ALBUM REVIEW: ATTENTION ATTENTION – Shinedown
Since their first studio album, Leave A Whisper, SHINEDOWN have been dominating rock music. Their sound has evolved, and it is evident that they do nothing but push themselves as a band. From being support for IRON MAIDEN on their UK tour in 2017 to their biggest slot at Download Festival this year, they keep raising the bar. Their sixth studio album, ATTENTION ATTENTION, is set to be their most personal to date. Will it match to the expectations?
ATTENTION ATTENTION is a concept album. It follows an individual’s journey through life’s mental and physical battles. The reality of coming to terms with yourself and what is going on in life. What makes it so personal is that the stories being told are SHINEDOWN’s, the highs, the lows and everything in between. Mentally, this album is set to be a heavy listen.
THE ENTRANCE opens the album up. Footsteps down a corridor and a knock on the door. A long breath is exhaled. Simple but effective, it is that moment of walking into a room and getting ready to be honest with yourself. DEVIL explodes into action quickly after. It feels sincere, heavy and angry. It’s apparent that this album is going to connect with listeners, no matter how they take it.
BLACK SOUL holds themes that every person can relate to. It’s about learning from the mistakes you’ve made in life and putting them right or taking the right steps in not making them again. The chorus packs a punch, it is a game changer and it is here where the record really gets you geared up. Title-track ATTENTION ATTENTION takes a while to kick in. It’s not the strongest track on the album, but the concept blindsides you when Brent Smith’s vocals power into the chorus.
One of the most powerful tracks on the album is KILL YOUR CONSCIENCE. The track is based on the pitfall of social media, our reliance as humans to need acceptance from people through a screen. It serves as a reminder to keep in touch with our human side and to speak to people face to face. It’s hard-hitting, it discusses the correlation between mental health deteriorating and our use of social media. They’ve taken a controversial subject and made it real. With the strength of this track, it will become a talking point whenever this album is mentioned.
Taking the reigns back to the older SHINEDOWN sound, keeping to their roots the most are tracks PYRO and MONSTERS. They are hard, gut-wrenching in power and outstanding examples of the levels the band have risen to. DARKSIDE proceeds and brings a more upbeat vibe into the album, feeling almost like a fight at some points between the positives and negatives.
CREATURES is a track that will hit home. Each up to this point has been heavy and hard-hitting. It has been angry. This is filled with despair and pain. Smith’s vocals hit a more delicate note, they capture you, forced to listen to every lyric. This is one of those classic SHINEDOWN ballads that will grab the hearts of fans in an instant.
Following suit with the ballad vibe is GET UP. Even though each track has gone through different emotions and stories of life’s scenarios, this track is the first that is really fuelled with the positivity that you feel when going through life. The mood has a feeling of hope and to be able to put that into a song is something special. Pushing themselves to be the best they can be is showing.
Joining the more delicate tracks is special. The only song to not be titled in caps. It serves its point well, before kicking into THE HUMAN RADIO. This is the ultimate reminder that people spend too much time on social media and not enough time interacting in person. This is a case of ‘what can I do to get the attention of someone?’. A clever and well-put together track from SHINEDOWN.
ATTENTION ATTENTION has taken you on a journey, hard to listen to at times. The realisation of mental illnesses, the demons we all face in life and how we deal with them. BRILLIANT is the end of that journey and closes it in a mass of beauty. Each track is powerful in its own sense but this one really stands out. This is the bands light at the end of the tunnel. It is proof from a personal perspective that the hardships in life do end, you must fight for it. It is an inspiring song and one that will make stadiums echo with fans singing along to each word.
As a concept, SHINEDOWN have released their best album to date. It is brave to put yourself out on show for the world to see, not many people feel confident in telling their stories. What they have done is shown that it’s okay to speak up and come to terms with what is going on. It’s the heaviest album mentally that the band have put forward and their evolution has gone to the next level. ATTENTION ATTENTION is incredible, raw and strong with very minor flaws.
Rating: 9/10
ATTENTION ATTENTION is set for release on May 4th via Atlantic Records.
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