Out of respect to the musicians involved and to the memory of the sadly deceased, we’re going to talk about Stone Sour’s latest and most accomplished record, ‘Audio Secrecy’, without labouring the point of this album’s poignancy in the light of Paul Gray’s tragic death. Suffice to say, Paul casts a shadow across this album, and recent events can colour one’s emotional response towards it.
‘Audio Secrecy’ marks a real creative milestone for Stone Sour. Though it includes a clutch of their more metallic material, these fourteen songs see the Iowan five-piece settle into their ear-friendly alt-rock sound, melodic, emotionally rich acoustic tracks fitting smoothly alongside rockier, more upbeat material, to create a superbly accessible, newbie friendly treat. Remember when ‘30/30-150’ and ‘Through Glass’ were inescapable on all the video channels, and every branch of modern rock radio, a few years ago? We have no doubt whatsoever that they’ll repeat the feat multiple times with this album’s singles, whatever they be. You’ve got the gritty, but ultimately rather infectious post-grunge of ‘Let’s Be Honest’, vitriolic ‘Nylon 6/6’, the genuinely affecting power ballad ‘Hesitate’: this is an album which regularly changes gears, and by and large, impresses throughout.
As with every album that he’s ever graced, Corey Taylor brings a great deal of sincerity to ‘Audio Secrecy’, regaling the listener with tales of love found, love lost, love reclaimed... Naturally the range of subject matter is a little broader than the ‘boy meets girl, boy loves girl, girl leaves boy, boy cries’ of some radio-friendly angst-rock records, but essentially this is a very human album, a record about relationships, broken hearts, and daring to hope. Emotion-allergic meatheads consider yourselves warned, as this is steeped in dark narrative, rather than sweary nihilism. If you’ve heard opening single ‘Say You’ll Haunt Me’, you’ll know what we mean. This is perhaps the album which once and for all wipes the phrase ‘Slipknot side-project’ from many people’s lips.
Succinctly then, this is pretty much more of the same, and fans should be over the moon. It’s not particularly original, innovative or musically pioneering, and neither does it need to be. ‘Audio Secrecy’ is a solid, enjoyable modern rock record which will create some great ammunition for live shows, and make a good addition to the ol’ record collection. It may also prove a great gateway record given the prominence of the band, and the mix of both mellow and abrasive material, something that, in my book, is not to be sniffed at. Many of us loved Linkin Park at one stage, remember? Stone Sour are certainly a few steps up. Digressions aside, Nick Raskulinecz provides a characteristically professional production job (with just enough grit to carry off the heavy sections), all the musicians involved turn in solid performances, there’s a bunch of surprisingly good solos, and you’ll need a pickaxe to remove many of the record’s hooks from your brain. Chances are, you already know whether you’re going to like this record. We do. Do you?
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