As a huge fan of the previous 2 Stone sour efforts, I had high hopes for the release of Audio Secrecy, especially following all the hype and build up the band themselves had placed onto the release.
It is with great pleasure to state that Audio Secrecy is everything I had hoped for and then some. As very much a fan of all aspects of music and rock/ metal music in general, it was nice to have an album which left no stones unturned. Corey Taylor himself described the album as `heavy, melodic, dark, slow, light and beautiful', or more to the point `everything I've ever wanted to do in one album'. These statements are definitely backed up with this release, as this album has it all, hard, fast, slow, melodic and heavy music passages. It really does try to cram it all in, meaning the album has songs that fit any mood the listener may be in at the time.
Ranging from the faster paced and heavier songs like Mission Statement, The Bitter End and Digital, to the more melancholy moments like Imperfect, Miracles and Hesitate. Stone Sour 'Audio Secrecy' is for me the album of the year.
After 20 + listens already I am yet to pick a favourite track, with it forever changing. This is not to say the album doesnt have any stand out tracks... it is just extremely solid throughout, with absolute zero filler. Even the 3 bonus tracks available on this version of the album are of a high standard and do not feel tacked on as can usually be the case with "bonus" songs.
If you liked the previous Stone Sour album, Come What(ever) May, you should love this release. However, if you are going into the album expecting a straight forward Metal album more reminiscent of early Slipknot, look elsewhere, as you will only be left disappointed. Due to this fact, I'm sure this will be the album where Stone Sour step away from Slipknots shadow and gather there own fanbase, to take with with them onto there no doubt continued flirtation with the more melodic side of the rock scale over the coming years.