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28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A worthy follow-up, August 7, 2006
The best part about Slipknot taking another hiatus is that we can finally expect a new Stone Sour album. Stone Sour, a side project of `Knot singer Corey Taylor and guitarist Jim Root, made a great debut in 2002, but the band was put on hold due to the success of Slipknot's 2004 album, "Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses)." Now they've returned, four years later, with their long awaited, much anticipated sophomore effort, "Come What(ever) May." They have a lot to prove with this album, since many thought their first disc was a one-trick pony which mooched off of Slipknot's success.
This disc has many aggressive, heavy parts, but they're blended with the same ingredient that made the debut a success: good vocals. On every one of these songs, Corey actually sings cleanly, and he delivers a truly heartfelt--at times amazing (see "Through Glass")--vocal performance.
Overall, however, this album is not a very big step forward. The musicianship is improved because the guitarists (Josh Rand and the aforementioned Jim Root) adopt a few solos (i.e. "Your God" has a cool, melodic solo). But the songwriting is largely the same, and one or two of these songs will even make you think it's a leftover from the 2002 recording sessions. That's OK, though, because Stone Sour didn't really have much room to improve, anyways. And don't be mistaken--"Come What(ever) May" is almost every bit as good as the debut, and it even eclipses that album in a couple of places, so it's not a misstep or a sophomore slump by any means.
Songs like "30/30-150" and "Reborn" are very fast, heavy, and catchy with churning, almost thrashy riffs and infectious, melodic choruses. "Hell & Consequences" and "1st Person" are also among the record's heaviest songs. The title track features increasingly violent vocals and angry, political lyrics. "Sillyworld" is partially heavy, but most of it very melodic, with light, eloquent guitar strums and great vocals which almost border on sounding sweet. "Socio" and "Cardiff" are both dreary, gentle, mid-tempo numbers which bring the mood down a little, but the album's pinnacle is the excellent closer, "Zzyzx Rd." It's a very depressing ballad, but it's not a "Bother" rip-off, because it also includes a piano and almost mindblowing singing.
"Come What(ever) May" is another batch of good, melody streaked, hook infected, hard rockin' tunes. Quite frankly, it's very refreshing to hear an album like this nowadays. It's not metalcore, it's not nu-metal--it's nothing but good, melodic hard rock. The bottom line? If you liked Stone Sour before, you'll find it almost impossible to dislike this album.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting..., August 2, 2006
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.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Masterpiece, August 1, 2006
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
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