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Shinedown
Us and Them


3.0
good

Review

by Zaine USER (13 Reviews)
October 30th, 2005 | 21 replies


Release Date: 2005 | Tracklist


::Shinedown::Us and Them::

Shinedown is a Rock and Roll band originating from Jacksonville, Florida. They started in 2001 and joined Atlantic Records just a year later in 2002. They got some major radio play with their singles “.45” and the Lynyrd Skynyrd cover of “Simple Man” Their second album “Us and Them” does not disappoint for fans of the first album. And lets get to that.

The Dream (:59): This isn’t a music track. It’s just an opening to the album. One might suggest that it’s filler because the whole album (this track included) barely cuts 50 minutes. It consists of either a girl or a young boy praying to god hoping for the world to become a good place, but that god is only listening to a dream. Not a bad way to open however.

Heroes (3:23): A pretty nice intro to this song. Although Brent has some absolutely amazing vocals, they seem stressed here. The song is about how all his “heroes have become ghosts.” Basically saying that he feels he has no one else to look up to, but they still live inside of him. Pretty cliché and not the greatest song in the world, but it gets the point across.

Save Me (3:33): The single from the album. It starts with a seemingly meaningless verse. “I’ve got a candle, and I’ve got a spoon.” Ok… It gets a little more understandable come the chorus where the meaning of the song becomes apparent. He wants somebody to save him from drug abuse. Yet another solid song, but it doesn’t show the true potential of this band; especially Brent.

I Dare You (3:53): A notch slower than “Heroes”, but still a good song. From what I hear, it sounds like it’s the conflict between his good thoughts and bad conscience. The sound reminds me a lot of the older sounding rock and roll artists. The chorus displays his vocal ability a little more this time around, but if you heard “Simple Man”, you would be a little disappointed.

Yer Majesty (3:00): A much faster song. This one is about someone (Majesty) who demands all these things to feel better about themselves but “he” can’t do anything about it so he should take no responsibility in it. Again a decent song, but a seemingly pointless rhetoric.

Beyond the Sun (4:13): This is more like it. Although the first really noteworthy song is a ballad-type member, it is still a great song. It is about loving and caring for someone so much, that you wish to give them a better life somewhere “Beyond the Sun” The chorus is the most amazing part of the song, FINALLY displaying some of Brent’s true ability. The bass really shines here as well. This is truly a beautiful song, and I don’t use that word often…”

Trade Yourself In (3:31): This song is about dealing with someone who is constantly complaining about themselves. “Trade yourself in for the perfect one.” A relatively catchy choruses but again, not a really good song. Brent sings with emotion, but sounds like he has none.

Lady So Divine (7:08): The longest track on the album. The drummer gets a little of the spotlight here with the chorus. This is another noteworthy track. The lyrics are decent but the music is top notch. Everybody for the first time on this album feels totally in sync and it shows. Brent’s singing isn’t the best here, but not to say that it’s bad. There’s an intense solo (not too many of these sadly) that never gets old for me. The meaning of the song I imagine is that his “Lady So Divine” has come to rescue him. So it’s this point that I realized that Shinedown likes the idea of saving people, because that is the subject for a lot of songs. Anyway, this is another of my faves on the album.

Shed Some Light (3:41): This is another really nice song. It pretty much all acoustic with some nice violia in the back. Brent’s vocals are again a highlight in this number. The song is basically Brent asking for someone to “Shed some light and hold him up in disbelief.” So he wants to hear the good truth that he thought wasn’t there. For an acoustic song, its very nice.

Begin Again (3:48): The opening verse contains a jungle tom beat that shows that the drummer DOES have some talent because he hasn’t been so creative in this album. As you might have assumed from the title, the song is about trying to begin again, or start life over, but it is seemingly impossible because the man who he was is too burdened with sins. The vocals are pretty good here, but again, like “Heroes”, they seem stressed. But still not a bad song.

Atmosphere (4:16): The intro to this song is completely different that what I expected. This is the classic rock and roll that Shinedown pulls off so well. The guitars get the spotlight in this song. It’s pretty much about looking down at the world and how F’ed up it is.
Quote:
Once I had a halo
But then it caught on fire
Once I knew a good man
But he turned into a liar
Once I saw a blind man
Still looking for his eyes
Once I met a bastard
Who watched his mama die
The vocals once again are very nice and the drums are simple but filling.

Fake (4:03): A pretty good song. The musical portion of it is very nicely done and the lyrics are also really good. Not too fond of the intro though. I’m not too sure who/what is fake here, but either way, the singer is getting sick of it. Overall this song is just another average one on the album. It is also very repetitive which I cannot stand from this song. This song leads us right into the final song…

Some Day (3:14): Hoo-Rah. This song is truly such a fantastic showcase of the band’s musical ability. Only downside is that it is yet another slower song. The lyrics “Maybe I was wrong to hold you up so high. Now I know I've lost you to the feelings I kept inside.” It’s about how someday he might be able to change things, whether it has to do with getting ‘her’ back or forgetting her altogether. This song is another beautiful song that really shows the band’s potential. They don’t do enough songs to the best of their abilities which is really disappointing.

To end, I would just like to say that Shinedown is a band that has a whole lot of potential and while I really loved “Leave a Whisper”, this album didn’t impress me so much. The singer, Brent has an incredible voice and I really wished that they would do more to show that. As far as musical ability, I can see potential in the drummer and the bassist, but the guitarist seems like your average Rock and Roll guitarist. Anyway, if you liked the first album, give this one a shot. If you feel like giving these guys a shot, buy “Leave a Whisper” instead, then see if you’ll like this one.

Shinedown is:
Brent Smith - Vocals
Jasin Todd – Guitars
Brad Stewart - Bass
Barry Kerch- Drums



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user ratings (602)
3.3
great
other reviews of this album
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The debut may have been all about Brent Smith, but Us and Them brings the rest of the band up a few ...

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Shinedown's Us and Them is a step up from the monotonous Leave A Whisper, but still leaves a lot to ...



Comments:Add a Comment 
Chilly-Bean-Bop
October 30th 2005


344 Comments


Shinedown is on the radio here all the time. I don't like them much. Good review.

CushMG15
October 30th 2005


1810 Comments


Pretty good review man, I've been meaning to check this out for awhile now. I enjoyed their first one a fair amount.

As far as your reivew, I'd reccommend rating the songs in the track by track. It allows, for me at least, a better feel for how the song compares to the rest of the album.

*The candle and spoon verse in Save Me is a reference to heroin*...didn't quite sound like you caught that.

Zaine
October 30th 2005


199 Comments


yeah, i didnt catch that. and from now on i'll rate the tracks. if it helps ya out

mranti
November 9th 2005


50 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

I just got this album yesterday, and as of now I'm not too impressed or dissapointed by it. The guitar work is pretty good, more so showcased in "lady so divine", and the vocals are done well also, but as far as the songs themselves go, they could be a hell of a lot better. That's pretty much how I feel about the first one, except a few choice tracks that I think are pretty good. I just keep hearing tinges of Soundgarden and Candlebox throughout Us And Them, it kinda ruins it for me. The album's good though, it's what I expected. Good review by the way.

Deifekt
November 24th 2005


42 Comments


I don't see why it's a downside to have the best songs be slow ballad types. Also, the opening track is a little girl, and she doesn't seem to be praying. "Lady So Divine" is about LSD, get it?

Good review, all in all, I suppose. Great album, though. I liked it better than "Leave a Whisper," but that's just me.

shinedown_is#1
December 24th 2005


4 Comments


this cd kicks ass. i was a little disappointed but not to bad.

livin2fight
December 26th 2005


2 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

just because you dont understand the song does not make it pointless, and yes this cd kicks ass

Storm In A Teacup
January 30th 2006


46399 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Even though they get the same ratings from me, Us And Them is slightly better than Leave A Whisper. Fantastic band.

SkodaATOM
February 6th 2006


69 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

How does "Leave a Whisper" have a 4.3 rating and "Us and Them" only have a 3.3 rating? "Us and Them" is better than "Leave a Whisper".....The songs are more complex....and there are....um....SOLOS.....not just one. Sure, they aren't that long in the songs they are featured, but that doesn't mean they aren't good solos. Jasin is a great rock guitarist. I just was curious why the rating was somewhat low.

superman7
February 7th 2006


1 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

At last someone commented on the addition of solos on this album. Leave a whisper has one solo on the whole cd while Us and Them is packed full of them. Heroes has a powerful solo in it and Lady so Divine's solo is straight out of the pages of classic rock. This band is very talented and has only gotten better with age. There is no doubt in my mind that Us and Them is a better album than Leave a Whisper. I am one of the biggest shinedown fans i know and i bought Us and Them the morning it came out and i have been rocking to it since then. This review is mediocre because of the writer's lack of understanding the music and lyrics. The lyrics improved and the music evolved and became more complex. If that isn't getting better than i don't know what is. And just for the record, to call Jasin Todd an average rock guitarist is the comment of someone who doesn't know the sound of a great guitarist.

Acey
April 27th 2006


2578 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

this cd is pretty good

i was disappointed but i can still listen to it today.

Diabulus in musica
May 18th 2006


485 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Save me is brilliant

Diabulus in musica
May 19th 2006


485 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

I just listened to this album completelly, and its fuckin amazing, absollutelly every song is brilliant, specially Beyond the Sun

Acey
May 24th 2006


2578 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

i think that save me is a ****ing sweet song, and i love the solos on Lady So Divine

uoutakno
August 11th 2006


2 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

After Leave a Whisper I couldn't wait for Shinedown to release another Cd. After they had cancelled their concert with 3 Doors Down in Florida back on October I was bummed out but I think I was more disappointed in this Cd. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I still listen to it but I don't enjoy it nearly as much as Leave A Whisper, maybe it's just the sophomore jinx. I still like the band but I just don't really care for this album.

tremontithegreat
August 11th 2006


13 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

i agree with you 100%. i to was waiting for the next shinedown cd to come out and i look back now and i no that my expectations were high but i believe that shinedown could have done better. i listen to the album but i still would choose leave a whisper over us and them any day. i just hope the next album is better.

jason_f90
November 23rd 2006


207 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Wicked band and an awesome album. Their power ballads do sound very Pearl Jam-ish.

RottedFlesh
November 23rd 2006


213 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Least this one is better than their first album...

samthebassman
June 8th 2007


2164 Comments

Album Rating: 2.5

Boring album, it has all been done a tousand times before and a thousand times better.



Generic.

korraeswai
March 22nd 2009


56 Comments


Great album. Easily Shinedown's best, and they're an amazing band.



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