Album Review — Shinedown

Shinedown — Attention Attention

I hadn’t listened to a lot of Shinedown before Attention Attention was released. This is their sixth record and I’ve heard some of their stuff but not enough to feel like I know them as a band. So I’m basing my review on just my 3–4 times listening through the record. My initial reaction is I like them and I really like one song, but overall there’s not enough here for me to keep coming back.

I like the second half of the album a lot more than the first half. The first half sounds more modern and has more of that Linkin Park talk/rap going on. It’s heavy, which is good, but it’s a little too modern for me.

The album takes a turn at track 6. My favorite line of the album comes from the song “Pyro” — “Set fire to the family tree” is a haunting line at the end of the chorus. Cool, heavy song.

“Monsters” follows and sounds like another song that I can’t put my finger on. Regardless, I like the song.

My favorite song on the record by far is “Creatures”. It’s got that rock anthem kind of feel that I’m guessing will be a concert highlight.

I also enjoy “Get Up” and “Special” which are two of the more radio friendly songs on the record.

If the entire record was like the second half I’d like it a lot more. I don’t dislike any of the songs, but there’s not a lot that’s memorable for me. There’s a lot of modern sounding stuff which isn’t bad, but I’d rather listen to Linkin Park. There’s a lot of great music out there to listen to and there just isn’t enough here for Attention Attention to grab my attention.

Grade — 79 out of 100

Track Listing

1. The Entrance
2. Devil
3. Black Soul
4. Attention Attention
5. Kill Your Conscience
6. Pyro *
7. Monsters *
8. Darkside
9. Creatures *
10. Evolve
11. Get Up *
12. Special *
13. The Human Radio
14. Brilliant

*Best Songs