I don’t mind admitting that Hydrograd was one of my favourite releases of 2017, not to mention my favourite Stone Sour release since the debut. It carried with it all the sense of mischievousness so commonly found in Corey Taylor’s written output, a diverse range of influences and, above all else, some absolutely killer riffs, not least in Taipei Person / Allah tea and Fabuless. As such, the live shows that followed were blistering and intense and this live offering, captured at a sweaty and (by the sounds of it) packed show in Reno, does the best job possible of catching the band in full flight. Admirably raw, this feels like a gift to the fans and, from the artwork to the untampered sound, it has a homemade feel to it reminiscent of live classics such as Aerosmith’s Live! Bootleg.
Opening with Hydrograd’s double header, YSIF / Tapei Person… you can feel the temperature rise a few thousand degrees as the band arrive on stage during the taped intro, before launching into the opening track. A bristling Do Me A Favour, with its classic rock pretentions and hefty chorus gains weight on stage, with Corey and gang giving it all, before Johnny Chow’s rumbling bass announces the arrival of a stunning Knievel Has Landed. As the track progresses, it’s clear that Josh and Christian have set their guitars to stun, whilst Corey’s in particularly fine voice, hitting the cleans with confidence and power, whilst adding a touch more Slipknot grit than is found on the studio versions. It is adrenalin-firing stuff and a surging Whiplash Pants, despite a sedate intro, does not ease up on the heaving crowd one iota. It’s back to The House Of Gold And Bones Part 1 for Absolute Zero, a song that does much to demonstrate Stone Sour’s innate ability to mix hulking great riffs with incongruous sing-along moments custom built for the live arena. As such, a solo take on Bother (the roar of the audience notwithstanding), is a much-needed moment of calm amidst all the bombast and it’s remarkable how little that familiarity has done to dull the impact of the track. The band return for the stabbing, hard-rock of Tired, all harmonised solos and soaring vocals. It loses something in relation to the emotional cleansing of Bother, but it gives the audience plenty to sing along to.
Heading back to Hydrograd for a moment of pure whimsy, Stone Sour bust out the underrated Rose Red Violent Blue, one of those tracks that just seems to worm its way into your subconscious no matter how much you try to block it out. For those who just want riffs, however, Stone Sour have riffs a-plenty, and a frantic assault on 30 30-150 immediately followed by breakthrough hit Get Inside delivers all the heviosity that you could want from these masters of melodic, heavy-ass rock. It doesn’t stop there either as, following a short fade out, the band launch into Reborn. Up next, Song #3 is greeted like an old friend, the band cheekily milking the intro for all its worth as the crowd scream their appreciation. A quieter moment, Song #3 gains greater weight in its live incarnation, driven ever forward by Ray Mayorga’s taut drumming. With the show hurtling towards its end, the band deploy the big hitters, airing Through Glass and Made Of Scars (both singles from sophomore album Come What(ever) May) before absolutely decimating the crowd with an unhinged take on Fabuless, a Hydrograd highlight and the perfect end to a show where the intensity levels only rarely dip.
Hello You Bastards is a hell of a souvenir for anyone lucky enough to have caught Stone Sour in the flesh on the last tour and it’s all the more admirable for the fact that the band have apparently kept it as a raw representation of their show, free from studio tampering. With its bootleg art and generous track listing, you could perhaps be churlish and bemoan the relatively light treatment of the band’s excellent debut (with only two tracks surfacing from that record), but as a reminder of a) just how great Hydrograd is (and it’s still regularly on the SonicAbuse stereo); and b) just how fucking great Stone Sour are in the flesh, Hello You Bastards is exactly the present you’ll want from the band. 9/10
