Editorial Review:Amazon.com:Shinedown’s highly anticipated third album,
The Sound Of Madness, is due out on Atlantic Records on June 24, 2008. The record opens with lead single 'Devour.' Its heavy onslaught of ripping guitars and relentless drums would not sound out of place on a Guitar Hero soundtrack. Of the album, frontman Brent Smith says 'In the seven years of this thing called Shinedown, I’ve seen a lot of different things - what we’ve all gone through on the road, things in our personal lives or witnessed firsthand through the fans that we’ve made and the relationships we’ve built with our audience. I think the biggest thing was I didn’t want to sugarcoat the way life can be sometimes.' Their face-melting rock comes as no surprise, considering that the band hails from sultry Jacksonville, Florida. Their 2003 debut album,
Leave A Whisper, and sophomore follow-up,
Us And Them, have been RIAA-certified platinum and gold respectively and they have had songs featured on the WWE, ESPN and in various video games. Shinedown will be out on the road this spring and summer, playing a handful of radio shows and outdoor festivals including Rock On The Range before setting out on their own headlining tour.
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Disc 1:- Devour
- Sound of Madness
- Second Chance
- Cry for Help
- The Crow & The Butterfly
- If You Only Knew
- Sin With a Grin
- What a Shame
- Cyanide Sweet Tooth
- Breaking Inside
- Call Me
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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awsome
This is a great CD. It has a little bit of everything. Shinedown is one of those few bands that can pull anything off. If they were to sing the phone book you could still rock out to it.
Rating: -
Incredible Album. Lives Up to the Hype.
I'm not a Shinedown fan. Before this album, I was only familiar with their song, 'I Dare You.' I was searching Amazon.com for some kind of rock music to put on my Oakley Thumps and listen to while running. After reading the positive reviews, I decided to check this out. I'm 38 and this is one of the best rock albums I've heard. At first, I liked the fast-paced rock songs, but wasn't too enthused about the slower ones. After listening to the lyrics over and over, I now love every song on the album.
If you listen to no other song on the album, download 'Sound of Madness.' That song will rip your skull open, take your brain out, pound it on the pavement, then put it back. When I first bought the album I couldn't stop playing it. I still can't.
If you like rock (FYI - Pearl Jam Ten is my favorite album ever), I think you'll like this.
Rating: -
Simply Amazing
I was a little bit skeptic when I bought this album. It was my first exploration into the world of Shinedown. Luckily, when I listened to the album for the first time I could not find a song that I didn't like. Each and every one is absolutely perfect. It has fast songs like Devour and Sin With a Grin, plus slower songs like If You Only Knew and What A Shame.
I let my mom borrow the cd to listen to in her car soon after I got it. Now, she is in love with it too and refuses to give it back.
This album has quickly become one of my favorite albums of all time, which is no small feat considering I have amassed almost 5,000 songs in my collection. I recommend this album to anyone who wants to rock and who just loves great music. You can't go wrong with The Sound of Madness.
Rating: 
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Great band
I saw Shinedown on Jay Leno, and it isn't often that a band impresses me. I bought the CD and am very pleased with it. Of course, there are a few songs I don't particularly care for, but the majority of them are really great. I'm glad I made the (small) investment for the CD. It was certainly worth it.
Rating: -
Emotion and Conviction = GREAT Hard Rock Album
The unique feature about Shinedown is that they are able to balance between heavy rock to the ballads on offer.
I quite like that the band appear to be taking chances instead of being content with doing the "same-old". For example "Second Chance" is slower and more of a melodic offering. The single "Second Chances" use a heavier string presence and the guys have ensured that they don't waste time on any of the tracks.
It seems to mean that the singer's had a falling out with his parents and left them in an apparent state of anger. And because he can't talk to them, he is then using this song (his one and only voice) to tell them that he's actually not angry at them but he just needed to get away so he could have a life of his own.
His old life, with the parents, may have been secluded, since he was watching "the world outside" and left to be a part of it. Since he's telling the listener that he "made it through the day" he probably used to be very depressed with his situation, possibly even on drugs. But now he's okay (eyes open wide), and there's no need to be sorry for him, because he's living his second chance right now.
Another personal favourite on the album is bound to be with many and that is the song "The Crow and the Butterfly".
This is essentially a poem about loss and the vacant silence that one encounters when you lose someone close to you. It is most likely to be about the loss of a relationship although as a poem it could mean the loss of a non-intimate relationship, notice the use of "I painted your room" not "our room."
What is obvious is that the author is marking the sense of loss (of the day and the person) by painting the room. With time and maturity he is losing his belief in superstition - even putting the book with the 4 leafed clovers on the top shelf.
The pictures coming off the wall indicate a sense of closure, although there's still a great sense of tenderness over them (and therefore the person lost) - in that the pictures are wrapped carefully in newspaper `blankets'.
The metaphor of the dandelion (seeds) being blown into the wind - and disappearing from sight against the summer sky indicates how easy the loss of the relationship happened, and that there is a permanent feeling about the loss (he won't get her back). Because he's taken her for granted (I never thought you'd slip away) and because he was too late in showing his appreciation.
The last three lines emphasise the rawness of the loss - the fact that (her) voice still echoes in his ear, and the absence has made him unable to sleep or breathe so that he feels as though he's dying.
"If You Only Knew" - the song with the extra emotional impact. "What a Shame" seems to be the groups answer to "45".
"Call Me" is by far my ultimate favourite song on their latest offering for many reasons. It starts out with a large piano ballad with minimal string involvement and the Brent showcases genuine emotion and conviction in his voices making it a good choice for a closing track.
Call me by Shine Down, my interpretation:
* This song is about loss of some sort, most likely the breaking up of a relationship.
* The singer seems to be taking the initiative in leaving. ("You know I live my like a gypsy" and so on)
* Another possibility is that someone has actually died. ("I lost my whole life and a dear friend")
The following is helpful in understanding my interpretation:
My only criticism and minor would be that next time there needs to be more insight into the characters of the songs that will give it a greater depth and Shinedown will then have perfected the craft. Howeever, this is a minor detail hence the 5 stars stand. They deserve it!!
