Shinedown
Somewhere In The Stratosphere

THE REVIEW

Somewhere In The Stratosphere. It's hidden there, 20 km high, why the rock band Shinedown has never fully convinced Europe. The group formed in Jacksonville, Florida (the same city as the southern masters of the '70s, Lynyrd Skynyrd) after three highly respected albums, including the platinum record in the USA "The Sound Of Madness" from 2008, released in 2011 "Somewhere In The Stratosphere," a double CD/DVD live that assembles the band's best tracks. The first disc was recorded during a live show in Washington, while the second is an acoustic live in Kansas City.

This double CD/DVD anticipates the release of the band's latest effort, "Amaryllis," due in spring 2012.

Returning to the live performance, the leader Brent Smith confirms his excellent vocal skills in most of the tracks, although during the first performance, he will let himself go into a descending crescendo. The opening belongs to the explosive "Sound Of Madness" and "Devour," the latter seasoned with the shy 'screams' of guitarist Zach Myers not present in the original version. The sound is clean, and the rest of the quartet performs without evident flaws but without overdoing it. Describing a double live album, furthermore composed of two performances taking place in different locations and times, might be prolix, but while trying to be as concise as possible, it's hard not to emphasize a track like "Diamond Eyes," a track not found on any of the band's albums, but a key track of the film soundtrack "The Expendables" by S. Stallone. To be clear, the track is as 'muscular' and 'American' as the film in question. 

Noteworthy is the cover of "Simple Man" by the aforementioned Lynyrd Skynyrd, really well done and engaging, a tribute to their much more experienced fellow citizens and musicians. Closing with the adrenaline of "Fly From The Inside," one of the tracks closest to the Metal that the band has ever written.

The second CD/DVD recorded in Kansas City sees our heroes performing in a more elegant and calm context, in a theater. One of the most successful tracks is "If You Only Knew" dedicated by Brent Smith to his son and prefaced by him with a long introduction highlighting among many things his detoxification from alcohol abuse.

Among the flamboyant performance of "The Crow & The Butterfly" and the melancholic "45," in this live, the cover included in the setlist is "Times Like These" by Foo Fighters, amusingly sung by the whole band and the convincingly performed piano-rock rendition of "Call Me," the only track ever written by the band based solely on a piano track. The closure belongs again to "Simple Man," a staple presence during the band's performances, and "Second Chance," one of their most famous hits.

Overall, the double live is a kind of overview of what the band has been able to do in recent years. In an increasingly 'plastic' and similar-to-itself rock scene, the performance of Shinedown proves to be satisfying and at the same time open to a very wide audience. The only flaw related to this live is precisely its commercialization, as apart from several US online stores, it is hard to find on the most common portals, and in some cases, priced at prohibitive figures (e.g., €54 on a famous buy/sell site).

We can only wait for a performance as a headliner also in Italy.