Album Review: Hydrograd by Stone Sour

The veteran hard rockers sixth studio long-player, Hydrograd takes its name from an airport sign that frontman Corey Taylor misread while racing to make a connecting flight in Eastern Europe. It's a fitting metaphor for the group, which since its inception in 1992, has refused to be pigeonholed; carving out its own stylistically neutral brand of accessible modern heavy metal that's flirted with nearly every iteration of the genre. Notably, Hydrograd is the first Stone Sour outing not to feature guitarist and co-founder Jim Root, who left rather acrimoniously in 2013.

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ROCKS LIKE : Alice In Chains, Metallica, Sevendust Branding himself a rock 'n' roll Han Solo (with a leathery larynx in place of a light saber) ( Han doesn't have a lightsaber, he is not a Jedi. —Star Wars obsessive ed.), Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor trades anger for absolution on his band's alternately concussive and contemplative sixth album. "You can only scream your heart out for so long," Taylor observes on "Taipei Person/Allah Tea" (say it all together quickly), the clenched-fist rocker that kick-starts Hydrograd by kicking fate in the teeth.

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Stone Sour's sixth album doesn't live up to its expectations. As the Rock Sound 50 reflects, Corey Taylor is a bona fide legend. Deeply invested in all manner of creative outlets, he's one of the most charismatic figures to have ever come from the world of rock music.

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Following a pair of covers EPs, Stone Sour have returned with their first full-length album in four years, and their first without founding member Jim Root. Having been (wrongly) lumped in with metal throughout their 15-year career, thanks to the day job of one Corey Taylor, this is an ambitious offering at the dirtier, swaggering end of old-school rock'n'roll. Drawing inspiration from the skyscraper-size songs and hooks of the 80s and 90s, Hydrograd is littered with rollicking choruses and infectious whoooahs.

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