I challenge any Corey Taylor fan or follower of any of his bands to remember the title of a song from his debut solo album without first searching for it on the internet, or even more poignantly to sing any melody from that record.
Unfortunately, Corey, after blaming Roadrunner for the mediocre way ‘CMFT’ (2020) was received by fans, claiming they didn’t promote it enough (no surprise that collaboration is over) has decided to follow the same formula. It is a surprise really, firstly because no project he’s been involved with could be called easy: Slipknot for reasons that are beyond evident and then there’s Stone Sour who – many forget – have penned some very ambitious stuff, most notably the two ‘House of Gold and Bones’ records. And, secondly, because when you’re deliberately seeking absolute creative control and a one man show environment, you usually have a vision to execute. Upon listening to this, it is very unclear what that vision is. Besides Josh Rand’s riffs – to leave the ‘Knot out of this – imagination is also missing. Taylor is leading a conventional hard rock band, delivers many anemic three-minute tunes, and delivers an album that sounds like rejected Velvet Revolver outtakes with a few modern boring Pearl Jam ballads for good measure.
