As Stone Sour prepared to hit the stage for the first night of the Avalanche Tour, you could feel the energy in the venue. The stage setup included a huge banner backdrop with the words “In Secrecy We Trust” and drum kit and side curtains all in white with Stone Sour’s logo on them.

As the entrance music came on, the crowd erupted in a huge cheer as they had waited for several hours and four other bands to see Corey Taylor (of Slipknot Fame and lead singer for Stone Sour) hit the stage.  The first song, “Mission Statement,” and the first single of Audio Secrecy Album, got the crowd moshing and a few people crowd surfing.  When that number ended, they went right into “Reborn” to keep the rock groove going.

Taylor is one of the best front men in rock, be it with mask on or off, he is all about pouring every bit of emotion out.  Before they played the third song, Taylor thanked the crowd and told them how grateful he was to them for coming out.

As they ripped into “Digital (DID You Tell),” one of the better tracks off the new album, Taylor just prowled the stage from one end to the other before jumping on to his platform. Unfortunately, he missed the platform and fell. His professionalism was shown there because he did not miss a beat and kept singing as he bounced back up.

The next two songs, “Dying” and “Hesitate” slowed things down.  “Hesitate” is a great power ballad and sounded great live.   With the slower songs ending, they played “Made of Scars,” “Say You'll Haunt Me,” “Tumult,” and “Brother” off their first self-entitled album, Stone Sour.

The highlight of the night was when the opening chords of “Through Glass” were played and the whole crowd exploded with applause and sang along with Taylor.  It was one of those “goose bump moments” and just shows how versatile a singer Corey Taylor is to be able to switch from screams and growls, to just slow, emotional vocals.

The encore was “Blotter,” off the first album and “30/30-150,” the first single from the second album, Come What (ever) May.  With that the first night of the Avalanche tour ended.  This is, certainly, one of the best tours out there now and you don’t want to miss a great lineup and the vocal powerhouse of Corey Taylor.  Just remember, this is not Slipknot, but Stone Sour and you will enjoy the shows even more.

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