ALBUM RECOMMENDATION (Shinedown - Threat to Survival)

As someone who began listening to music as a mere hobby and found out later that it was part of its true nature, I've come to realize that the more experienced you get in your journey as a musician, the less judgmental you become about other people talents and skills, as opposed to what happens to your musical taste, which gets more and more specific and selective while you advance and discover new singers and bands. I remember that, at first, I leaned towards a rather generic pop style and, little by little, started to pay more attention to some rocker and more aggressive sounds, for they probably felt more in sync with what I was going through in my life. And although I'm still fond of all type of genres, such as dance, hip-hop or rap, if I had to choose a favorite, it would be rock without a shadow of a doubt. Rock and roll runs in my veins. I may not be a huge fan of heavy metal, but I still prefer a good electric guitar sound combined with a powerful voice over other softer music, because I feel it's the most effective and convincing way of making a clear statement and sending a message to the world that could make a real difference. At least, that's how I feel when I listen to rock music and that's what happened to me when I first heard Shinedown song State of my Head. It sounded in a fan made video of the Joker movie and, as soon as I heard it, I had to know who they were. 

Ever since then, I have been discovering new music from them. I haven't listened to their full discography yet, just a few songs from some albums, but I do have listened entirely to Threat to Survival and it goes straight to my top list of rock and roll albums. This record is pure fire and energy. Brent Smith's voice is extremely powerful, and it evokes a soul music spirit that I just love. It reminds me a little of other great band singers like Dan Reynolds, of Imagine Dragons, or Eddie Anthony, of The Score. He clearly possesses an enormous vocal range, for some of the notes he sings, not only in the main vocals, but in most of the backing tracks, are extremely high and hard to hit with chest voice, and he manages to do it effortlessly. The electric guitars sound amazing as well. I cannot elaborate more about this because I don't really know much about electric guitars. I simply know that I love how they've been produced for this record and that it's a sound that I would like to achieve for my own songs. I'm still exploring and trying to find myself in that terrain, so I'm no expert at all or, at least, not as much as with other matters related to the voice or the composition, which leads me to next point: the songwriting. Unlike other albums I've reviewed before, where the lyrics were better than the melodies or the other way around, I think that, in this case, they're both equally great. I like how the aggressiveness of the epic music fits in with the raw honesty of the words and I relate deeply to the messages and ideas that they express. Songs like Dangerous or the earlier mentioned State of my Head are very motivating and encouraging. Others like Cut the Cord, How Did You Love or Asking for It feel rather claiming and demanding and, the last tracks on the record are more about a romantic relationship.  

All in all, a notorious contribution to modern rock that any rock and roll lover out there will undoubtedly enjoy. 

Favorite songs: Asking for It, Cut the Cord, State of my Head, How Did You Love, It All Adds Up and Dangerous.