The band Shinedown has built their name on rock songs both brutal in power and epic in scope.
Now with their latest album, the group that’s comprised of Brent Smith, Barry Kerch, Eric Bass, and Zach Myers has veered away from their densely-layered sonic palette and taken a more direct approach.
Featuring the lead single, “Cut the Cord” — a blistering track that shot to No. 1 on Active Rock radio — Threat to Survival has been their most important album, with the multi-platinum-selling band achieving their most powerful sound to date.
Smith explained that the band’s approach on Threat to Survival had much to do with the emotionally raw material at the heart of the album.
“When we started the writing process we realized the changes that had taken place over the past two years, our experiences, the relationships that had come and gone… the album really took on a life of its own,” says Smith. “… The songs were so honest, it felt necessary to present them in the most straightforward way possible.”
“If you’re going to make something that’s going to exist forever, sometimes you have to fight yourself to get out what you need to express,” Smith went on to say. “You need to break down all the walls and get rid of whatever distractions that might be holding you back.”
Shinedown continually brings both staggering musicality and an emotional complexity to their music.
“There’s always been a certain level of positivity with Shinedown — that’s even where our name came from,” Smith said. “There’s a sense that everything that’s bad has a little bit of good to it, just like everything that’s good has a little bit of bad. The songs on this album address the reality that we’re all going to die at some point and that sometimes the willingness to survive is all you have. It’s about holding onto that sheer will to live, and getting through whatever might come your way because the legacy that you leave behind is what will carry you on to your next journey.”
Shinedown will be performing at The Paramount on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m.
The Paramount is located at 370 New York Ave. in Huntington.
To purchase tickets to the concert, go to www.paramountny.com.
