Shinedown
The Sound Of Madness

THE REVIEW

Greetings to all, I apologize in advance for choosing a CD that has already been discussed for my debut as a reviewer, namely "The Sound Of Madness" by Shinedown. However, I believe, without wishing to offend anyone, that the review already available is a bit too sparse and lacking in information; it does not do justice to what I consider to be a truly great album. But let's proceed straight to listening to the album.

The five from Jacksonville start off strong with the heaviest track in the bunch, the single "Devour," noteworthy for its interesting military march-like background created by drums and keyboard and the heavy singing of a novel Brent Smith in a David Drainman from Disturbed mode; powerful and adrenaline-pumping. The pace does not drop with the title track "The Sound Of Madness," thanks especially to the good guitar riffs and the anthem-like chorus (unexpected from Shinedown, but interesting because of it) "I've created the sound of madness / wrote the book of pain / somehow I'm still here / to explain..

After two excellent hard rock songs (comparisons have already been made with some "Metallica" tracks, and indeed the style is similar) Shinedown place the album's first ballad, and it's another thumbs up: "Second Chance," this is the title of the song, is an intense and poetic ballad, perhaps even with personal value for the singer, as it addresses conflicting relationships within a family, problems to which he has not been a stranger. The sound returns to heavy with "Cry For Help," good but less accomplished than the openers, but it doesn't matter: it serves only as a transitional track to two songs that are as many small masterpieces: "The Crow And The Butterfly," a song that circulated in live performances before this album, an epic ballad masterfully interpreted by Smith and accompanied by a beautiful orchestral background of violins, and "If You Only Knew," the band's first real love song, certainly successful; the chorus, very romantic, would be a crime not to propose it on the radio as the next hit: "it's 4:03 and I can't sleep / without you next to me I toss and turn like the sea / if I drown tonight bring me back to life / breathe your breath in me, the only thing that I still believe in is you / if you only