| Shinedown The Sound Of Madness | Atlantic |
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A lot of great things have been said about the third Shinedown album and I'm here to back that all up. This is a monster modern melodic rock album and among the best I have heard in my time reviewing the genre. Yes, the down-tuning is there and it is everything a modern rock album should be - but what great songs. It seems that everything has come together for the band on this, their third release and first since 2005. I just love the energy of this record. It's in your face and it is aggressive when it needs to be, yet features several mellower tunes that allow vocalist Brent Smith to really shine. And the production is immense. This album features one of the more impressive 'walls of sound' that I have heard and a precise mix gives it all room to breathe. The guitars really are all over this record and while it is modern rock, the down-tuning isn't as obvious as other artists and the aggressive, yet melodic lead vocals are a particular joy to listen to. The opening hard rocker Devour does just that, swallowing the speakers with the intense wall of sound that lifts another notch again with the punchy chorus. Sound of Madness is another attitude laced high spirited aggression filled rocker with a great chorus and layers of additional instrumentation. Second Chance is a monster modern rock ballad with orchestration adding to the atmosphere and a surprisingly melodic lead vocal. It is an impressive start to the album, but what is more impressive is the fact it doesn't stop there, rather it continues track for track until the last note of the album. Other highlights include the frantic overdrive of Cry For Help, a song simply drenched in guitars; the big hard rocking ballad The Crow & The Butterfly; the more restrained, but still energetic If You Only Knew, which is this time fuelled by a flurry of acoustic guitars. What a Shame is a hit waiting to happen on modern rock radio; Cyanide Sweet Tooth is as intense as it gets; Call Me uses a bare lead vocal and strings to convey the emotion within. The special edition of the album features 3 bonus tracks, all of which are high energy heavy rockers and help balance the album's slower parts out with a big finish. In places this album reminds me of the spirit and attitude and even the delivery of Gun's classic but underrated Swagger record – just with a 2008 sound and guitar sound. Take another listen to that album and appreciate how ahead of their time Gun was.
And you know what - it's a really loud album without being one of those overbearing, badly mastered noise-fests. It really is beautifully recorded and mastered.
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05/10/08: Sava Karadzic - svemirski_modulator@yahoo.com
03/10/08: the rocker - jrachubinski@yahoo.com
03/10/08: Paul Melling - mellingp@hotmail.com
03/10/08: Paul (Adelaide, SA) - paulankles26@hotmail.com
01/10/08: RockMan - purjfo98@msn.com
01/10/08: CJ Plain - CJPlain@yahoo.com
30/09/08: Darren D - starchild72@bigpond.com
30/09/08: Deddy - deddy@sin-band.com
30/09/08: GS - mrsromek@yahoo.com
Rating: 90
Best Shinedown album so far!
Rating: 90
have to agree with the above.i love all 3 cd's. one of my fave. modern bands along with nickelback ,theory of a deadman , and tantric
Rating: 99
Wow! This is the real deal and is pure quality from start to finish. Power,melody,guitar and vocal harmonies..just bloody awesome.
Buy this and play LOUD!!!
Rating: 85
It's about time that Shinedown started getting some coverage on this website. The album is great, but I only gave it 85, because it's not as good as their first 2 albums. For newcomers, I rate their first album (Leave a Whisper) a pure 100 - my favourite album of the last 10 years! And the 2nd album (Us and Them) is about 90. Get their other albums now!
Rating: 85
This is ok for what it is. I didn't like the guitar arrangement on Devour but the chorus is ok. The rest is very good. It sounds like a Nickelback clone to these ears but that's ok and a good thing as there aren't many bands that can do that sound well. Not bad but nothing great.
Rating: 100
I have to go above and beyond what Andrew said. This is, single handedly, one of the greatest efforts put on wax in the past 10 years by ANY band. This CD rocks from beginning to end. There simply is NOT a bad song of these entire 14 tracks.
I can't wait to see how they translate live.
Rating: 95
Album of the year for me.
Rating: 100
Amazing Modern Rock!!!
Second Chance,Call Me,Devour,What a Shame are my fav Songs!
But the hole album is very very outstanding!!!
Deddy
Rating: 0
This album is amazing. I agree with Andrew on the Best Tracks asterisked above. Personally, What a Shame and Breaking Inside are my favorites. Go out and get this album-it is their best one yet!
ADD YOUR OWN REVIEW! (Ratings out of 100)
