♫ Stone Sour | B-

Stone Sour has continued their journey away from metal to hard rock with their latest album release, Audio Secrecy. While Stone Sour's first album still may be considered by many to be their highest achievement, Audio Secrecy is worth a listen even for those who are skeptical of their new material.

The band's third album attempt is filled with many melodies that cause a listener to close their eyes and let Corey Taylor's vocals soothe their mood. With songs such as "Dying" and "Imperfect," Stone Sour adds on to their lyrical genius with fan-favorites like "Bother" and "Sillyworld".

In "Dying," listeners can feel Taylor's pain when he sings, "You leave me suffering 'til I can't feel a thing/It's all I got when I want more/If I waste one more day then they can take me away."  Heavier songs keep the Stone Sour feel that was introduced when the band's first album debuted in 2002.

"Unfinished" and the album's first single, "Say You'll Haunt Me," induce a small amount of head banging that attests to the notion that listeners can still expect great things from Stone Sour in the future. A regular copy of Audio Secrecy boasts 13 songs, while the digital version adds four bonus songs, clocking in the album at an astounding 65 minutes.

Audio Secrecywould most likely be best received by those who are fans of Stone Sour's Come What(ever) May and Slipknot's All Hope Is Gone. Though the heavy-hitting metal band that broke into the music scene in 2002 may be lost to more melodic hard rock, Stone Sour's Audio Secrecy will definitely be in rotation on many iPods.