Review Summary: Shinedown's deterioration is starting to show
Never in my life have I encountered as big of a heartbreak as Threat To Survival. Hopes were high with the release of the powerful single, 'Cut The Cord', but sadly, after that, it just got worse. It's an utterly useless album that makes us question why it exsists in the first place. For the newer Shinedown fans, they'll appreciate this, but for the lifelong's out there, they could join together and chant "what a shame" and it could literally be heard in different time zones. And since around half of the songs are so bad, they can at least claim to be consistent. Although soundwise, it's an exciting switchover and shows Shinedown can step outside their comfort zone, but on the other hand, but the lyric writing on this is starting to show deterioration for the band.
Asking For It kicks off this "more effort could have made this a little more memorable than forgettable" album. It's one of the three rocks songs on the record, and deserves praise, though it has a passable hook, "Can I have a moment of your time?". Then again, it wasn't Bully's hook. But it's the chorus of this song that's catchy, one of the best lines being: "When all is said and done/You need to tie your tongue/Cuz when you spit on everyone/You are you are you know your asking for it/asking for it/asking!". It's a highly recommended song, but sadly, it's one of the extremely few. Cut The Cord is the second track, and really, is the only true good song on the album, as every member of the band has the spotlight. There are only a few Shinedown songs that have that capability, like Save Me, Heroes, and Sound Of Madness. And then comes the drought.
State Of My Head was the first mainstream song on this record, and is passable, but much like almost every song on the album, more work could have made this more memorable. But this song confuses me, mainly for the lyrics in this song. Lyrics like "Oh my eyes are seeing red", "Double vision from the blood we've shed", and "The only way I'm leaving is dead" leads me to believe this a song on warfare. But it isn't, as Brent states the meaning of this song, which is having a good time with your family. Now if your gonna write a song about that, it should be a little more obvious.
What's worse than admitting to your ever-decreasing lyric writing and still trying to improve is taking already written lyrics in the song and putting it on repeat, which is what the rest of the sons go through. It seems like ten minutes went into work for the next nine songs, as they all are very repetitive, and don't have any memorable elements to it. Musical substance, lyrical substance, nothing. Just a bunch of repetitive crap.
Misfits, the closing ballad, is by far their worst. Not only because it is repetitive, but like I said earlier, their lyric writing skills have deteriorated considerably in recent years. When compared to 45, Some Day, Call Me, and Through The Ghost, this song is utterly useless and sets the bar for dull and boring songs.
Threat To Survival overall seems to be a quickly and cheaply produced album loaded with errors. Although Cut The Cord has gotten them onto the rit path, they wander right off it with the other, forgettable songs like How Did You Love and It All Adds Up. Soundwise, this is actually a pretty good album, but lyrically, this could ruin the band. It appeals to lowest commen denominator, and sadly, this isn't a start.
Recommended Tracks:
Asking For It
Cut The Cord
State Of My Head
Thick As Thieves
Black Cadillac
