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Corey Taylor always said that the first part of House Of Gold & Bones would only make sense when complemented by the concluding part. He’s right.

If Part 1 was the scene setter, Part 2 allows the storyline to develop and envelop the music. This is a darker, heavier, more emotional album, not afraid to show a savagery that dovetails with some distinctly progressive chimes, and the result is stunning. At times, there are nods towards Pink Floyd (Sadist), Tool (Gravesend) and King Crimson (Blue Smoke), all of which makes this a multi-faceted face-off that inspires, agitates and mystifies.

Whereas the first album allowed you to dip in at random and sample tracks without any loss of enjoyment, this time you have to follow the flow. Not only because that’s the only way the concept makes sense, but also because this has been musically constructed to impact best that way. A dystopian symphony of disaffection and isolation, this is magnificent proof that Stone Sour are creating sublime modern music.

Malcolm Dome had an illustrious and celebrated career which stretched back to working for Record Mirror magazine in the late 70s and Metal Fury in the early 80s before joining Kerrang! at its launch in 1981. His first book, Encyclopedia Metallica, published in 1981, may have been the inspiration for the name of a certain band formed that same year. Dome is also credited with inventing the term "thrash metal" while writing about the Anthrax song Metal Thrashing Mad in 1984. With the launch of Classic Rock magazine in 1998 he became involved with that title, sister magazine Metal Hammer, and was a contributor to Prog magazine since its inception in 2009. He died in 2021.