Words & Pictures: Kalli Isborne
A chilly evening in Brixton did not deter the crowds from queuing outside the O2 Academy. Stone Sour are touring their new album Hydrograd, and it appears that the first of two nights in London is going to be a cracker. Firstly, though are the single support act, The Pretty Reckless.
The New York hard rockers struggled initially to get the Brixton crowd warmed up during their 30-minute set. It may have been the weather leaving the audience a bit chilly, but there was very little appreciation of The Pretty Reckless until their last three songs. I’m not quite sure what happened at this point, it could have been the numbers of the audience had reached the point of cosiness, or the amount of beer consumed had hit the ‘sod it lets enjoy this’ point, but at this point, with three songs left of the set the academy started to bounce and let itself enjoy the support. Great perseverance to get the nonplussed crowd engaged and ready for the main act.
Coming onto the stage to their Intro song on the album YSIF, Corey Taylor and the rest of the band were given a very warm welcome. From the very first beat of the opening song Taipei Person/ Allah Tea, it was clear that this would be a high tempo gig, Corey was working all corners of the stage, with bassist Johnny Chow, and guitarists Josh Rand and Christian Martucci ensuring they were also getting the adulation from the audience. This was not just going to be a procession of songs, Stone Sour had brought enough pyro and a glitter canon to ensure that, from the very first song through to the last, there would be whizz bangs throughout the set.
Taipei Person/ Allah Tea was possibly the best song to open with, its upbeat tempo allowed the crowd to continue where they had left off, followed by Kneival has landed, during which Corey was firing a confetti cannon into the crowd. Everybody in the Academy was having a sing along to Made Of Scars, and this singing continued throughout the 15 song set, and with the album being released back in June there were practically no lyrics this audience did not know.
The new material seamlessly slotted alongside the older, can we call them, Classics, finishing their main set with Black Sabbath cover Children of the Grave. The essential hiatus before the encore ensued and the last three songs of the evening were belted out with as much energy and enthusiasm as the rest of the set. Great gig guys, great gig.
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