Shinedown’s new album is supposed to shock. The chart-topping rockers try one thing totally different on “EI8HT,” their aptly titled eighth studio launch, out Friday.
Frontman Brent Smith, guitarist Zach Myers, bassist Eric Bass and drummer Barry Kerch flaunt their musical creativity on an bold 18-song journey. While their final two albums — 2018’s “Attention Attention” and 2022’s “Planet Zero” — have been concept-driven with largely arduous rock songs, Shinedown scraps that format. Instead, the versatile “EI8HT” is an unpredictable mixture of arduous rock, energy ballads, string-filled choruses — and even nation — backing Smith’s musings on love, loss, perseverance and redemption.
It’s a wide-ranging mixture that may not hit with some followers who first discovered the band of their post-grunge days, 25 years in the past. But the album is arguably one in every of Shinedown’s greatest.
“You think you know me? / You know nothing at all,” Smith sings on the lead observe “At The Bottom,” truthful warning for what’s forward.
“Safe and Sound,” “Killing Fields” and “Machine Gun” are high-energy bangers that may depart some old-school listeners wanting extra.
Want to bounce round? “Dance, Kid, Dance,” “Young Again,” “Burning Down The Disco,” “Dizzy” and the commercial synth-influenced “Deep End” acquired you.
“Three Six Five” is a heart-wrenching rock ballad about cherishing time with family members.
“If I could hitch a ride on a time machine,” Smith sings. “I would bring you right back here with me / And I wouldn’t have to watch you disappear.”
Smith and Myers draw on their Tennessee roots as Shinedown provides full-on nation a strive for the primary time with “Searchlight,” a tune flavored by a metal guitar, banjo and fiddle.
The acoustic nearer “The Pilot” is the album’s most poignant observe, with Smith insisting: “Today’s a battle, but I’ll win the war.” Violins, basses, cellos and violas organized by Bass, the primary producer for the third consecutive Shinedown album, present the backdrop.
This model of Shinedown is actually totally different from their angst-ridden early years when the lyrics have been darker and the sound grittier. Some followers may bemoan the band’s gradual foray into the mainstream, hanging on to the few spots on “EI8HT” that provide reminders. But the arduous rock basis stays, and Smith’s hovering vocals have been a continuing.
Shinedown has made a profession of baring their souls of their music. “EI8HT” is one other victory, perhaps their largest but.
“EI8HT” by Shinedown
Four stars out of 5.
On repeat: “Safe and Sound,” “Killing Fields,” “Dizzy”
Skip it: “Bear With Me.”
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