Rating: 9.0/10
Coming off the platinum release of The Sound of Madness in 2008, which included the mega-hit "Second Chance," Shinedown had some high expectations for their fourth studio album Amaryllis. Those expectations were exceeded. This is probably my favorite of their four offerings. The tracks are catchy, hit hard, and get you all sorts of PUMPED UP. This can be said about pretty much every Shinedown release, but this one is different in that it lacks the depressing, self-deprecating lyrics, and instead focus (for the most part) on rising above, overcoming, and proving people wrong. Nowhere is this more the case than with my favorite track on the album "Unity." The name may seem a little corny, and maybe the song is too, but it just gets me excited, pumped up, and ready to go. It's the kind of a feel-good, motivational, radio-friendly hit that made "Second Chance" so successful three years ago (Watch the video on the right.) The whole album gives me an attitude of "Fuck you, I like who I am," and they pull off this overall message very well for the most part. The one exception would be "Bully," because it seems kind of childish for a band that's been around for this long to still be singing about school bullies. Plus, Three Days Grace had a near-identical song on their last album. Even so, for being the worst song on the album, it's still a damn decent track.
Of course, Brent Smith's vocals are on point; he has one of my favorite voices in rock music. A lot of the songs on Amaryllis include strings which just make them feel... bigger. They maintain a good balance of heavy, fast tracks with the slower tracks, because the slower tracks on this album tend to hit me the hardest. In conclusion, I've always liked Shinedown, but was never a HUGE fan. After this album, they are definitely in the short list of my favorite metal bands.
Favorite Songs :
1. Unity - Catchy, motivational track
2: Through The Ghost - Slower track, no drums, way different from the rest, but still a near perfect song.
3. Amaryllis - Brent Smith really lets his voice shine on the title track
Least Favorite Songs:
1. Bully- Kind of childish lyrical content
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