Outcast – powerful, full of energy, heavy on the bass

The fourth song of Threat To Survival is introduced by a heavy bass line. Brent Smith’s voice is deep which makes the song appear very impressive. The first two stanzas make use of the musical depth of all instruments. They are classically filled with rock instruments that show intensely how present rock music actually is.

In the chorus, the rather slow instrumental accompaniment changes to a clearly faster rhythm. Brent Smith’s voice creates a transition from the stanzas to the chorus where the pitch is higher. The notes are stretched longer. In comparison to that, they are even short and broken in the stanzas which is suitable and effective in the deep voice.

Most striking is the line “I’m just feeding my appetite”. It is actually a justification, but that is not how it is carried across. Instead, it seems the lyrical I does not care much about what others think of it. The song is about being the outcast of the outcasts and about being fine with that – “I’m coming back to outlast every outcast”. The motive is clear: stand up for yourself, be stronger than the others.

The strong line of the record remains clearly hearable. 

Favorite line: „And I’ve been swimming in the new millennium. Run, run, here I come. I’m just having some fun. I’m just feeding my appetite.”

 Listen to Shinedown's Outcast here:

Buy Threat To Survival here.