Search - Stone Sour :: Stone Sour

After validating every stripe of teen torment when working as masked members of Slipknot, vocalist Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root offer fans a chance to explore the sounds of their former, failed hard rock band, Stone Sour. Formed in 1992 and retired in 1997, Stone Sour played soulful, metallic hard rock in the vein of Alice in Chains, traces of which later appeared in looser, guitar-oriented Slipknot numbers like "Left Behind." The album opener, "Get Inside," and the snaky "Choose" kick with the agility of Pantera, while the mellower "Monolith" and "Blue Study" rely on Taylor's nasal vocals for emotional punch. Stone Sour probably wouldn't have made it out of Iowa in 2002 without the platinum pedigree of its erstwhile members; still, this is a respectable package of monster riffs and dynamic ideas. --Ian Christe