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Shinedown
Shinedown's first hit "Fly From The Inside" was the result of one of those fortunate "demanding" situations. While recording '03 release "Leave A Whisper" the Jacksonville (FL) group was getting pressure to write a hit single. So "Fly From The Inside" was composed in a few hours. It was time well spent since the song scored on the Modern Rock charts (breaking the Top 10). On tour, they opened for Seether and 3 Doors Down.
Shinedown formed in '01 after Brent Smith left his previous band at the altar - just about to sign a recording contract. Though claiming Lynyrd Skynyrd (local heroes) and Led Zeppelin as major influences, Shinedown leaned more toward the Tool-Staind vein. They found local success "selling the drama" - riding Smith's vocal fury and strident guitar lines - that led Atlantic Records to sign them.
Shinedown followed "Leave A Whisper" with a superior '05 effort, "Us And Them," containing the #1 Active Rock hit "Save Me."
In April, '08, Smith reported that Silvertide guitarist Nick Perri had replaced Jasin Todd. The announcement came just two days after Todd was arrested in Jacksonville, FL, on charges of disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer. Smith added that Todd's departure from the group "all went down awhile ago." Todd eventually landed with Fuel.
Smith also announced that Eric Bass was the band's bassist. Barry Kerch was able to put on good spin on the changes. "The guys that were with us before just didn't work out," explained the drummer. "The last thing Brent and I could do was let this band die, for ourselves and our fans."
Shinedown released their third album, "The Sound Of Madness" in '08. "Honestly, that is the only name that this record could have been called," said Smith. "It's built around the madness that happens in everyday life." Smith went on to say, "When I am dead and gone, I want people to say that this was a record that the world needed." Produced by Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance), "Devour," the lead single, was Shinedown's second #1 on the Active Rock chart. The song was heard on WWE pay-per-view Night of Champions 2008, in the soundtrack for the '09 film, The Final Destination, and on Madden NFL 09.
Second Chance", the second single, became the group's biggest hit to date peaking at #7 on the Billboard 100, eventually going double platinum. Ironically, the band hated the song when they first wrote it.
Later in the year, Shinedown appeared in the HBO documentary Blindsided, which told the story of guitarist Jared Hara who went blind at the age of 11 due to a genetic disease. As part of the film, Hara jammed with Shinedown on their tour bus and performed in-concert with the group.
The Sight Of Madness, the band's first digital video album, dropped in '09.
Off the road, Shinedown began work on a new album in '11 but according to guitarist Zach Myers it would be a while before it came out. "We aren't a band that goes into the studio and makes a record in six weeks," stated Myers. "'The Sound Of Madness' took 24 months to write."
In the meantime, Shinedown issued "Somewhere In The Stratosphere," a deluxe 2 CD/2 DVD package with audio and video from two full live sets, one acoustic and one electric.
As work on their next album progressed Smith discussed the project in an interview with Artisan News. "We can't compare any of the other records to this one - just like we can't compare the first one to the second one or the third one to the first one," said Smith. "We pride ourselves on being a band that each record sounds completely different than the last."
Studio Albums:
2003 Leave A Whisper
2005 Us And Them
2008 The Sound Of Madness
Live Albums:
2005 Live From The Inside
2011 Somewhere In The Stratosphere
What separates Shinedown from dozens of other mainstream Rock bands sporting Grunge influences and rebellious attitudes, is Smith's vocals. They are on a Chris Connell level in terms of passion and impact. That, in and of itself, is a rare find.
It's not surprising that "Fly From The Inside" was released as a single. The song, with its dark theatrical flare and a powerful well-crafted chorus, shows the quartet at its best. The acoustic to electric "Better Version" and the chunky "Burning Bright" are a couple other standouts.
It's a bit disconcerting when an album's name, whether by accident or design, is the same as a dreary, plodding, Pink Floyd track. Are we headed down the Prog Rock trail without a map? Thankfully, that's not the case though "Us And Them" opens with a young girl's narrative - something Pink Floyd would have done. After that, the album smokes. Had the album been released a decade earlier Shinedown would be heralded as one of Grunge's premier bands.
If Shinedown suffered a sophomore slump, at least commercially (their debut "Leave A Whisper" went platinum while follow-up "Us And Them" merely achieved gold), they returned with the multi-platinum worthy "The Sound Of Madness."
"I think the biggest thing was I didn't want to sugarcoat the way life can be sometimes," said Smith. That's evident on album opener "Devour," a burner that perfectly sets the tone. It is equaled by "Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide" with its scalding guitar and dour lyrics about a woman.
"The Sound Of Madness" has melodic songs with teeth. Shinedown even pulls off a couple power ballads, "The Crow & The Butterfly" and "Breaking Inside." The set closes with an acoustic guitar/piano ballad, "Call Me," typically a throw-away, it's actually good. But the down tempo songs are not what make this album. Shinedown brings genuine heat and power to "Sound Of Madness," "What A Shame" and "Cry For Help." Every time they cut loose, which is often, they kill.