Stone Sour and Papa Roach
Event on 2013-01-22 19:00:00
Stone Sour
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 that follow an immersive, linear storyline. Part one – the first eleven songs – will be released on October 23, 2012. Part two will be released next year, completing the story. The songs set the tone and follow the action, but House Of Gold & Bones is an experience across all media – the videos, the online presence, the album packaging, the live show, and even a graphic novel will all follow, and expand on, the story. It's a lofty undertaking, but Stone Sour have never shied away from a challenge. With them, it's par for the course. The gold-selling Iowa hard rock outfit has sold over four million albums worldwide over the course of three full-length releases. Their self-titled debut and sophomore effort Come What(ever) May both exceeded Gold status, while 2010's Audio Secrecy debuted at #6 on the Billboard Top 200. Their arsenal includes number one singles such as "Through Glass", "Say You'll Haunt Me", and "Bother", and three Grammy Award nominations. Given those accomplishments, it'd be easy for the band—Corey Taylor [Vocals], James Root [Guitar], Josh Rand [Guitar], and Roy Mayorga [Drums]—to tread the same ground with very successful results. But they completely flip the globe on it's axis this time around. "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." "At the end of the day, 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 and Bones, knowing we were pushing the boundaries of what we'd done before." The band began pushing those boundaries as soon as they entered Soundfarm Studios in Jamaica, Iowa with producer David Bottrill [Tool, Muse, Staind] in early 2012. After he and Root finished up on the road with Slipknot, Taylor holed himself up at home and recorded 15 demos, also penning the story of House of Gold & Bones during an extremely creative spell (Taylor's debut book "Seven Deadly Sins" was released last year, and is an international bestseller). The musicians worked out a skeleton for the songs so they could collectively begin the recording process with a clear and direct vision. Then, Bottrill helped them hone everything even further into the 23 songs comprising the record in only three months. Rand adds, "In the world of Pro Tools, everything can be perfect. We didn't want that. We wanted a live, natural feel with the organic sound of the instruments intact. David was able to capture exactly what went to tape. He got the best out of us, and it was amazing to watch him do that. I don't know of any other producer who could get the same results in the timeframe we had." "In my eyes, David was custom-made for this project," enthuses Taylor. "I knew he would help us trim the fat and get to the essence of the songs. I also knew he'd push us performance-wise to go above and beyond anything we had ever done before in a short span of time. He immediately got it, and he was born to make these two albums." Not only was it Stone Sour's first time collaborating with Bottrill, they welcomed legendary Skid Row bassist Rachel Bolan into the fold to record with them. Bolan also shared their vision anddove headfirst into the world of House of Gold and Bones wholeheartedly. Taylor reveals, "I've been a Skid Row fan since I was young. They were actually one of my first favorite bands. We met Rachel on the last Stone Sour tour. One night, Josh, Roy and I were sitting at my kitchen table, and Josh brought him up to play bass. We thought it was perfect, and I called him that night. It was fate he could do it, and he schooled it." This journey commences with the double salvo of "Gone Sovereign" and the first single "Absolute Zero." During the former, a guttural riff grooves through a dead soundscape before snapping into incendiary thrash as Taylor's voice commands with a vicious scream. Not to mention, there's some scorching fretwork from Rand and Root. "It's such a one-two punch right out of the gate," says the vocalist. "It's unrelenting. 'Gone Sovereign' is different from anything we've ever done, but it's reminiscent of music we grew up listening to. It has that gutter punk, old school thrash vibe. It's the overture. It sets the tone for what you're about to be put through." "Absolute Zero" which roars with a rousing anthemic refrain that's as potent as it is poetic. "It's the anti-hero anthem," Taylor reveals. "The main character, The Human, puts it all on the plate and declares, 'This is what I am. There's no reason for you to assume anything.' It's a character study for the 'Hero' of the story. This sets the scene for where this person is when he finds himself in this fantastic world. It's the ramp for Evel Knievel to jump off of." Listeners are jumping into an immersive world here. The band prefaced the record with an interactive "Scavenger Hunt" that unlocked the cover and the first two songs on the official House of Gold and Bones web site, whererecord secrets will continually be uncovered. Taylor is currently prepping a graphic novel to go along with it. As for the story itself, it sees the protagonist at a physical and philosophical crossroads faced with weighty decisions that will impact whether or not he wakes from the dream in which he's trapped. To a degree, it reflects a crossroads the writer himself stood at. "There's a good chunk of the album that's autobiographical," admits Taylor. "It's been a long road for me trying to get from being this youthful crazy person to this more mature crazy person. There are all of these twists and turns that come along with getting your shit together. At the same time, I never use a name in the story. I wanted to reinforce the mirror effect where you read it and can see yourself in it." Rand leaves off, "There's a thrill in doing something completely unpredictable. This is our next evolution." "It's not just another level," concludes Taylor. "It's a different level. We're looking at everything from a three-dimensional standpoint. House Of Gold & Bones feels ready to explode."
Papa Roach
"This record is about all the connections I have in my life," says Jacoby Shaddix, frontman for Papa Roach. "It's what I feel with my band, with music, with myself, with friends and with our fans when we come together. When we connect, we all become something greater." Which helps explains The Connection, the title of Papa Roach's seventh album and first full-length studio record for Eleven Seven Music. It's a remarkably modern record that both solidifies the hard rock group's signature sound – big choruses, loud guitars, raw introspection – while sonically taking a great leap ahead. Exploring new musical territory is nothing new for the California band (rounded out by Jerry Horton, Tobin Esperance and Tony Palermo), which over the course of almost two decades has released an impressively diverse string of Gold, Platinum and Multi- Platinum records, starting with 2000's Infest (featuring their breakout single "Last Resort") through 2009's top 10 album Metamorphosis. In that time, Papa Roach has racked up dozens of hits, including "She Loves Me Not," "Getting Away with Murder," "Scars," "…To Be Loved," "Forever," "Lifeline" and "Kick in the Teeth." The only thing those songs have in common? A refusal to stand put and play it safe. "I look back on this band's history, and we've changed so much," says Esperance, Papa Roach's bassist. "We've gone from spastic punk rock kids to grown men with kids, families, wives, from no money to big hits to battling addiction. We've done it all together, and we're still changing, still evolving and figuring it out — lyrically and musically." Interestingly, The Connection ended up a far different record than was originally envisioned. "The theme of the record is that I'm fucked up and getting my life back together," explains Shaddix. "I didn't originally want to write about all the dark stuff going on in my life – I wanted to be positive and uplifting. But our producer [James Michael] was like "write what's going on in your life. It's falling apart? Write about it! That's why this album is so personal and dark." "Working with James was really, really cool," adds Horton. "He's a great musician and understands not just how to write a song, but he always got where we were coming from and what the main staples of our sound are." While dealing with tumultuous personal issues, the band also wanted to test new waters. "We're always inspired by new sounds," says Esperance. "We wanted to add some electronics and do something really exciting with that. It's a natural progression." "Tobin loves hard electronic music," adds Shaddix. "And if one person is passionate in this group, the rest of us will go along on that ride. And I think it's catapulting us into this fourth dimension of rock music, pushing our boundaries wider and farther." Recorded over several months at the band's Sacramento-based home studio — The Red House, their first full-length album recorded there — with producer James Michael, The Connection does embrace a strong digital element, while never losing site of the band's ferocious energy. "We were able to take our time on this record, and in terms of progress in the band's career, I think it's a leap forward for us," says Palermo. Tracks on The Connection range from fast 'n furious ("Where Did the Angels Go") to moody and introspective ("As Far As I Remember"), touching on melodic alt-rock ("Breathe You In") and even a few nods to the group's hip-hop past in "Won't Let Up" and the first single, the John Feldmann-produced "Still Swingin'." "[Swingin'] was the last song we made for the record," says Shaddix. "It's about overcoming your largest obstacle/mountain/hurdle. We wanted a song to encapsulate that spirit, something so fiery and with a sense of 'I'm still alive.' And we made it the first track, this positive energy, before leading you down a rather dark hole." Despite the grim themes of the record – from the battleground imagery in "Leader of the Broken Hearts" to recounting the painful dissolution of Shaddix's relationship in "Walking Dead," an air of determination fills the record. "It's really about, if I can come out of all this pain and to the other side, anyone can," says Shaddix. The band will release the record this fall and tour extensively, including a stint on this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival. And it's on the road where the band recognizes its music is actually, as the album title suggests, making the biggest connection. "I love what we have with our audience," says Shaddix. "Papa Roach is four people who come together to make this bigger thing, and our fans become a part of that. It just gets bigger, and then it goes around the world. The connection music makes – it's fucking magical."
at The Rapids Theatre
1711 Main Street
Niagara Falls, United States
