Often going under the radar, Shinedown albums always sell big time.
Why? The answer’s here on their fifth, and arguably best, release. The Florida four-piece might have roots settled in the nu metal turf of 15 years ago, but they’ve a flexible, deceptively simple sense of dense melody.
It’s ‘deceptive’, because while songs like Cut The Cord, Outcast and How Did You Love are catchy, they also have a sophistication that means you hear different nuances every time you play them. It’s modern pop rock, with flashes of funk (as on It All Adds Up), whipping rhythms (Dangerous) and darkness (Oblivion). You can hear nods towards Def Leppard and The Cars, but equally there are intensely melodic moments that will appeal to those who like a little more thrust.
It’s a highly personal album; the band have delved into the incidents and personalities that have shaped them. This is summed up by the two tracks that bookend the album. Asking For It is a brash entrance, while Misfits is a slyly rebellious exit. Threat To Survival is essentially Shinedown finding highly charged emotional depth.
