Stone Sour @ First Direct Arena (Leeds, UK) on November 30, 2017 [Photos & Show Review]

It’s hard to believe that Stone Sour, the band fronted by Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor, are now a few months into the touring cycle for their sixth album, Hydrograd, but we’re here at the First Direct Arena in Leeds and it’s fair to say the place is bouncing as Taylor and his Stone Sour bandmates thud out intro “Ysif”.

By the time we’re midway through the first song “Taipei Person/Allah Tea”, Taylor, who is clearly enjoying himself onstage, brings out a massive cannon blasting the audience with confetti and giving the venue cleaners a massive headache. Grinning from ear to ear, Taylor makes it all look too easy as his bandmates pound out a soundtrack of anthemic rock riffs and wall-shaking beats. Through “Knievel Has Landed”, a thunderous “Made Of Scars” and a punishing “30/30-150”, Stone Sour sound absolute massive in the vastness of the arena so much so that, when the lone frontman takes centre stage for the opening bars of “Through Glass” before being joined by his bandmates to bring the main set to a close, it has the hairs on your neck standing on end.

Taylor quickly waves away a “fuck Nickelback” chant but, to be fair, if you think Stone Sour are merely cloning Kroeger and Co, it might be worth getting your hearing checked. Stone Sour are a band who have so much quality in their armoury you simply can’t deny they’ve earned their chance to play to crowds of this size and, judging by their efforts tonight, they’re enjoying every moment.