Qualche anno fa, spulciando le classifiche statunitensi, notai un nome che non avevo mai sentito prima: Shinedown; la canzone si intitolava "45". Quando la ascoltai, ne rimasi molto colpito; una bellissima grunge ballad, condita da uno splendido testo sul tema del suicidio. Proprio a causa del tema trattato, il pezzo fu oggetto di feroci polemiche da parte dei puritanissimi americani.
Cercando informazioni sulla band, scoprii che il pezzo era tratto dal disco d'esordio della band, "Leave A Whisper", che però non ebbi mai modo di ascoltare per intero. Oggi: gli Shinedown escono con il loro secondo lavoro, questo "Us And Them" che negli States ha generato non poche attese, considerato il buon successo commerciale del primo full lenght del gruppo. Il disco si presenta come un riuscitissimo amalgama di sonorità grunge e rock di stampo seventies, fino ad arrivare, addirittura, ad alcune sfumature nu metal.
Il quartetto di Jacksonville può avvalersi di un frontman altamente carismatico come il leader Brent Smith, dotato di una bellissima voce "cornelliana" (perdonatemi il neologismo) ed autore di testi impegnati alla Eddie Vedder e di un chitarrista con i cosiddetti, il grandioso Jasin Todd, autore di riff corposi ma mai banali e di assoli strepitosi. Difficile trovare cadute di tono, un cedimento; "Us And Them" è solido, massiccio come il suono di alcuni suoi pezzi: da "Heroes" e "Save Me", che ricordano i migliori Audioslave, alle ruvide "Fake" e "Atmosphere", fino ad arrivare alle splendide ballads "I Dare You", "Some Day" e l'acustica "Shed Some Light".
"Us And Them" è stato, per chi scrive, una sorpresa piacevolissima, che candida senza dubbio gli Shinedown come una delle migliori rock band del momento. Speriamo che, sull'onda del successo americano, il ciclone Shinedown travolga anche il Belpaese...
Elenco tracce e testi
01 The Dream (00:59)
Whisper in the yard and turn the trees all into toys
Lay there on the ground, and turn the dirt into your joy
From what I see and what I know, it's all been boring lately
So I suggest we trade a question mark in for a maybe
Time your riddles right, and make a point that has no sense
Make sure that you're smiling, and the money's been well spent
Innocence and ignorance, it all goes hand in hand
I'm not sure that I'm right, but I hope you'll understand
I hope that you're still searching for the start that has no end
And all the plastic people have now become your friends
Before you start to drift and your soul begins to scream
I just wanted to tell you that you're listening to a dream
02 Heroes (03:24)
Stare in wonder, who's here to bring you down?
Find your martyr, I'm sure you've made the crown
So light a fire under my bones, so when
I die for you, at least I'll die alone
Ain't nothing for me to end up like this
There's no comparing me this time
All my heroes have now become ghosts
Sold their sorrow to the ones who paid the most
All my heroes are dead and gone
But they're inside of me, they still live on
Dark devotion in a vacant paradise
Shows no emotion to a willing sacrifice
You can put a man on trial, but you can't make the guilty pay
And you can cage an animal, but you can't take away the rage
Ain't nothing for me to end up like this
There's no comparing me this time
All my heroes have now become ghosts
Sold their sorrow to the ones who paid the most
All my heroes are dead and gone
But they're inside of me, they still live on
All my heroes have now become ghosts
Sold their sorrow to the ones who paid the most
All my heroes are dead and gone
But they're inside of me, they still live on
They're all dead and gone
03 Save Me (03:34)
I've got a candle,
And I've got a spoon
I live in a hallway
With no doors and no rooms
Under the window sill
They all were found
A touch of concrete within a doorway
Without a sound
Chorus:
Someone save me if you will
And take away all these pills
And please just save me, if you can
From the blasphemy in my wasteland
How did I get here
And what went wrong
Couldn't handle forgiveness
Now I'm far beyond gone
And I can hardly remember
The look of my own eyes
How could I love this
A life so dishonest
It made me compromise
Chorus
Jump in the water
Jump in with me
Jump on the altar
Lay down with me
My hardest question
To answer is
WHY!!!
Chorus
Some one save me (x3)
Somebody save me
Somebody save me
Please don't erase me
04 I Dare You (03:54)
Hello, let me introduce you to
The characters in the show
One says yes, one says no. Decide,
which voice in your head you can keep alive
Even in madness, I know you still believe
Paint me on canvas so I become
What you could never be
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
wear my soul and call me a liar
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to
Hello, are you still chasing
The memories in shadows
Some stay young, some grow old. Come alive,
there are thoughts unclear,You can never hide
Even in madness, I know you still believe
Paint me on canvas so I become
What you could never be
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
wear my soul and call me a liar
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to
Hello...
Hello!!!
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
wear my soul and call me a liar
I dare you to tell me to walk through the fire
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to
Hello!!!
Hello!!!
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to
I dare you to tell me
I dare you to
05 Yer Majesty (03:01)
Come closer inside
There's something I need you to see
It's just a picture of what the ignorant believe
I come so you can know me
I'm here to make you proud
I come to wreck and guide you
I'm here to show you how
You know I'm coming for you
Cause I got nothing to lose
And now I'm still on my way for the pay
So you wanted to be free from everything you've done to me?
And you wanted to be known so you wouldn't feel so alone?
And you wanted to believe that you steal our integrity?
And I'm sorry you're on your knees, but you can't blame me, yer majesty
Let's take a moment
I need to spoil who you are
I played your game once
You sold me out with no regard
I come so you can know me
I'm here to make you proud
I come to wreck and guide you
I'm here to voice out loud
You know I'm coming for you
Cause I got nothing to lose
And now I'm still on my way for the pay
So you wanted to be free from everything you've done to me?
And you wanted to be known so you wouldn't feel so alone?
And you wanted to believe that you still have integrity?
And I'm sorry you're on your knees, but you can't blame me, yer majesty
So you wanted to be free from everything you've done to me?
And you wanted to be known so you wouldn't feel so alone?
And you wanted to believe that you still have integrity?
And I'm sorry you're on your knees, but you can't blame me, yer majesty
07 Trade Yourself In (03:32)
Deal with me
Don't even think about leaving yet
I'm not a part of some false regret
Even though I believe in fables
Come reset
A part of life that you'd soon forget
And maybe think about who you hurt
In the process
I don't think they know, that's my heart exposed
From the fearing of the endless lies
Trade yourself in for the perfect one
No one needs to know that you feel you've been ruined
Trade yourself in for diamond eyes
Watch the stars collide as you're lifted from your burden
You see me
And you know I am not the same
Can't pretend to just fake a smile
Cause you know I feel every ounce of
Pain combined
With the loss of a youthful mind
You need to look at what you've become
And try to figure out where you came from
I don't think they know, that's my heart exposed
From the fearing of the endless lies
Trade yourself in for the perfect one
No one needs to know that you feel you've been ruined
Trade yourself in for diamond eyes
Watch the stars collide as you're lifted from your burden
I know you can't feel a thing
It hurts to feel anymore
Trade yourself in for the perfect one
No one needs to know that you feel you've been ruined
Trade yourself in for diamond eyes
Watch the stars collide as you're lifted from your burden
Trade yourself in for the perfect one
No one needs to know that you feel you've been ruined
Trade yourself in for diamond eyes
Watch the stars collide as you're lifted from your burden
08 Lady So Divine (07:09)
In an earthquake, it made space
Where I fell into you
In a starlight, you look so bright
You eclipse the moon
On a highway, just today
That’s where I saw you
There was music from a distance
Burning through
She’s here to rescue me
Clear my mind, and set me free
If it’s dark, she still shines
A masterpiece made by design
She’s here to rescue me
Stain my mind with make believe
If it’s dark, she still shines
She’s my lady, so divine
Lady so divine, come and change my mind
Lady so divine
When the waves break, and the souls take
Refuge from the night
On a mountain is a story
Told a thousand times
Of a garden, and a bed there
Made to rest our eyes
There’s a comfort to a softness
That will not be denied
She’s here to rescue me
Clear my mind, and set me free
If it’s dark, she still shines
A masterpiece made by design
She’s here to rescue me
Stain my mind with make believe
If it’s dark, she still shines
She’s my lady, so divine
Lady so divine, come and change my mind
Lady so divine
In the midnight sun, she saves me
From what I’ve become
The midnight sun, she saves me
From what I have done
What I have done
She’s here to rescue me
Clear my mind, and set me free
If it’s dark, she still shines
A masterpiece made by design
She’s come to rescue me
Stain my mind with make believe
If it’s dark, she still shines
She’s my lady, so divine
Divine!
Divine!
Divine!
She’s my lady so divine
Divine!
She’s my lady so divine
Lady so divine, come and change my mind
Lady so divine
09 Shed Some Light (03:41)
I'm falling apart again
And I can't find a way to make amends
And I'm looking in both directions
But it's make believe, it's all pretend
So...
Shed some light on me
And hold me up in disbelief
And shed some light on me
And tell me something that I'll believe in
It's innocence within the maze
But I have chosen the wrong way
I'm still getting over who I was
There's no sense of trust, there's no definition of love
So...
Shed some light on me
And hold me up in disbelief
And shed some light on me
And tell me something that I'll believe
I know now, it's not who you are
It's who you know
And I see clearly now, which way to go
I remember the way I fell from above
And I recall the way I was
So...
Shed some light on me
And hold me up in disbelief
And shed some light on me
And tell me something that I'll believe in
Shed some light on me
And hold me up in disbelief
And shed some light on me
And tell me something that I'll believe
Tell me something that I'll...
Tell me something that I'll believe
Tell me something that I'll believe
Something I'll believe
10 Begin Again (03:49)
Welcome friends
To seconds lost, and to starts that won't begin
To twisted eyes that see inside
Rules that always bend
A simple task, a see-through mask
That questions where and why
We shared our skin to occupy, and keep our piece of mind
Bring only what you need to survive
They burn an image from lines on my face
They stole it from the pages that kept my place
I stand on the outside, would die to get in
I crawl inside just to begin again
It's so unfair
This broken smile that keeps us all aware
Of wishful thoughts, and scenes we lost
And times we'll never share
I'll ask you now to show me how
To fill the circle in
What tells us all?
There is no fall, and the story never ends
Bring only what you need to survive
They burn an image from lines on my face
They stole it from the pages that kept my place
I stand on the outside, would die to get in
I crawl inside just to begin again
They burn an image from lines on my face
They stole it from the pages that kept my place
I stand on the outside, would die to get in
I crawl inside just to begin again
They burn an image from lines on my face
They stole it from the pages that kept my place
I stand on the outside, would die to get in
I crawl inside just to begin again
11 Atmosphere (04:16)
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
And now, I'll tell you how
I know them all
I'm looking down on the atmosphere
I took my number, and I waited in line
I'm not frail from the exposure
I'm taking pictures with my mind
I'm looking down on the atmosphere
I took my number, and I waited in line
I'm not frail from the exposure
I'm taking pictures with my mind
Once I met a leader
Born from genocide
Once I knew a preacher
To his grave, he said goodbye
Once I met a good girl
Who shows her face no more
It's hard to learn your lesson
When you become the whole world's whore
And now, I'll tell you how
I know them all
I'm looking down on the atmosphere
I took my number, and I waited in line
I'm not frail from the exposure
I'm taking pictures with my mind
I'm looking down on the atmosphere
I took my number, and I waited in line
I'm not frail from the exposure
I'm taking pictures with my mind
I'm looking down on the atmosphere
I'm looking down on the atmosphere
I know them all...
And now, I'll tell you how
I know them all
Looking down on the atmosphere
Looking down on the atmosphere
I took my number, and I wait in line
I'm looking down on the atmosphere
12 Fake (04:04)
This place has begun to cover me
I recall the light, but the dark smothers me
I prefer the feelings I know right now
I don't worry about feeling very proud
You don't know how it feels
To be misunderstood
To reach for the sky
I thought you never would
You don't know how it feels
To be misunderstood
To reach for the sky
I thought you never would
But I'm bleeding, and my hands are bruised
From the grip that I once had on you
And I'm open for a new way
Because there's not much more that I can fake
It's almost seeing your soul for the first time
And watching the mirror show you life in rewind
Capture the ridicule of everyone
I'm tired of trying, and they wonder why I'm gone
You don't know how it feels
To be misunderstood
To reach for the sky
I thought you never would
You don't know how it feels
To be misunderstood
To reach for the sky
I thought you never would
But I'm bleeding, and my hands are bruised
From the grip that I once had on you
And I'm open for a new way
Because there's not much more that I can fake
I can't fake it
You don't know how it feels
To be misunderstood
To reach for the sky
I thought you never would
You don't know how it feels
To be misunderstood
To reach for the sky
I thought you never would
But I'm bleeding, and my hands are bruised
From the grip that I once had on you
And I'm open for a new way
Because there's not much more that I can fake
But I'm bleeding, and my hands are bruised
From the grip that I once had on you
And I'm open for a new way
Because there's not much more that I can fake
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