Shinedown: The Sound of Madness
Shinedown: The Sound of Madness
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Monday, 02, Mar 2009 01:39
Atlantic Records, out now.
In a nutshell...
Powerful. Dark. Varied. Brooding. Energetic.
What's it all about?
Shinedown have made it pretty big in the US in the last few years but as we all know, the UK market is a tough nut to crack for many mainstream American bands. As a follow-up to the title track The Sound of Madness, which was released in the UK towards the end of February, the band is clearly aiming to make March its month on the shores of Britannia.
The album is produced by Rob Cavallo, a producer behind names such as Paramore, Alanis Morissette and most of Green Day's discography, including Dookie and American Idiot.
Lead singer Brent Smith talks you through the album track-by-track:
Who's it by?
Hailing from Florida's Jacksonville, Shinedown formed in 2003, going platinum with their first album Leave a Whisper. Following a popular tour where they supported established rock band Disturbed, Shinedown headlined a sell-out tour in the UK this year. This resulted in such high demand for tickets that their main gig, originally slated for the Underworld in London, was upgraded to business class and was played to a larger audience in the Islington Academy.
As an example...
"I created the sound of madness, wrote the book on pain/Somehow I'm still here to explain/That the darkest hour never comes in the night."
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
It's doubtful. America is full of bands like this and they'll likely be overlooked for a more established artist. Still, the album is remarkably strong for the genre. Never say never, right?
What the others say
"If you are in the mood to recall the heyday of good old fashioned 1980s rock and roll with no angles or sub-genres, this is the album for you." - IGN Music
"Shinedown serve up what they always have: active modern rock embodying the sound of post-grunge in the new millennium without offering much that is memorable, either for better or for worse." - Allmusic
So is it any good?
The album, although a really solid overall performance from a band little-known in the UK, is almost a stereotype in its field. Rock bands have the increasing tendency to slip in a few relaxed ballads and love songs - pitfalls of the mainstream music market which are now seemingly required to appeal to more potential fans - and The Sound of Madness is no exception.
Flavours of Metallica, Fuel, Incubus and Rob Zombie are there for people to taste throughout the album. Arguably, they're also some of the best elements of those individual artists. Sometimes, it's easy to think that with some funny lyrics, a Flight of the Conchords-style rock-based tribute act could be found in Shinedown. That's not to say they're ripping off popular bands, however, as they make each song their own.
The album, which debuts in the UK this week, is one of two distinctly different halves. Not taking into account the loud and proud bonus tracks I Own You, Energy and Son of Sam, The Sound of Madness goes from insanity to a valium-inspired dream world, muffling out said sound of madness in the process. This really isn't what many will expect, except cynics who will use this album as extra support for the watering-down of the genre.
This was particularly notable at one point, during the beginning of Call Me, when it was so calming that it could easily be mistaken for a Lighthouse Family classic. But is this bad? No, not really.
Shinedown, although fulfilling a remarkable amount of cliches now associated with heavier rock, still entertain. Devour, recently used in the fine sports arena that is the WWE, is a solid opening track. The Sound of Madness is power chords defined, while Cry For Help really shows the band's relentlessness, with a cracking chorus that sets their style in stone.
It seems very apparent that the star of this band is vocalist Brent Smith. One great thing about the variety of rock styles covered is that his voice is able to handle every single one without any difficulty. The gravelly anger he displays in the title track sounds like an entirely different person is singing when compared to the Chad Kroeger-esque sound of The Crow and the Butterfly.
Sometimes I'm inclined with bands like Shinedown to recommend just a few songs to download. Luckily for this lot, it's diverse enough to warrant the purchase of the full thing.
It is really easy to be taken by The Sound of Madness, The Crow and the Butterfly and What a Shame - the three of which exhibiting standalone styles. Others seem to seamlessly fade into one another when listened to casually, again highlighting the transitional musical nature of the album.
A lot of people will surprise themselves by picking this up - it's an album that can appeal to many different groups of music lovers.
8/10
Matt Gardner