Shinedown make a complete departure from their previous sound and it completely pays off.
There are a lot of reasons I thought Threat to Survival was going to crash and burn. I've been a huge fan of Shinedown since Leave a Whisper and over time I have watched their sound evolve and change as time has passed. Sometimes those changes lead to greatness like the unbelievably underrated Us and Them and sometimes it falls completely flat like the utterly boring and repetitive Amaryllis. I left Amaryllis feeling very worried for the band, and after hearing the admittedly well performed but altogether not that interesting acoustic covers released last year I was utterly terrified at the prospect of a new album, fearing that it would be another regression from a band that has made some truly great music in the 14 years since they were formed. Thankfully all my fears were for naught.
With Threat to Survival Shinedown have once again evolved and have completely succeded in making something unique, fun and most importantly interesting. Many if not all of the songs take inspiration from genres outside of the hard rock genre which leaves us with some of the most interesting and different songs to come out of this band to date. Songs like 'State of my Head' and 'How Did You Love' have a definite pop-rock feel and really showcase Shinedown's ability to make catchy and infectious songs that really remind me of their Sound of Madness days (or at least the more pop influenced songs on that album). On the complete flip side songs like 'Asking For It', 'Cut the Cord' and 'Dangerous' showcase the fact that Shinedown still know how to make some really fun and energetic rock songs and songs like 'It All Adds Up' and 'Black Cadilac' have a real blues rock feel to them that really gives me a strong Us and Them vibe. Threat to Survival really leaves you craving more in a good way and is definitely miles ahead of it's predecessor.
That isn't to say all of the songs are successes though. 'Thick as Thieves' is incredibly boring and really feels like a b-side track at best with it's lack of interesting instrumentation, vocals or lyrics. Sadly that isn't the only song that falls flat. The closing song 'Misfits' while not really bad is just okay and certainly fails to live up to closing tracks like Us and Them's 'Some Day' or The Sound of Madness' 'Call Me' and fails to really impress altogether.
Threat to Survival manages to succeed on the technical side of things too. The production is incredibly well done on almost every track and it all sounds very crisp and clean. Zach Meyers does a wonderful job creating some really infectious guitar melodies while Eric Bass does a great job not only on his bass but on his keyboard and really gets a chance to shine on this album especially on 'Black Cadillac'. Barry Kerch does a pretty good job on the drums throughout the album, especially on 'Cut the Cord' where he really gets his chance to add a real punch to the song but I'd be lying if I felt he wasn't a little underutilized on this record. However the real star of the show as always is Brent Smith. His vocal performance on the album is great and he really gets to show off his raw vocal power and range as well as his ability to really convey emotion effectively.
After all is said and done Threat to Survival is an excellent album that really plays to Shinedown's strengths. The entire album is catchy with enough variety and quality to keep listeners coming back for more each time. Shinedown have really made a massive recovery off the heels of what is probably their worst album to date and have managed to once again create an interesting and fun album with the quality of Shinedown albums passed.
There are a lot of reasons I thought Threat to Survival was going to crash and burn. I've been a huge fan of Shinedown since Leave a Whisper and over time I have watched their sound evolve and change as time has passed. Sometimes those changes lead to greatness like the unbelievably underrated Us and Them and sometimes it falls completely flat like the utterly boring and repetitive Amaryllis. I left Amaryllis feeling very worried for the band, and after hearing the admittedly well performed but altogether not that interesting acoustic covers released last year I was utterly terrified at the prospect of a new album, fearing that it would be another regression from a band that has made some truly great music in the 14 years since they were formed. Thankfully all my fears were for naught.
With Threat to Survival Shinedown have once again evolved and have completely succeded in making something unique, fun and most importantly interesting. Many if not all of the songs take inspiration from genres outside of the hard rock genre which leaves us with some of the most interesting and different songs to come out of this band to date. Songs like 'State of my Head' and 'How Did You Love' have a definite pop-rock feel and really showcase Shinedown's ability to make catchy and infectious songs that really remind me of their Sound of Madness days (or at least the more pop influenced songs on that album). On the complete flip side songs like 'Asking For It', 'Cut the Cord' and 'Dangerous' showcase the fact that Shinedown still know how to make some really fun and energetic rock songs and songs like 'It All Adds Up' and 'Black Cadilac' have a real blues rock feel to them that really gives me a strong Us and Them vibe. Threat to Survival really leaves you craving more in a good way and is definitely miles ahead of it's predecessor.
That isn't to say all of the songs are successes though. 'Thick as Thieves' is incredibly boring and really feels like a b-side track at best with it's lack of interesting instrumentation, vocals or lyrics. Sadly that isn't the only song that falls flat. The closing song 'Misfits' while not really bad is just okay and certainly fails to live up to closing tracks like Us and Them's 'Some Day' or The Sound of Madness' 'Call Me' and fails to really impress altogether.
Threat to Survival manages to succeed on the technical side of things too. The production is incredibly well done on almost every track and it all sounds very crisp and clean. Zach Meyers does a wonderful job creating some really infectious guitar melodies while Eric Bass does a great job not only on his bass but on his keyboard and really gets a chance to shine on this album especially on 'Black Cadillac'. Barry Kerch does a pretty good job on the drums throughout the album, especially on 'Cut the Cord' where he really gets his chance to add a real punch to the song but I'd be lying if I felt he wasn't a little underutilized on this record. However the real star of the show as always is Brent Smith. His vocal performance on the album is great and he really gets to show off his raw vocal power and range as well as his ability to really convey emotion effectively.
After all is said and done Threat to Survival is an excellent album that really plays to Shinedown's strengths. The entire album is catchy with enough variety and quality to keep listeners coming back for more each time. Shinedown have really made a massive recovery off the heels of what is probably their worst album to date and have managed to once again create an interesting and fun album with the quality of Shinedown albums passed.