This came out in 2002 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Heads up, maggots: While you carve up your flesh with razorblades waiting impatiently for the next Slipknot album, you can try to ease your withdrawal with these side projects from assorted group members. Though truth be told, I’m not sure how much either will satisfy the jones of a hardcore ’knothead.
In sonic terms, Stone Sour, a quintet led by vocalist Corey Taylor and behemoth guitarist Jim Root, would seem the better bet. Although this group supposedly predates Taylor and Root’s more famous ensemble, this recently recorded debut disc bears more than a few obvious traces of Slipknot’s sound, from Taylor’s homicidal blowtorch vocals and expletive-laden outburts to Root’s menacing guitar grind. Next to the relentless jackhammer grind of Iowa, though, this is tame stuff, based around slower beats, grungier riffs, more predominant melodies and richer textures. Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison’s Murderdolls, meanwhile, are more of a cartoonish outfit. Drafting the amphetamine glam-slam metal of early Marilyn Manson to the B-movie horror-rock of Rob Zombie and topping the whole affair with the raspy, barked vocals of an Alice Cooper soundalike named Wednesday 13, the wicked good Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls delivers everything that Stone Sour lacks and vice versa. Maybe if you play ’em at the same time, it’ll sound like a new Slipknot disc.
