Stone Sour don't play it safe on their fourth offering, House of Gold & Bones — Parts 1 & 2.
House of Gold & Bones Parts 1 & 2 is a collection of 23 tracks the band — Corey Taylor [Vocals], James Root [Guitar], Josh Rand [Guitar], and Roy Mayorga [Drums] — that follow an immersive, linear storyline. House of Gold & Bones Part 1 – the first 11 songs – will be released on October 22, 2012. Part 2 will be released next year, completing the story.
The songs set the tone and follow the action, but House of Gold & Bones is a multimedia experience. Videos, an online presence, album packaging, the live show and even a graphic novel will all follow and expand on the story.
"To us, this was bigger than just a collection of songs," says Rand. "We wanted to do something really special, and it started when Corey told us about the concept. There was a big mission, and everything tied in from the story to the music. We all put a lot into this, and everybody contributed immensely."
"If you're not risking it all, you're not gaining anything," Taylor affirms. "There's a whole musical realm I haven't even tackled yet. I've never been into writing the same shit over and over again. The minute I get bored is the minute I bail. It was exciting to be neck-deep in the creation of House of Gold & Bones, knowing we were pushing the boundaries of what we'd done before."
Presented by MX2 Media & Roadrunner Records, "Stone Sour: Enter the House of Gold & Bones Part 1" features Corey Taylor & Josh Rand in a conversation with Andy Hall of hometown radio station Lazer103.3 Des Moines, and highlights 6 new songs from House of Gold & Bones Part 1.
HOUSE OF GOLD & BONES PART 1 OUT TODAY;
FIRST SINGLE “ABSOLUTE ZERO” IS TOP FIVE AT ROCK RADIO
TWO HOMETOWN SHOWS SELL OUT IN MINUTES
New York, NY (October 22, 2012) - Grammy-nominated rock band Stone Sour will release part one of a two album series, House of Gold & Bones, on Roadrunner Records today, October 22, 2012. Recorded at Sound Farm Studios just outside of the band's native Des Moines, Iowa with producer David Bottrill (Tool, Muse) at the helm, the album has met with early rave reviews worldwide: "...by far the most accomplished album of Stone Sour's career. Depth, emotion and spirit seem to infuse everything. 2013 has 'Stone Sour' written all over it." - 4Ks - KERRANG! (UK)
“House of Gold and Bones Pt. 1 illuminates that Stone Sour remains peerless in modern hard rock. No one else has the guts to transmute a conceptual, multimedia vision this grandiose into a record… It's on par with Alice In Chains' Dirt, Metallica's Master Of Puppets, Queens Of The Stone Age's Songs For The Deaf, Soundgarden's Superunknown, and any other game-changing albums you can think of” said Artist Direct (US).
"House of Gold & Bones, Part 1 finds Stone Sour thriving like never before." - 8/10 – Rocksound (UK)
"Powerful stuff....Make some room on the shelf for Part 2 when it comes out next year." - 8/10 - Metal Hammer (UK)
Press accolades aside, the first single from part one, “Absolute Zero”, is racing up the charts and is top five at Active and Mainstream Rock radio in just eight weeks. Billboard Magazine calls it “A ruthless hard rocker, the track pummels the listener in the gut…"
Singer, songwriter and lyricist Corey Taylor, himself a bestselling author courtesy of last year's Seven Deadly Sins, wrote the lyrics for the 23 tracks that make up House of Gold & Bones as a linear storyline, which follows the compelling story of a character created by Taylor. Music is just one of the mediums used to tell the story; Corey Taylor recently revealed details of the new project with Dark Horse Comics, House of Gold & Bones which follows, and expands on, the story contained within the albums. With stunning covers from Jason Shawn Alexander (Empty Zone, Batman, Abe Sapien), this limited four-issue series marks Corey Taylor’s debut in the comics genre.
Stone Sour recently announced two intimate hometown shows October 28 and 29th, both of which sold out in minutes. The band has also confirmed the first leg of a massive global tour push to support House of Gold & Bones, playing shows on five continents so far, with many more to come.
Check out a stream at AOL