Customer Reviews

Leave a Whisper

5 star:		(144)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

What's good about it?

Unless you don't have a TV or a radio it's hard to ignore Shinedown's first single "Fly From the Inside." The twangy, dark guitar tones and sturdy vocals command this song about conquering all doubt despite others holding you back. It's refreshing to hear the vocal harmonies in the chorus. The tone becomes slightly darker on "Left Out." You'll start to make comparisons to Staind or Alice in Chains here. Somber acoustic guitars and soft vocals kick off "Lost in the Crowd," but are soon engulfed by a flurry of cranking guitars in the chorus. Jasin Todd's soloing isn't so much bombastic as it is effective and to the point. "Better Vision" is impelled by a repetitive guitar lick, while "Lacerated" is dominated by a tribal drumbeat. There's plenty of meaty riffs on "In Memory" and "No More Love." Two ballads really stand out on Leave a Whisper. "45" is a dark ballad about a man on the edge, and "Burning Bright" is an acoustic ballad that builds slowly to an emotional chorus.

Anything bad?

Nope.

Bottom Line

If you consider their name and the song titles, it's easy to dismiss Shinedown as another Christian metal band. However, their tone and lyrical content is too dark and deep to fall into that category. Leave a Whisper is a strong debut that's full tuned-down, radio friendly hard rock. It has recently been re-released with three bonus tracks and a video.

I saw these guys in concert last year with 3 Doors Down. I had never heard of these band before, but they sounded really good in concert. The lead singer even came out and I met him. I bought their CD after the concert, and I am so glad I did. It is a solid album all around, with all songs worth listening too. The singles are doing well on the radio charts. Fly From The Inside is my favorite song, but I really like all of them.

Be careful, you probably want to buy the other enhanced album that has three extra songs on it, two acoustic song additions (45 and Burning Bright new mix) and their new single, Simple Man. You want to make sure to get that one!

45 is one of the greatest songs I ever heard, and has been since I first heard it on the radio a few months ago. Leave a Whisper is one of the most perfect albums ever passionately made. Shinedown can write songs, and when you're soaked in their awesome rhythm and lyrics, you'll never be able to stop listening. Also, listen to the song "Cold" by Crossfade, and buy their album when it comes out, you'll thank me.

Shinedown's cd, Leave a Whisper, rocks! Outstanding vocals, guitars, and drums make this cd unbelieveable. Brent Smith sings these songs with a lot of emotion which makes them even better. Here's what i think about the songs on this album:
1.Fly From the Inside- great single,really inspiring lyrics,10/10
2.Left Out- really cool guitars,a lot of different beats, great lyrics, 9/10
3.Lost in the Crowd- good song, more mellow. 8/10
4.No More Love- i love this song. great everything. 10/10

5.Better Version- fantastic lyrics. different sound. 10/10
6.Burning Bright- great slower song. great message in the lyrics of this one. 9/10
7.In Memory- my favorite on the cd cause of the lyrics mostly but the overall sound is great. 10/10
8.All I Ever Wanted- Couldn't get into this song. good lyrics and different beat. 7/10
9.Stranger Inside- 2nd favorite on the cd. i like to listen to this one when i'm frustrated. fantastic lyrics. 10/10
10.Lacerated- least favorite on the cd. 6/10

11.Crying Out- great, fabulous. cool song. 10/10
12. 45- lyrics couldn't be better. cool sound. depressing song but we all need those at times. 10/10

Buy this cd. you won't regret it...its worth the 10 bucks...in fact its worth more then 10...

I don't typically like most of the new music on the radio enough to go out and buy their CD, but this band has blown me away. I'm a big fan of acoustic/unplugged rock, and their version of "Simple Man" is one of the best songs I've ever heard! Lynyrd Skynyrd doesn't even come close to the emotion that Shinedown puts into this song. If you're into Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Audioslave, etc., go out and buy this CD right now! Make sure you buy the version with the 3 extra songs.

This is a great album, it comes from the Florida quintet Shinedown. Soon to be a break out in the world of rock.
1.Fly From the Inside(10/10)-First single, great lyrics, "I found a way to steal the sun from the sky." Simply amazing.
2.Left Out(8/10)-My least favorite, a little repetitive, but all in all it puts forth great effort.
3.Lost in the Crowd(10/10)-Ever had the feeling of losing something or someone important to you, this song says it all.
4.No More Love(9/10)-At times sounds like Linkin Park, but still hard and heavy and a great song.
5.Better Version(10/10)-Everyone has had the feeling like they are never good enough, this song puts it in terms everyone can relate to.
6.Burning Bright(10/10)-This has become one of my all time favorite songs, buy the album for this song alone if nothing else.
7.In Memory(10/10)-Another great, makes you think.
8.All I Ever Wanted(10/10)-Oh my god, this songs just flows with emotion of being left behind with out anyone. Words can't begin to describe it.
9.Stranger Inside(10/10)-A very angry song, also the heaviest on the album. Very aggresive and gets the point across.
10.Lacerated(9/10)-Very unusual, nice tribal beat. Interesting and different, but still good.
11.Crying Out(9/10)-OK, so this guy can really write touching lyrics, this song is pure genius.
12.45(10/10)-This song is extremely deep, weird to end the album with a suicide ballad, but I love it. It takes you down a path of death and depression.
This album is by far one of the best I have ever purchases, and I think everyone else should also go out and buy it. These guys deserve success for the master peice of an album.

For those that don't know this is the re-release of Shinedown's major label debut 'Leave A Whisper'...this album includes the new single 'Simple Man', a remix of 'Burning Bright', and an acoustic version of '45'...that being said, Shinedown's debut was amazing enough and the three added tracks here only further show how incredible these musicians truly are...'Simple Man' and the acoustic version of '45' totally justify the price of this disc as both songs perfectly capture singer Brent Smith's soaring vocals...as for the remix of 'Burning Bright', it's not too different from the original, just seems a little more bass-heavy and a tad more dramatic if you will, but still an amazing song nonetheless...i highly recommend this cd to anyone looking for a breath of fresh air in the current hard rock genre, give Shinedown a listen, you will not be disappointed!

"Leave a Whisper" is a truly amazing CD that I recommend to any alternative rock fan out there. Almost every song is good enough to be its own CD. Since this is the case, I'll review each song.

1.) Fly From the Inside - 9/10. This is the first Shinedown song I heard that gave me a hunch to get the CD. It was great, but I've pretty much tired of it now. Not that that will happen to everyone, but I listened to it A LOT.

2.) Left Out - 9/10. I really like the lyrics to this song, but I'm not to big on how the chorus sounds. The intro ("I know you need to get even") is awesome, though.

3.) Lost in the Crowd - 10/10. This song is very good. It's not as heavy as the others and sounds a bit like Burning Bright, but it's magnificent on its own.

4.) No More Love - 8/10. This song was pretty good, and I liked it for a while, but I don't like the chorus too much in this one either. Anyway, it's still done very well.

5.) Better Version - 10/10. The lyrics are freaking awesome on this song. I can relate to it so well, as I'm sure many others can. Definitely a huge highlight in the CD.

6.) Burning Bright - 8/10. This song is pretty cool, but its hard to understand some of the lyrics. All in all, however, it's good.

7.) In Memory - 10/10. This is the best song on the CD, hands-down. This is the true highlight. This is the song you need to buy this CD for. It's truly amazing.

8.) All I Ever Wanted - 5/10. Ugh. Not much to say about this one. This is the worst song on the CD. It doesn't fit in with the others. There's nothing new and exciting about it like the others. And it just doesn't sound that good.

9.) Stranger Inside - 10/10. This song has the best and most powerful lyrics on the CD. This is also a highlight, and it's definitely excellent.

10.) Lacerated - 8/10. When I said that the lyrics were hard to understand in Burning Bright, I forgot about Lacerated. If you can understand half of this song, I'll give you a cookie. A big one. But it's not bad.

11.) Crying Out - 10/10. This is the song that contains the phrase "There is no turning back now that you've opened up to your mind", one of the best lyrics I've ever heard in a CD. Another highlight. And finally...

12.) 45 - 10/10. This is another highlight. This is the song that gave me the final push to buy the CD. It's almost as good as In Memory, but it's the second best on the album, I'd say.

Overall, this album is a must-buy to almost anyone. This is the most-cherished CD I have next to Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory. It's almost as good as it, too, if not better. Buy it now!!

I must say this is an *excellent* album. Before I bought this cd, I had only heard Fly From the Inside and 45, and decided to purchase it just because those tracks stood out so well. Now that I have the cd, I can't stop listening to it! I like just about every song on the album; it really surprised me. I had never heard of Shinedown previous to those 2 songs on the radio, and they still aren't getting *near* enough hype as they deserve. Here's my breakdown of the songs:

1. Fly From The Inside - 10/10
2. Left Out - 9/10
3. Lost In The Crowd - 9.5/10
4. No More Love - 9/10
5. Better Version - 10/10
6. Burning Bright - 8/10
7. In Memory - 9.5/10
8. All I Ever Wanted - 8.5/10
9. Stranger Inside - 10/10
10. Lacerated - 8.5/10
11. Crying Out - 10/10
12. 45 - 10/10

I HIGHLY recommend that you buy this cd...its become one of my favorites in my entire collection!

... In my weekly quest to find a new "diamond in the rough" band that would just blow my rocks off, I find myself checking out bands that either want to be a Fred "Doofus" Durst sound alike or a Chad Krueger wanna be. Finally! I have found a band that I can really recommend to friends and all that will not be dissapointed. First, I noticed that these guys went out and got the likes of Bob Marlette to produce and Andy Wallace to mix (you can never go wrong with these guys at the board). Secondly, the name seemed to flow in the direction that I felt may rock (Now days, you can never tell)...so I gave them a shot. Let me say that in this days era where you have a zillion labels for Rock bands....these guys are quite simply "Heavy Rock". Literally, there are no bad songs on this disc. The have a heavy well produced Metal crunch that will hit you right between the ears. The vocalist sounds like a hybrid cross of Layne Staley of Alice and Chains, Geoff Tate of Queenssyche and Ronnie Jame Dio. Yet, he still,on most songs, has a unique sound and range
of his own. The band can kick ... and are very tight with great hooks and songs that you will be singing all day after your first listen. From the first song, which is very much in the Alice in Chains mode, you'll know that you have made the right move. Again, they can "sing",not growl, they are tight musically, and they can.....hold your breath...right great songs and licks. Get it now and you wont be sorry. Keep it rocking guys!