For My Sunday Song #455, we are talking Pop Evil and their first #1 song, “Trenches”. The song is off their third album, the 2013 release ‘Onyx’. An album that went to #3 on the Rock Charts thanks to this one and three other #1 songs. The band consists of Leigh Kakaty, Nick Fuelling, Dave Grahs, Matt DiRito and Josh Marunde.
The song was written by Leigh Kakaty with the help of Dave Bassett who is a big time songwriter. The song is about battling your demons and digging yourself out of the holes you’ve made or have been put in front of you. In this case, they are called “Trenches”. The song is about their never-ending grind they face in the music business but can be used to fit anyone’s life battles. The hard truth of not focusing on the things you can’t control and fight for the ones you can. I think it takes everyone a long time to learn how to do that, I know it did for me. The song is great mantra to live by.
The song kicks off with a killer, dirty and nasty guitar riff. This is modern rock that is hard and heavy and a punch to the face. The drums are fierce, the bass is thumping and Leigh attacks those vocals with a ferocious veracity. He wants you to feel the words he sings and you definitely do. There is a mean ass guitar solo which is something we still need in our metal and hard rock. The song will get you pumped up and ready to fight your way out of the trenches in life you face.
For My Sunday Song #330, we end the Shinedown 10 song set with their biggest hit “Second Chance”. The song was off their 2008 smash album, ‘The Sound of Madness’ and was the second single off the album. It went to #1 on the Adult Top 40 and was the last #1 song played by Casey Kasem before he retired from his American Top 40 show. The song also went to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song alone has sold well over 3,000,000 copies. Not bad at all!!
The song was written by Brent Smith and Dave Bassett and is about the time in your life when you wake up and decide you are going to chase after your dream…do what you want to do. It is when you go outside of your little bubble and find out who you are and what you are here to do. Everyone deserves that chance to reach for their goals. The song for Brent was very personal as it was about the time he left his parents and went out on his own to learn to be a man. He said he still is learning that today. It sounds like his parents might not have agreed on his decision to pursue the rock career, but he had to do it.
The song is a power ballad in that it has a slower tempo, Brent’s vocals are soft and emotive at times. When the chorus hits it ramps up the power and the emotion. It is a very radio-friendly track as it pushes all the sappy buttons so no wonder it did well. But it is popular because it is a very good song. The lyrics can be cheesy at times, but the point behind the song is still beautiful and relevant. That climatic build-up, scream and drum fill at the end of the song, make it standout above the rest of the radio fodder. It is a well-crafted, brilliant song. It is one of those songs for me that I never tire of despite it being completely overplayed on the radio at the time.
For My Sunday Song #327, we are talking about the song “Sound of Madness” by Shinedown. The song is from the album ‘The Sound of Madness’ from 2008. The single was released on February 23, 2009 and went to #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and #85 on the Billboard Top 100. It helped propel the album to double platinum status with over 2,000,000 copies sold.
The song was written by Brent Smith and Dave Bassett and is basically a rant by Brent against people who sit and complain about their problems all the time. They feel they are always the victim and that they need to get off their ass and fight to fix their problems and not be consumed by them. He feels their misery is a self-serving prophecy as if you are always negative only negative things will happen to you. Brent states he knows as he wrote the book on it, but the difference is he stood up for himself.
The song is heavy with pounding, thunderous drums from Barry Kerch. And Zach Myer’s guitar is almost seamless with Eric Bass’ bass to give a great thumping rhythm. Nick Perri’s lead guitar is brutal and all together everything is loud and pulls you in. Brent’s vocals show an anger yet it is so melodic. The chorus is catchy and is hook-filled greatness. A killer track and easily to see why they named the album after it.
Give the song a listen and let me know what you think. Are you always negative or are you a fighter? Or do you know someone like who the song describes? Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the song. Have a wonderful and a Happy Sunday!! Stay positive!!
“Sound Of Madness”
Yeah, I get it You’re an outcast Always under attack Always coming in last Bringing up the past No one owes you anything
I think You need a shotgun blast A kick in the ass So paranoid Watch your back
Oh my, here we go
Another loose cannon gone bi-polar Slipped down, couldn’t get much lower Quicksand’s got no sense of humor I’m still laughing like hell
You think that by crying to me Looking so sorry that I’m gonna believe You’ve been infected by a social disease Well, then take your medicine
I created the sound of madness Wrote the book on pain Somehow I’m still here to explain That the darkest hour never comes in the night You can sleep with a gun When you gonna wake up and fight For yourself?
I’m so sick of this tombstone mentality If there’s an afterlife Then it’ll set you free But I’m not gonna part the seas You’re a self-fulfilling prophecy
You think that by crying to me Looking so sorry that I’m gonna believe You’ve been infected by a social disease Well, then take your medicine
I created the sound of madness Wrote the book on pain Somehow I’m still here to explain That the darkest hour never comes in the night You can sleep with a gun When you gonna wake up and fight For yourself
I created the sound of madness Wrote the book on pain Somehow I’m still here To explain That the darkest hour never comes in the night You can sleep with a gun When you gonna wake up When you gonna wake up and fight
I created the sound of madness Wrote the book on pain Somehow I’m still here To explain That the darkest hour never comes in the night You can sleep with a gun When you gonna wake up and fight For yourself
When you gonna wake up and fight for yourself? When you gonna wake up and fight for yourself? When you gonna wake up and fight for yourself?
For My Sunday Song #323, we are talking about bullies with the song “Bully” by Shinedown. The song was the first single off their 2012 album ‘Amaryllis’. The single was released on January 3, 2012 and #3 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs. It actually did break the Top 100 Charts landing at #94. The song did go Gold selling over 500,000 copies which isn’t bad. The song was written by Brent Smith, Zach Myers and Dave Bassett.
The song is about what you think it is about…Bullies!! It is definitely not condoning the actions of bullies, but instead telling people it is okay to stand-up for yourselves against bullies. Fight to survive against losing your self-respect and your dignity. Leave the bullies behind and they will become a faint memory. Brent’s father taught him to box so he would stand up to bullies…he has stated he got his butt kicked a few times, but he would stand up for himself.
The song is a pure rocker and an anthem for the underdog. Brent’s vocal deliver is more chant-like and then the chorus explodes in to a full on battle-cry to stand up for yourself. The guitar riffs are contagious and catchy as hell, there a ton of melodies. The guitar solo electrifying and then at the end of the song a chorus of kids with voices of angels join in and amplify the meaning to not back down. It is a powerful song with a powerful message.
For My Sunday Song #240, we are ending this 10 song set of Halestorm tracks with one of my favorite songs by the band, “Love Bites (So Do I)” off the band’s 2012 album ‘The Strange Case of…’. The song was the first single off the album and is the opening track and it went to #2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It also garnered a Grammy for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance at the 2013 Grammy Awards. The song was written by Lzzy Hale and Dave Bassett.
The song is about her disdain for those women’s magazine and their quizzes telling people who they should date and what they should wear and all that crap. This song is Lzzy telling everyone to love whoever they want and however they want. If love bites, then bite it right back. For me, it is also saying love with all your heart and passion and don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t good enough. Give the relationship 100% of you.
Musically, the song was actually inspired by the songs “Slave to the Grind” by Skid Row and “Out ta Get Me” by Guns ‘n Roses. The band covered those songs for the first covers E.P. ‘Reanimate’. The aggression and tempo of those songs was so huge, the band wanted to do something like that. And let me tell you, they captured that energy nicely. This song explodes out of the gate and never slows down. It is fire & brimstone raining down on you! Lzzy is at her best and delivers one of her most powerful vocal performances and proves to me she is a talent like no other and everyone should take notice. Joe Hottinger’s guitar riffs and solo are nasty and he shreds with the best of them. Josh Smith on bass and Arejay Hale are going 100 mph and laying down a pace that is so close to being thrash. It is quite amazing.
For My Sunday Song #232, we are going to discuss the ballad “Dear Daughter” by Halestorm off their 2015 album ‘Into the Wild Life’. The song wasn’t a single, but actually became very popular with fans, so much in fact a video was made for the song. The album went to #5 on the Billboard Charts and did really well for the band with songs like this one.
“Dear Daughter” is a tribute to Lzzy Hale’s and Arejay’s parents as they are brother and sister. Lzzy’s parents were so supportive for what her and her brother wanted to do with their life although they were terrified for their kids on the tough path ahead of them. After a conversation she had with her mom, Lzzy went to social media actually asked her fans…what do you wish your parents had said to you? Those responses inspired her to write this song using the answers she received from her fans. It is a really cool idea. With the song, Lzzy has said she is “passing the torch” to each little girl in the audience so they can see you can do whatever you want to do in your life.
The song is a ballad and for a heavy guitar band, it is great to see their softer side with a piano based song for which Lzzy wrote the music on. Lzzy wrote it with fellow bandmate Joe Hottinger and composer Dave Bassett. It is a beautiful song and so different that anything else the band had done it was really refreshing to see the softer side of the band. Apparently the version we here is only the 2nd take of the song. I guess she really was inspired.
2 Loud 2 Old Music 