ALBUM: Stone Sour - House Of Gold & Bones Part 2
Review by: Matt Dingwall.
When news broke of Stone Sour going down the double album route, my heart sank. Stone Sour were fast becoming one of the premier hard rock bands in the world today and yet, they were announcing that they were following the likes of System of a Down and Red Hot Chilli Peppers in recording a double album. From my experiences, when a band release a double album of new material, it is a sign that they have reached a crossroads and no longer know what their sound is. Instead, they throw every idea they can out there and hope something works, resulting in a few great moments but mostly filler and, soon to follow, would be a hiatus.
So when House of Gold & Bones Part 1 proved to be a huge hit amongst everyone in the rock world, myself included, hopes were high but could they continue the quality of the first eleven songs on part one, with another twelve songs on part two? The answer is a monumental yes that has left me feeling embarrassed at doubting Stone Sour in the first place.
The songs found on House of Gold & Bones Part 2 are considerably darker than those found on part one with part two starting with a dark haunting track in Red City moving through with pounding riffs found in Black John and Peckinpah through to classic rock sounds later in the album with the likes of Do Me A Favour, a song that wouldn’t sound lost in an arena, to the more mellow ballad type moments found in The Conflagration.
The album, while still obviously being Stone Sour, has also managed to blend a strong mix of hard rock and softer more radio friendly tracks which still manage to keep the edge that makes people love them, rather than becoming just another soft rock radio band. The album starts slow but builds beautifully into what will, no doubt, turn out to be a guaranteed top ten album of the year.
It’s an odd thought to think that it has been 11 years since the release of the self titled album and I find it impressive how far this “side project” has become. Each new album brings a maturity of a band finding their footing and their own sound away from what Corey Taylor and Jim Root were once known for. Stone Sour seem to be firmly back on track with becoming one of the biggest hard rock bands on the planet and albums like House of Gold & Bones Part 2 are helping that cause greatly.
It will soon come into discussion between people as to which band should be considered the main project, with the unfortunate passing of Slipknot’s Paul Gray in 2010. It may have given the band the opportunity to use this as a chance to focus solely on making them just that. Having proven that not all two part albums mark a downturn in a band’s career, this is something I sense lies in the not so distant future.