When the first Stone Sour album appeared on the scene, it was off the back of a single that seemed to imply a sort of Slipknot light thanks mainly to the band’s (understandable) decision to lead with the misleading single ‘get inside’. Despite that, I took a chance and bought the album, and it rapidly became a favourite thanks to its cleaver juxtaposition of ferocious heaviness and endlessly hummable melodies. A varied album, Stone Sour was a highlight of 2002 and yet, for whatever reason, I lost touch with Stone Sour. ‘Hydrograd’ marks the first full Stone Sour album I’ve heard since their debut. There is a fair argument to make that Stone Sour are increasingly joining the likes of Foo Fighters and even (whisper it) Nickelback as one of the preeminent hard rock bands with a radio friendly edge out there. Yet, there is a feeling that Stone Sour imbue their material with more weight than either Foo Fighters (who often pad their albums out with at least two filler tracks) or Nickelback who, despite a gazillion sales, have rarely been afforded much respect by their peers. Stone Sour, on the other hand, have successfully walked the tightrope of melody and power, seemingly without sacrificing respect and ‘Hydrograd’ comes weighted with considerable expectations.
Opening with the short intro track, ‘YSIF’, which features a cod-Russian announcer gleefully proclaiming “Hello, you bastards!”, ‘Hydrograd’ immediately sets itself up as one of those records tailor made to demonstrate the pristine power of a high-end stereo system. Everything is perfectly placed from the drums to the strings that weave around the guitars and, even before Corey launches himself into the fray, the album sounds like a million dollars. The record kicks off properly with ‘Tapei Person – Allah Tea’, Corey’s maniacal laugh leading the blazing riffs which are one part AC/DC, one part Van Halen and one part Twisted Sister all drawn together around Ray Mayorga’s inventive percussive assault and Corey’s distinctive bark. With a gigantic melody sitting at its heart, this is Stone Sour making a bid for superstardom and, with such material at hand, it’s easy to believe it’s within their grasp. ‘Knievel has landed’ has a cool electro vibe stuttering over its intro before Josh Rand and Christian Martucci unleash their guitars like a tidal wave. Radio friendly it may be, but that doesn’t mean simplistic, and Stone Sour keep the energetic riffs coming even as they plunge into a foaming chorus that is made for mass singalongs. The title track is proper old school rock with a cheeky riff that’s straight out of the mid 70s, harmonised leads and all, not to mention a sweet groove that is reminiscent of ‘Kashmir’. Corey is on fire here, giving it his all in his customary, irrepressible fashion and there’s a feeling that the band simply cut loose on this album, having fun with the genre that most of the members have called their home for at least a couple of decades now. The numerically confused ‘song #3’ is a Corey-led stomper that draws (incongruously) upon ‘Eye of the tiger’ for inspiration. Yep, you read that right, just listen to the carefully palm muted guitars, although the chorus is pure stadium anthem fodder. ‘Fabuless’ is another track built around a huge, hotwired and stuttering riff and the band deliver it with plenty of grit and enthusiasm, although Corey can’t resist cribbing lines from the Rolling Stones before launching himself at yet another sweet-toothed chorus. ‘The witness trees’ is a more mid-paced outing, all glistening clean guitars underpinned by the churning rhythm section, although it’s back into a chorus of gigantic proportions before you know it. It’s at this point that the album is in danger of repeating a pattern, but Stone Sour have been at this too long to make such a mistake, and just as you’ve found your comfort zone, change is in the air.
kicking off the second half of the album, ‘Rose Red Violent blue (this song is dumb and so am I)’ has a humorous title and a whimsical vibe that is quite unexpected but not unwelcome. Utterly different from what has gone before, it announces the arrival of a varied and experimental second half that, although still packed with hooks, keeps the listener guessing. ‘Thank god it’s over’ may have a title that suggests darkness but the pummelling riff heads into pure groove territory not dissimilar to Alter Bridge’s more recent offerings. Perhaps the most surprising song on the album, ‘St Marie’ is a countrified acoustic ballad that you’d never imagine Corey and his merry men had in them, and yet here it is, all frayed strings and edge-of-the-porch musing and it comes off pretty well, it has to be said. However, you can’t keep the band down for long and ‘Mercy’ sees the band back at the rocking best. The ridiculously titled ‘whiplash pants’ lives up to its name with a ferocious and hard-hitting riff that comes out of left field, sweeping the listener in front of it with sheer verve and then we’re into ‘Friday knights’, a track with more than a whiff of Sabbath’s heavy-ass riffing about it. Packing in numerous changes and a bank of vocal harmonies for good measure, it makes sure that interest levels remain high and before you know it, you’re being slammed around by the sure-fire mosh-pit pleaser ‘somebody stole my eyes’, a thrashed-out beast of a track that has no damn right to sound so energetic. The album concludes with the eerie, oddly down-beat ‘when the fever broke’, a track that burns itself into the consciousness thanks to a satisfyingly different and desolate atmosphere. It works far more effectively than the most explosive conclusion could have done and it leaves the album on a high.
‘Hydrograd’ is an album that is tailor-made (pun intended) for airplay and yet which also does a grand job of paying homage to Stone Sour’s roots. Most importantly, it’s a hell of a lot of fun, and it showcases a band unafraid to take risks (not least on ‘St Marie’). At the outset, there is a slight danger that the band are following a formula – heavy verse into overwhelmingly melodic chorus – but, just as the pattern starts to form, the rug is pulled out from under the listener and the band start to experiment with form in a way that makes a mockery of the hour-long run-time. I may have broken faith with Stone Sour for some time, but ‘Hydrograd’ not only exceeded all my expectations, it also made me want to go back and listen to the band’s back catalogue avidly and what more, really, could you ask from any album? 9
