Hydrograd

Stone Sour push their catchy hard-rock elements to the front by replacing burly riff-fiend Jim Root with melodic shredder Christian Martucci on <i>Hydrograd</i>. A whiplash ode to love and loyalty, “Song #3” soars with passion, while the equally infectious “Taipei Person / Allah Tea" has Corey Taylor howling about rock ’n’ roll abandon over tight AOR-style solos. Their dark-metal roots pop up throughout, but as “Fabuless” demonstrates, the album is defined by its complex breakdowns.