Stone Sour

Side projects are apples that rarely fall far from the tree, and Corey Taylor's Stone Sour originally came off as Slipknot-lite. Come What(ever) May is still earmarked by the masked metal outfit, but it allows the band to stand as a sovereign entity. The album offers much more space than their debut, both melodically and instrumentally, instead of focusing on chunky riffs and screams. "Silly World" evokes Alice In Chains at their most harmonic, and the stunning closer, "Zzyzx Road," is reminiscent of Use Your Illusion-era Guns N' Roses. Taylor still growls like he always has, but there's more introspection than raw aggression. Come What(ever) May proves Stone Sour are no longer a side project, but a force to be reckoned with.