Shinedown’s latest album is a welcome return to one of the most solid rock and roll bands of the modern era. ‘Sounds of Madness’ provides a solid blend of both hard rock tracks and ballads. While nothing on the album will blow people away, there is nothing that people could write off as what I like to refer to as ‘Nickelback Trash’. Shinedown borrows a great deal of their music from the genre of Southern Rock and stadium rock but can still surprise with a flash of aggression reminiscent of Trash Metal bands.
Shinedown, hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, burst onto the music scene with ‘Fly from the Inside’ off their album “Leave a Whisper”. Since then they have garnered a great deal of respect for their live shows and solid rock singles. One of the biggest reasons for Shinedown’s success is their lead singer Brent Smith who shows flashes of Chris Cornell when he screams at the top of his lungs. Yes, I said it. Brent Smith has as commanding and awe-inspiring a voice as Chris Cornell.
The Sounds of Madness is a promising album with several potential big hits among its track list. There is a chance that the single selection as demonstrated so far may not do the album justice. While I believe Devour may be the hardest rocking of the bunch I do not believe it was necessarily the ideal choice for the opening single. When I first heard the song I did not know it was Shinedown and immediately changed the station as soon as I heard the opening line do to the fact that I thought it was yet another song by Disturbed.
I believe the band would have been better served had they chosen to release “Cyanide Sweet Tooth (Suicide)” as the opening single. The song has an aggressive drum beat and guitar riff and the vocals and lyrics are outstanding though they cover clichéd rock topics. “Tastes like sugar but it’s Novacaine”…etc. As far as ballads go the most obvious choice is “The Crow and The Butterfly” this song has potential to become a smash crossover hit and thus solidifying Shinedown’s place in the music scene.
On the negative side I believe that the album is far too short. 11 tracks is short by any estimate these days and it wouldn’t be so much of an issue if it weren’t for the fact that the album seems to lack its second bookend. The opening track is Devour while the closing track is “Call Me” which, while a beautiful piano driven ballad in its own right, does not serve as an appropriate ending for an album by Shinedown.
Another weakness is in the inconsistency of the lyrics. At many times the album seems to spit out a clichéd rhyme scheme instead of depth of thought and feelings. This would not be so aggravating if it weren’t for the fact that there are other times when the lyrics are thoughtful, insightful and well written.
All in all the album is a solid third release that does not raise or lower the bar for Shinedown.
Overall 79%.
Key Songs: Sin With a Grin
Cyanide Sweet Tooth
The Crow and the Butterfly
