Hydrograd (Colored Vinyl)

最高の形で鳴らされるピュアなロックン・ロール!シーン最強のカリスマ・フロントマン、Corey Taylorがその素の姿をさらけ出しながらロックへのピュアな愛情を表現する最重要アクト、STONE SOUR(ストーン・サワー)の新作が2枚組アナログ盤でも登場! ロックと名の付く全てのサウンドを融合させたその音像が、全ての人の予想を遥かに超える圧巻の完成度と共に今世界に響き渡る…!

The veteran hard rockers' sixth studio long-player, Hydrograd takes its name from an airport sign that frontman Corey Taylor misread while racing to make a connecting flight in Eastern Europe. It's a fitting metaphor for the group, which, since its inception in 1992, has refused to be pigeonholed; carving out its own stylistically neutral brand of accessible modern heavy metal that's flirted with nearly every iteration of the genre. Notably, Hydrograd is the first Stone Sour outing not to feature guitarist and co-founder Jim Root, who left rather acrimoniously in 2013. The band has stated that Christian Martucci, who joined up in 2015, played a huge role in shaping the sound of the album, which is far more textural and cinematic, though no less heavy, than prior outings. Recorded live in the studio with Jay Ruston (Steel Panther, Anthrax, the Donnas), the sprawling 15-track set, which clocks in at just over an hour, can feel a little unruly, but there's more than enough meat here to make a proper sandwich. The melody-rich "Song #3," the vaguely Queensryche-ian closer "When the Fever Broke," and "Rose Red Violent Blue (This Song Is Dumb & So Am I)," the latter of which flirts with a Beatlesque verse melody before launching into a vintage arena rock chorus, are all radio-friendly enough to make it to primetime, but Stone Sour have always been at their best when they inject their more commercial side with a little venom. They do just that on the knotty opener "Taipei Person/Allah Tea" and the galvanic single "Fabuless" -- the singularly titled "Whiplash Pants" also hits that sweet spot -- and it's in those grey areas where Hydrograd begins to make sense. ~ James Christopher Monger

曲調が少しだけ明るくなり、ヘヴィーなだけでなく、演奏からはしっかりメリハリも感じられる4年ぶりのアルバム。モーターヘッドへのオマージュ"Somebody Stole My Eyes"や、アコギを用いたカントリー調の"St. Marie"、ボートラに収められたヴァン・ヘイレンのカヴァーなど、己のルーツも垣間見せながら、過去5作を遥かに凌ぐコリィ・テイラーの豊かな歌唱表現で聴き手を引き込んでいく。力作だ。
bounce (C)荒金良介