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Shinedown in numbers: 25-year career, thus far; more than 10 million albums sold worldwide (including the double-platinum ‘Sound of Madness’); over 8.3 billion global streams; 15 platinum and gold singles; the most No. 1s in Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart history (23); named the number-one act on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Mainstream Rock Artists. Not too shabby, eh?
Shinedown studio album number eight, ‘EI8HT’, in numbers: 18 tracks, 64 minutes in total. Without any hint of self-indulgence or filler material. How many recent 60-minute albums can make that assertion? Not many. Hell, it’s rare to find a 40-minute album without fat these days. But, despite the running time, that’s what ‘EI8HT’ is, lean. It’s also the Jacksonville, Florida quartet’s best album since the aforementioned ‘Sound of Madness’ back in 2008.
The same settled line-up since 2008 obviously helps, as does having band member Eric Bass handling the production/engineering/mixing duties, with the result being an album that is both confident and self-assured without being cocky. You don’t set yourself up for potential criticism by releasing what is essentially a double album unless you know that you have the material to match the audacity in releasing such a lengthy album in a time where we are constantly being told that consumers’ attention spans are getting shorter by the day.
‘EI8HT’ is singles-heavy. Five: ‘Dance, Kid, Dance’, ‘Killing Fields’, ‘Three Six Five’, the huge crossover hit ‘Searchlight’, and ‘Safe and Sound’ have already been drip-fed to the Shinedown Nation over the last year or so, and there are so many more tracks on ‘EI8HT’ that could follow. One of the strengths of the album is the variety to be found within. At heart, it is a rock and roll record, but as you would expect from Brent Smith and company, there is much more depth to it than a straight-ahead, balls-to-the-wall RnR record.
‘Dance, Kid, Dance’ is what you expect a Shinedown single to sound like: it’s big, bombastic, and demands immediate attention. It also forms a knockout one-two with the track that follows immediately – the insanely catchy ‘Burning Down the Disco’, which is not a million miles away from the nuttiest band of them all: Royal Republic. Shinedown and Royal Republic on the same bill, indoors in the dark = carnage, and arguably one of the biggest good-feeling bills of current times. ‘Killing Fields’ keeps up the bombast and has many instantly recognisable Shinedown-isms, including the huge, hopeful chorus.
Less harsh than previous albums like ‘Attention Attention’ and ‘Planet Zero’, ‘EI8HT’ offers something for everyone. ‘At the Bottom’ is a fantastic opening track. Quite a soft, pensive intro, with simple piano strikes from the infuriatingly talented Eric Bass, it soon explodes to life with sharp, aggressive riffs from guitarist and sneaker-aficionado Zach Myers, with the trademark Brent Smith vocals as full of life as always. It’s a theatrical song that could easily transfer to Broadway because when it soars, it SOARS. ‘Three Six Five’ is not-too-distant cousin of SD classic ‘If You Only Knew’, and with the easily relatable lyrics about living in the moment and how fleeting life is (“A lot can happen in a year”), it is easy to imagine this beauty striking a chord all over the world – one of those songs that burrows into the psyche and refuses to depart. Shinedown doing what Shinedown does best – talking to the listener.
‘Dizzy’ is lush. Uplifting from the moment that Smith professes: “Good Lord, am I out of my mind? I swear I didn’t smoke, and I’m off the wine/But every time you’re with me/I feel a little dizzy…” it is a hooky, feel-good anthem driven by the heavy percussive hits from the machine that is SD drummer Barry Kerch. Some of the music (especially around the 01:54 mark) harks back to a Phil Spector wall of sound feel, and the arrangements are glorious. Mixed with a sizzling solo from Myers at the closing stages, it’s a song to keep on coming back to. ‘Machine Gun’ is another. Fast-paced and thrilling, it’s the fastest track of the 18. It is also a deeply personal co-write between Bass and Smith, as it deals with their grandfathers’ time in WWII, when all they could do was think of getting back home: “Yea, the bombs are on their way/And I’m too young to be finished doesn’t matter what they say…” It’s hard to imagine these two not being in the setlist once the album lands.
‘Deep End’ is a delicious slice of synth pop-meets-modern rock. Ultra-cool, as is the tip of the hat to British punk on ‘Bear with Me’ when Smith asks, “So why you acting bitter?/Why you run your mouth?/Never mind the bollocks and this petty self-doubt”.
Ending with the stripped-back simplicity of ‘The Pilot’, ‘EI8HT’ is as complete an album as you are likely to hear this year.
Make “A lot can happen in a year” your new mantra.
Available via Atlantic Records May 29th, more information HERE.
Review – Dave
Portrait images – Ebru Yıldız
Live images – Rob Wilkins
SHINEDOWN DANCE KID DANCE ACT II WORLD TOUR DATES
May 28 – Estero, FL – Hertz Center *^%
May 30 – Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena *^%
June 2 – Biloxi, MS – Mississippi Coast Coliseum *^%
June 5 – Norfolk, VA – Chartway Arena *^%
June 6 – Hershey, PA – GIANT Center *^%
July 11 – Mt. Pleasant, MI – Soaring Eagle *#%
July 13 – Toronto, ON – Coca-Cola Coliseum *%
July 15 – Quebec City, QC – Centre Vidéotron *#%
July 17 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena *%
July 18 – Albany, NY – MVP Arena *#%
July 20 – Manchester, NH – SNHU Arena *%
July 21 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center *%
July 23 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena *%
July 25 – Knoxville, TN – Food City Center *#%
July 30 – Lubbock, TX – United Supermarkets Arena *#%
July 31 – Colorado Springs, CO – Weidner Field *%
August 2 – El Paso, TX – UTEP Don Haskins Center *#%
August 4 – Tucson, AZ – Tucson Arena *#%
August 6 – Ontario, CA – Toyota Arena *%
August 7 – Las Vegas, NV – Michelob ULTRA Arena *#%
August 9 – Sparks, NV – Nugget Event Center *%
August 10 – Boise, ID – ExtraMile Arena *#%
August 12 – Billings, MT – First Interstate Arena at Metrapark *#%
August 14 – Spokane, WA – Numerica Veterans Arena *#%
August 15 – Vancouver, BC – PNE Pacific Coliseum *#%
August 17 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place *#%
August 20 – Fargo, ND – Fargodome *#%
August 21 – Welch, MN – Treasure Island Resort *%
August 23 – Springfield, IL – Illinois State Fair *#%
September 4 – Dyersville, IA – Velocity Festival
September 10 – McHenry, IL – McHenry Music Festival
October 31 – Paris, FR – Zénith Paris – La Villette &
November 2 – Milan, IT – Alcatraz &
November 4 – Tilburg, NL – O13 &
November 6 – Prague, CZ – Forum Karlín &
November 8 – Copenhagen, DK – Falkonersalen &
November 9 – Stockholm, SE – Annexet &
November 11 – Berlin, DE – Columbiahalle &
November 12 – Düsseldorf, DE – Mitsubishi Electric Halle &
November 14 – Birmingham, UK – bp pulse LIVE *&
November 16 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro *&
November 17 – Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena *&
November 19 – London, UK – OVO Arena Wembley *&
November 20 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena *&
November 22 – Dublin, IE – 3Olympia Theatre &
* w/Coheed and Cambria
^ w/ Black Stone Cherry
# w/From Ashes To New
& w/Those Damn Crows
% w/ DJ Rock Feed
