Stone Sour
The House Of Gold And Bones Part 2
Roadrunner Records

Reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s classic The Wall, House of Gold and Bones Part 2 is much different than its predecessor released last year which seemed more like another hard rock album whereas this has more of a theatrical soundtrack feel to it.

“Red City” starts the album off with front man and Stone Sour mastermind Corey Taylor narrating as the main character, a man emotionally struggling to find his place in this ever-changing world and then figuring out what’s next. It has a very melancholic feel to it, dark and heavy, setting the tone for the rest of the album. The listener doesn’t have to get caught-up in the story line to enjoy the album though. Tracks such as “Black John”, “Sadist” and “Pekinpah” would kick ass by themselves on any album. Other tracks not to miss: “Gravesend”, “The Uncanny Valley” and “The House Of Gold And Bones”. In fact, there wasn’t one track on the entire album I didn’t like.

The guitar work on the album is something to be commended. Josh Rand and Jim Root really push their limits throughout, complimenting Taylor’s voice which tends change greatly with each song. Combine that with the thunderous drumming of Roy Moyorga who just goes off on a number of tracks and you’ve got one hell of a rock album!

As of this writing, I’m awaiting the comic book release that goes along with this compilation. I think it would be fun to listen through the album and follow along with the four book set. How ingenious is this? I love the creativity that Taylor has come up with. He took a big chance writing this whole scheme and could have fallen flat on his face. I hope more artists take a look at this and get their creative juices flowing. I think it would be great for rock music which has become somewhat stagnant in the writing department as of late. This has got to be one of my favorite albums so far for 2013. – Chris Zambello