Such is the fate of nü-metal bands to descend into half-baked hard rock after their original outbursts of rage and success subside. Stone Sour are no exception.
This album hits about as hard as a pillow fight and it’s not half as fun. Every song is led by the uninspired guitar playing of Jim Root, every riff this man plays sounds the same and on this release he doesn’t even try to hide that fact. The drumming is restrained and hardly noticeable amidst the monotony. Corey Taylor’s voice sits a top this leaning tower and doesn’t offer much to the listener. I would mention the bass, but in this instance, it just plays along with the guitars so, if those are boring, you can bet the bass is going to be about the same.
The best way to describe this music is to imagine what a rejected Slipknot song might sound like, then multiply that song by 14 (one time for every track on this album) and then make that track even worse by castrating the guitar tone, weakening the drums and burying the bass. Sounds terrible right? It gets even worse at track five “Dying,” with lyrics like “If I can’t live without you/But I can’t breathe when I’m with you/What are we really doing here?”
I cannot stress how uninspired this album is. It’s the musical equivalent of a college freshman’s term paper. Everyone knows what to expect but this is worse than even the most cynical college professor’s worst nightmare. I cannot fathom a single demographic to recommend this music to, maybe if you’re running low on drink coasters this might be useful. But otherwise, avoid this.
In A Word: Lifeless
