Shinedown - Cut the Chord Playthrough with Zach Myers

Neat video, thanks for posting...love my "Zach"...although I don't really listen to Shinedown or their style of music (my 15 year old son does and I do have "Second Chance" on my iPod driving playlist)
 
Does anyone like this? I watched this earlier and was underwhelmed. Zach Myers seems like a cool guy, but after listening to all the stuff Shinedown has released since he joined the band, I've been sorely unimpressed by his riffs and tracks. Just my opinion.
 
A bit boring. Maybe together in a live mix it works though, a lot of heavy rock tends to be that way.
 
One of my favorite bands that has been on hiatus just put out their first album in about 6 years. I don't care for it, seems like they took a little bit of recording that wouldn't have amounted to much on its own, and added the bulk to the songs in production. If their other albums were cake with the icing added after recording, this new one is just the plate and the producer made the whole dessert Maybe that's just what mainstream rock is now, someone pounding out a few power chords and then the whole thing being whitewashed to digital perfection.
 
andy474x said:
One of my favorite bands that has been on hiatus just put out their first album in about 6 years. I don't care for it, seems like they took a little bit of recording that wouldn't have amounted to much on its own, and added the bulk to the songs in production. If their other albums were cake with the icing added after recording, this new one is just the plate and the producer made the whole dessert Maybe that's just what mainstream rock is now, someone pounding out a few power chords and then the whole thing being whitewashed to digital perfection.
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I don't know if you are referring to shinediwn but they released amaryllis in 2012. This not 6 years ago and they've been on tour off an on since that release. I've seen them 3-4 times in that span. Also if you watch and listen, Zach specifically says they took all the production stuff (ie 30 different tracks and such) out of the mix and just focused on the 2 guitar tracks. It's really stripped down and I love that because it does come across way better live! Cut the cord has been a polarizing track for SD fans. Some like me love it, others hate it. And if you ask them, that's exactly how they want it because if it's just the same as any other track then they haven't done a good job. Their song a always have meaning and touch people in various ways. I can't wait to hear the rest of the album!
 
Dizzyg12 said:
I don't know if you are referring to shinediwn but they released amaryllis in 2012. This not 6 years ago and they've been on tour off an on since that release. I've seen them 3-4 times in that span. Also if you watch and listen, Zach specifically says they took all the production stuff (ie 30 different tracks and such) out of the mix and just focused on the 2 guitar tracks. It's really stripped down and I love that because it does come across way better live! Cut the cord has been a polarizing track for SD fans. Some like me love it, others hate it. And if you ask them, that's exactly how they want it because if it's just the same as any other track then they haven't done a good job. Their song a always have meaning and touch people in various ways. I can't wait to hear the rest of the album!
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I don't think he was referring to Shinedown. Maybe he was referencing Breaking Benjamin, Disturbed, or some other band that recently reformed in the past year or two. Either way, IMO, he was mainly commenting on how a lot of modern rock bands are focusing their efforts on the production instead of their actual songs and content, which I believe is a valid complaint/observation.

You know, any time I've read something about Shinedown's new songs/album, and someone criticizes them, the comment you made always shows up: "that's exactly how they want it because if it's just the same as any other track then they haven't done a good job". The band keeps saying things like "they can't make the same album over and over again because that's not who we are", and their fans keep eating it up. But if you have to continuously tell people that, then to me, it starts to sound more and more like an excuse rather than a simple explanation. If Shinedown want to experiment with their sound, cool, more power to them. Every band should be willing to mix things up at some point. But I keep getting the impression that they're trying to frame their new music as an "evolution", when clearly, the songs they have released so far have been anything but musically interesting or diverse. TBH, nothing I've heard so far has sounded dramatically different from their previous work, and I think the video posted here is proof of that.
 
Maccadude33 said:
I don't think he was referring to Shinedown. Maybe he was referencing Breaking Benjamin, Disturbed, or some other band that recently reformed in the past year or two. Either way, IMO, he was mainly commenting on how a lot of modern rock bands are focusing their efforts on the production instead of their actual songs and content, which I believe is a valid complaint/observation.

You know, any time I've read something about Shinedown's new songs/album, and someone criticizes them, the comment you made always shows up: "that's exactly how they want it because if it's just the same as any other track then they haven't done a good job". The band keeps saying things like "they can't make the same album over and over again because that's not who we are", and their fans keep eating it up. But if you have to continuously tell people that, then to me, it starts to sound more and more like an excuse rather than a simple explanation. If Shinedown want to experiment with their sound, cool, more power to them. Every band should be willing to mix things up at some point. But I keep getting the impression that they're trying to frame their new music as an "evolution", when clearly, the songs they have released so far have been anything but musically interesting or diverse. TBH, nothing I've heard so far has sounded dramatically different from their previous work, and I think the video posted here is proof of that.
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Yeah he could mean disturbed but their new song is 100% disturbed. It's very much like everything done previously. It's what the majority of their fans have been waiting for from them. Breaking Benjamin is back too and probably what he was referring to because I too am disappointed with their new stuff, but knowing what Ben has been through health wise I can't blame them if it seems thrown together or rushed. It was a long legal battle and I'm sure that a lot of what they out out was sitting there in some capacity and he just finished it when they came back. So it's not really new it's just stuff they worked on that couldn't be finished because of the legal issues.

As for SHINEDOWN, I do think the new songs are different. They are not layered with tracks upon tracks. I don't think they are after a new sound entirely, it's more about how it's recorded and stripped down. There's some piano stuff in the other new one black Cadillac that came out the other day but other than that it's just a couple guitar tracks.

I think of their stuff as stories through music. They do a great job with telling a story and taking you on a journey. Although the sound may be similar, tracks and albums are lyrically and musically different. I think of a band like shinedown as the opposite of a band like nickelback where you can literally drop songs over one another and it's the same track/song but with different lyrics. That's what I look for in music - give me something new with each song and make it mean something. Even if it's not radio friendly or mainstream.
 
It's definitely a very straightforward, stripped down track. Not exactly my favorite of there's, but from the two tracks that they've put out so far they're trying new things and getting a bit aggressive. In the end though, I think it should never be about the technical prowess, but how good the song is in general. I can't speak about the new Disturbed, but they pretty much do what they do. As for Breaking Benjamin, the songs seem decent but the production is absolutely terrible with the guitars buried and way too much emphasis on having these big choruses for the sake of having big choruses that don't seem blended very well.
 
Dizzyg12 said:
I don't know if you are referring to shinediwn but they released amaryllis in 2012. This not 6 years ago and they've been on tour off an on since that release. I've seen them 3-4 times in that span. Also if you watch and listen, Zach specifically says they took all the production stuff (ie 30 different tracks and such) out of the mix and just focused on the 2 guitar tracks. It's really stripped down and I love that because it does come across way better live! Cut the cord has been a polarizing track for SD fans. Some like me love it, others hate it. And if you ask them, that's exactly how they want it because if it's just the same as any other track then they haven't done a good job. Their song a always have meaning and touch people in various ways. I can't wait to hear the rest of the album!
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Sorry, I was referring to a different band! That was mostly a response to IRG's post about the riff, and the way rock is lately, not specifically directed at the new Shinedown album.
 
Dizzyg12 said:
As for SHINEDOWN, I do think the new songs are different. They are not layered with tracks upon tracks. I don't think they are after a new sound entirely, it's more about how it's recorded and stripped down. There's some piano stuff in the other new one black Cadillac that came out the other day but other than that it's just a couple guitar tracks.

I think of their stuff as stories through music. They do a great job with telling a story and taking you on a journey. Although the sound may be similar, tracks and albums are lyrically and musically different. I think of a band like shinedown as the opposite of a band like nickelback where you can literally drop songs over one another and it's the same track/song but with different lyrics. That's what I look for in music - give me something new with each song and make it mean something. Even if it's not radio friendly or mainstream.
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Even if they minimized the number of tracks used in the recordings, they're still processing/editing them quite a bit, which is why I personally wouldn't use the term "stripped down". I do get what you're saying though.

Again, I don't have a problem with them trying to do things differently. I just don't like how simple and bland these two songs are musically. Even if what they're doing is new for them, it's certainly not groundbreaking overall. I prefer their first three albums; I'd probably be more inclined to like the newer stuff if Brent Smith still had the range and vocal ability that made the band famous in the first place. YMMV.
 
I like some of their stuff.................. and I liked that.
But what do I know. Im just a guy past his prime trying to learn guitar because nobody makes music I want to listen to any more, so f*** it, Ill make my own.
 
Maccadude33 said:
Even if they minimized the number of tracks used in the recordings, they're still processing/editing them quite a bit, which is why I personally wouldn't use the term "stripped down". I do get what you're saying though.

Again, I don't have a problem with them trying to do things differently. I just don't like how simple and bland these two songs are musically. Even if what they're doing is new for them, it's certainly not groundbreaking overall. I prefer their first three albums; I'd probably be more inclined to like the newer stuff if Brent Smith still had the range and vocal ability that made the band famous in the first place. YMMV.
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Yeah I'm not a producer or anything so I don't know. I just try to listen closely to the track and I watch clips like above and I get an idea of how they do it. On thing that frustrates me is learning to play songs that have a lot of layers. Live versions always are easier to play but not many bands actually play live and recorded the same. It's near impossible without backing tracks which I'm sure is done in plenty of cases. I guess that's why I like this approach to recording. And why I love
Live music in general, especially small venue stuff where it's two guitars, a couple
Of combo amps, a bass, drums and vocals and that's it.
 
Dizzyg12 said:
Yeah I'm not a producer or anything so I don't know. I just try to listen closely to the track and I watch clips like above and I get an idea of how they do it. On thing that frustrates me is learning to play songs that have a lot of layers. Live versions always are easier to play but not many bands actually play live and recorded the same. It's near impossible without backing tracks which I'm sure is done in plenty of cases. I guess that's why I like this approach to recording. And why I love
Live music in general, especially small venue stuff where it's two guitars, a couple
Of combo amps, a bass, drums and vocals and that's it.
Click to expand...

I'm no expert either, but based on what I've read and heard, I do know you're right. A lot of modern pop and rock music use multiple tracks and layers to build up the massive sounds you hear on various recordings. You simply can't recreate some studio recordings on your own in a live setting. I agree, it's frustrating; I'd rather see bands write and record music that can be played live, or at least, have distinct studio and live arrangements for specific songs. Some bands do that, many don't.

I also enjoy listening to live music. I have a tendency to listen to concert CDs, especially acoustic/unplugged albums, more than their studio counterparts, since what I'm hearing sounds real. Sure, most live concert recordings are professionally mixed and edited in some way or another, but it's nice to have recordings that sound as though the artists are playing directly into the mixer/PA and just doing their thing. On that note, I actually really like Shinedown's acoustic concert recordings, which is why it frustrates me when I see them put out what I think is subpar music. They have/had the talent to be excellent artists, IMO, but between overproducing their records and using backing tracks in their live shows all the time, I've lost a lot of interest.
 
I saw them earlier this month locally and they actually put on a great show and Zach's guitar tone from his arsenal of PRSi was spot on. It may be hard to believe but it sounded better than the first time I saw them years back when they had two guitar players on stage.
 
I listened to the full Shinedown song (watched video via YouTube), and then watched most of Zach's breakdown of how to play his guitar part. I like this style of music, but I like most styles of music, and I think the guitar work is quite an appropriate, even elegant, approach to getting the desired sound.

I like Shinedown (I will admit I never really focused on them until the PRS ZM model came out, although I had undoubtedly heard a couple tracks on the radio), and have a couple CDs. And I'll probably pick up this latest one too.

I also (really) like Porcupine Tree, and many of their songs are quite complicated and layered, but one song that is fairly easy to play is Blackest Eyes (with some heavy single-string parts also in Drop D). This Shinedown song is about the same complexity. So I dig it!
 
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