Tag: Brent Smith

My Sunday Song – “45” by Shinedown

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For My Sunday Song #321, we are starting our 10 song run with 10 songs from the band Shinedown. First up is the song “45” from their debut album ‘Leave a Whisper’ which was released on May 27, 2003. “45” is the second single on the album and was released on July 29th of that same year. It is a platinum selling single with over 1,000,000 in sales and it reached #3 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.

The song was written by Brent Smith and Tony Battaglia and was a little controversial for its lyrics. However, it wasn’t supposed to be a literal interpretation of the lyrics. The whole gun scenario was a metaphor. The song is really about that point in your life where you wake up, look at yourself in the mirror and decide that it is time to be you and make yourself happy. A coming of age story that sees you stepping in to adulthood. When you are looking in the mirror, you are forced to see yourself in the same way looking down a barrel of a gun makes you see who you really are.

People took it literal and as a result, MTV wanted to edit the video to remove a few of the lyrics from the video and they actually aired an edited version of the video without the bands consent. Brent Smith didn’t want it played because he felt the edit took away from the meaning of the song. The video was apparently removed, but it didn’t seem to harm the success of the song.

The song isn’t a ballad, but it is a slow tempo and the chorus does get all powerful. Brent’s vocals are sympathetic to the plight of figuring out who you are. You can feel the pain and struggle the person is going through during this critical time. There is such a serious tone to the music, yet it is empathetic sounding. The song builds to the chorus where Brent’s vocals soar and the music matches the intensity. Barry Kerch’s drums are so powerful and make you feel every ounce of struggle with every drum beat. It is a beautiful battle of the mind played through the music. Really well done.

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Shinedown – The Albums Ranked Worst to First

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Shinedown was formed in Jacksonville, Florida back in 2001 and it only took two years to get a record deal and release their debut album ‘Leave a Whisper’.  Their post-grunge, hard rock sound garnered them fast attention and they have since become one of the biggest acts in the business.  Their music could be really heavy and it can be soft with a touching ballad, but whichever way you get it, it is going to be melodic and catchy as hell which has brought them great success.

Now, how did I get in to Shinedown.  Believe it or not, it was Chris Daughtry from American Idol.  I was watching the show and Chris came out and did  a fantastic cover of “I Dare You” by Shinedown.  At the time, I was not familiar with the band and as a result of him singing it, I went out and listened to the album and the rest is history.  I have been a fan of Shinedown ever since.

They have 6 studio albums, one live album and numerous E.P.’s.  We are only going to focus on the studio albums to keep it simple. So, why don’t we get started.

THE WORST – ‘THREAT TO SURVIVAL’ (2015):

Shinedown doesn’t really have a worst album, but one album has to be my least favorite and this one is it for me.  I felt this one had too much filler and a little too soft overall when compared to the rest.  Yes, you had some heavy songs, I only think they weren’t as strong as other albums.  A little too soft.  The back half of the album was weaker and it started to lose me until you get to the last song “Misfits” which was pretty awesome.

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Shinedown – “Devil” – Single Review

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With Shinedown, when they release a song or an album you know what you are going to get.  They have a sound and a style that works and they don’t stray far from that formula.  With the new album coming on May 4th, ‘Attention, Attention’, Shinedown is trying to do just that…get your attention.

The album is basically a concept album  The songs will take you on a journey of a person who is starting in a very dark, ominous place and take you all the way through to the other side where this person is done battling his mind and his issues and coming out a changed person.  I love concept albums so I can’t wait to get ahold of this an take this journey.

The first single is “Devil”, which is the first song on this story through the mind.  According to Brent Smith in an interview with Billboard, he states the following:

“‘DEVIL’ is about being afraid, ‘DEVIL’ is about being terrified of not only yourself, in some respects, but the world around you, and understanding that there are so many things and so many different situations and people and places and atmospheres and exposure that human beings are put in front of on a daily basis, [and] the world can be a really difficult place to navigate. So that’s where the story starts.”

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