Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The Carnival of Madness tour picks its bands carefully, almost with grace and tremendous forethought, for how else is it possible to believe that the bands on stage at the Echo Arena in January’s dying whispers could quite easily host a night headlining some of the city’s other venues and the same cranking of intensive hard rock sound be felt quivering in the spine.

Following on from the exploding pressure cooker that Halestorm provided, Shinedown took to the stage and rather than finding the evening petering out, or at least slowing down slightly to allow breath to be caught and the hearts to regain composure, the volcano that had found its way to the Echo Arena stage burst into life once more and showered all in the audience with the hard conviction of supreme Rock, a set that scorched and caught fire in the imagination and allowed the depth of Shinedown’s personality to come forth and pulse into shape.

For personality is what Shinedown have in abundance, there is no mistaking the truth of their passion, the obliteration that paves the way in their music and as the show progressed, as the meaning of their conquest became clear, the crowd surged and bounced as if springs had been laid underneath the Echo Arena floor, industrial sized ones that catapulted inhibitions out the door and the sound of relentless cool to take its place.

There are immaculate sets in which to witness, there are those in which the fanatic just sweats the evening out as if in a sauna being hosted by a person with a fetish for playing with the thermostat, it’s not often the two meet, or at least collide but for Shinedown, the thermostat was not just constantly fiddled with, it was done with sly panache, the fingers lingering out of sight, pushing the dial round unnoticed until the evening glistened like an Adonis being smeared down with Greek olive oil.

In songs such as Black Cadillac, Second Chance, the explosive Cut The Cord and Enemies, Shinedown pounded away at the hearts of all inside the Echo Arena and the intensity started by Halestorm was kept going, breathing its own fire and searing its own brand into the minds of the unsure.

A great band to catch live, pulsing with endearing vivacity.

Ian D. Hall