this shows how devoted and talented the bandmembers are.

The drumming is partly by Godsmack's drummer Roy, the original Stone Sour drummer had to 'step out the band' beacause of personnal reasons. I thought that the original drummer Joel Ekman, did the drumming on all the songs except 30/30-150, but I should check that to be sure. I'm not going to describe what I think about all the songs, it would be too much work. All I can say is that this album is awesome, it deserves it's own temple.

Vocals: 10/10

Guitar: 10/10

Bass: 10/10

Drumming 10/10

For me this is a significant step forward from the last record as it generally gives a different sound to a lot of the other hard rock (if that's the right term as it's not metal but harder than radio stuff, ignoring the couple of slower tracks on the album) getting around at the moment.

Sounding nothing like Slipknot this is a really good rocking album, the standout for me is the title track which is a terrific rocking track. A lot of other good stuff on it also - the first 4 tracks and tracks 8-10 would be my favorite but it's a nicely balanced album.

Great playing and I love the way Corey manages to maintain his vocal strength and integrity despite taking a much cleaner vocal stance than Slipknot - shows his versatility and it's very impressive without sounding soft or un-corey-like, if that makes any sense.

A good record, far closer to something like Dark New Day for example than Slipknot - very good thing.

There's no question about it, this CD is awesome. But Stone SOur isnt just a side project of a few members from slipknot. Vocalist Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root were in Stone Sour in 1992 through 1997, when it broke apart. Slipknot was formed afterwards.

But anyways, this song has everything one could expect from the members. its got the heavy metal tracks, along with a handful of more melodic, softer songs, that are a little easier listening.

There's no point in writing a score out of ten for each song, because each song would get a perfect score. They're really that good. If you're interested in any harder rock or metal, give this album a chance, there's no way you'll be dissapointed. The members really did a great job.

Well that's my review. 5 stars definatly.

I was very glad to hear that Cory was going do another Stone Sour CD. I was hoping we would get another "Bother" song and we did. "Through Glass" is the exact same track number (8) as "Bother" and just like "Bother" is acoustic based. There isn't one weak track on this CD.

The three singles from this cd are "Through Glass", "30/30-150" and "Reborn".

The three lightest songs on here are "Through Glass", "Sillyworld" and "ZZyyzx Rd". All three are acoustic based but pick up later in the song.

My personal favorite tracks are "Through Glass" "Made of Scars" which is really done well on how he tells where scars on his body came from. The last track "ZZyyzx Rd" is also a very powerful track and a great way to close out the CD. While "30/30-150" was an excellent opener which is one of the heaviest songs on the CD.