Posted: January 27th, 2008
Contributed By: Nick

	Purchase @ Amazon.com Release Date: January 29th, 2008 via Trustkill
	StoneRider is: Matt Tanner (Vocals / Guitar) Neil Warren (Guitar) Champ Champagne (Bass) Jason Krutzky (Drums)

Overview: Sex changes can be fun, too. Just ask the Atlanta bred quartet StoneRider, who once went by the moniker Fight Paris. The former released their debut album, ‘Paradise Found‘, for Trustkill Records in 2005, an assortment of metalcore jolted into deep Southern overdrive. But, the boys got the feelin’ in their souls to venture down a new route creatively, and, with that, Fight Paris metamorphosized into StoneRider, jettisoning the pugnacious screams and rigid metalcore patterns for a more acid washed approach. Trustkill decided to hold on to these rascals, and will drop the first StoneRider album, ‘Three Legs of Trouble‘ on January 29.

The Good: Throw out your old Dance Mix USA tapes and Thighmaster VHS’s, because ‘Three Legs of Trouble‘ is gonna make you sweat. Built upon with voluptuous grooves and glamorous riffing, StoneRider takes the Southern tinged rock we have all heard before and injects it with a little amphetamine, providing for a no frills and downright fun record from front to back. Leading the pack is “Rush Hour”, swift kicking the album shortly after pressing play and proves the intrepidity of the band. “Back From the Dead” could have been the perfect sing-a-long video for Dee Snider as a child, and although upbeat, the track still manages to retain a pinch of combativeness and a slew of raunchy lyrics. “Ramble Down” is a heavy dose of mature stoner rock, and “Juice Man” blossoms into a shamelessly sleazy affair that would leave patrons of retread biker bars salivating. “Wild Child” is brilliantly carefree and effervescent, tagging it as one of the most memorable tunes on the album, and “Bad Lovin’” is a punchy, frisky lil’ thang that will get you shaking that derriere in a jiffy. ‘Three Legs of Trouble‘ pays its dues to stadium rock with the witty “Hair of the Dog” and hastily leaps on the funk train where the sultry “Bite My Tongue” steals the show. A succinct and ebullient romp, “Breakout” is just as the name implies, and ‘Three Legs of Trouble‘ bids farewell with “shut My Mouth”, a grungy and soulful blast to the past that wraps everything up with a fitting bang. The most impressive part, be it intentional or not, about StoneRider’s debut is the fact that once the album begins rolling, the band never looks back, opting to float where the music takes them rather than trying to reconstruct what has already been accomplished.

The Bad: Well folks, if you’re looking for a mature, intricate dose of Southern rock, look elsewhere. for StoneRider have a penchant for anchoring themselves in “bubble-gum” type glam rock; sure, they are proficient at their craft, but a few exploratory dalliances to tease the brain a weensy bit would have been welcomed. ‘Three Legs of Trouble‘ is also one of anonymity, with each song sounding helplessly woven into the previous cut, which then segues into the next one, and the next one, and the next one. You can start the album and lose yourself in the music for awhile, and when you return to earth, you may still wonder if song one got stuck on repeat. StoneRider, although youthful and rejuvenating in their approach, don’t really tackle any new boundaries, and the ever-narrowing scope of gritty, engine revving glam rock seeping into the rock market puts a ceiling on a band with a plethora of potential.

Bottomline: ‘Three Legs of Trouble‘ might not justify your breaking out those pleather pants and spur-heeled boots buried in your closet, but the album will certainly be enough to get you through that handle of Jack with ease. StoneRider brings all their cards to the table with ‘Three Legs of Trouble‘, plowing the listener with enveloping slabs of retro-seared rock anthems and keeping the ignition running full throttle dawn to dusk. Consequently, the band paints themselves as a black sheep in the rock world, as the tunes are a little too provocative for basic modern rock, and a tad too cliche to propel StoneRider to status in the burgeoning southern/glam/sleaze rebirth of the past couple of years; for the every Buckcherry, Airbourne, and Endeverafter getting their airtime, there is a group like StoneRider, who, although have birthed a well-rounded album, may get unjustly swept under the rug in the wake of the aforementioned. Nevertheless, ‘Three Legs of Trouble‘ is a stern bolt of bootylicious material, that, despite not covering any new ground, re-paves the roads already traveled by bands of a similar ilk and inches the bar a little bit higher to boot.

Rating: 7 out of 10