Corey Taylor – CMFT

8/10

So, what to expect from the singer of Slipknot & Stone Sour when he goes solo? Well, to me this is a rock album that entertains. Rock music is the base in all songs to my ears, but influences stretches and the references are wide. More on that later.

I did not have any expectations for the full album since the singles have been somewhat diverse with best. With best I mean that I like the diversity that stretches from the first song to the last. You have anguish in the vocals, you have party-stenched singalong tunes and there is some country & rockabilly moments there as well.Throw in some proper old rap-metal there for good measures as well and lets go.

We start of with HWY 666 that goes towards a Volbeat beat and tempo. We follow on with one of the singles Black eyes blue. If someone said to me that this was a 3 Doors Down song, I would have believed them. It is catchy, listener friendly and likeable. There are a couple of songs that follow that mould, Halfway Down could also be put in that box. There are some party pleasers like Samantha´s Gone & Meine Lux as well. The verocious fun and joy that Mr. Taylor seems to have had making this album reflects in the songs. Even the more downer songs like Silverfish & Home have a feeling of creative happiness about them. Kansas could have been a Matchbox 20 song without any quarrels at all.

What is a bit surprising about the album is that it is so listener friendly. When listening to some others that have gone and done a solo album “Just like I have always wanted”, they have been somewhat hard to acces fully. This is not an album where you should expect some crazy ideas and fillers that come out because the star of the show have made a name for themselves and can now do what they want. For me, the album is an easily reachable album from an artist that oozes happiness to be in the trade and doing what he wants to do without having to consider other people as much as normal.

If I have to pick a single song from this album it will be Silverfish. I like the tone in it, the mildly depressive vocals and the general architecture of the song all the way.

As a summary, this album meet most of the demands I have when liking an album. In all honesty, I have but one rule and that is that I want to be entertained. I am entertained by this album. Quite a lot actually. It is not a perfect album, but this will be an album that I will keep listening to and remember for quite a while. So far this to me is a contender for top spots when it is time to summarize 2020.

https://open.spotify.com/album/2zXb31jcD4thGh78UbcXzv?si=mnz39PnsSLyQ0xDNt620pg

Artist: Corey Taylor
Title: CMFT
Label: Roadrunner
Release Date: 2020-10-02
Playing Time: 47 minutes approx
Rating: 8/10
Land of origin: USA
Stand out track: Silverfish