Stone Sour have come a long way since their early days as straight forward hard-rock band and offshoot for key members of Slipknot to let off steam in between albums. Over the span of just four studio releases, Stone Sour have become masters of their own conceptual universe with their most recent - House Of Gold and Bones - requiring two full albums and a series of comic books to cover its prolific and compelling story. Such a complex undertaking would be a gamble for any artist, but luckily Stone Sour fans are in good hands as frontman Corey Taylor is ever the enigmatic weaver of tales not to mention performer of killer tunes. Maniacs gets the low down from the man himself what we can pry from him that is as well as his thoughts on the extension of the graphic novel medium.
Its a two-parter Taylor explains simply of album number four as he takes time out in between sets backstage at the recent Soundwave festival. House of Gold & Bones Part 1 came out in October, House of Gold & Bones Part 2 is April and its a whole big thing, its a double concept album. You want the story, go buy it! Im not going to give you any free press and theres a comic book out as well so a lot of good things. GO BUY IT!
Sound advice really as theres no other way to truly explore the House and its many secrets. From the cover art to to the videos that accompany key tracks like Absolute Zero (from Pt 1) and Do Me A Favour (from Pt 2) , its a collection of 23 tracks following an immersive, linear storyline. It unveils the struggle the main character Zero/The Human - finds himself faced with as his decisions and actions decide if he wakes from the dream-state in which he suddenly finds himself. There are other characters too, mirroring urges buried deep within his psyche.
The recent edition of the House Of Gold And Bones comic books also help to add depth and give further colour to the project. They are not easy to come by but well-worth hunting down. Indeed, comic books springing to life in other mediums are a popular concept of late. When asked what makes him a Maniac, Taylor speaks succinctly on the subject.
What makes me a Maniac? People who talk about comic book movies who have NO idea what the hell theyre talking about drive me NUTS! You thought Watchmen was a bad movie? Are you out of your goddamn mind?! ARGHH! I love comic book movies. Theyre awesome, when theyre done well. When theyre not done well you get stuff like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which was a piece of crap! But when theyre done well like The Avengers theyre very, very, very awesome, so I look forward to all the stuff that Marvel is doing. D.C hit or miss, but yeah Marvel has really got it dialed in right now.
House Of Gold & Bonesparts 1 & 2 are available now!
