It’s been a hot minute since the band released new music so fans and reviewers alike are desperate to hear what the intrepid, emotionally charged rockers have to say three years after 2015’s Threat To Survival.
We may never disclose the full concept of the record, but each of these songs is strong enough to stand on its own.American anthemic rock titans Shinedown are back in 2018 with their pulsating new album, Attention Attention. I’m looking forward to people hearing the record and taking away everything that we've put into it. With this one, it’s guitar all the way through, and the songs have been really fun to play. On Threat to Survival, we took a little bit of a different approach guitar wise. I’m excited for people to hear the record and take away from it what they will. What excites you the most about the new album and this next phase of the band’s career? We love those guys and get along with them so well. Then this summer, we'll be doing the same thing with Godsmack.
That’s always fun because both bands play same amount of time and have the same production. We've got some festivals coming up in May and then some co-headlining shows with Five Finger Death Punch. What can you tell me about Shinedown’s tour plans? There are 3-4 of my Signature models that I use each night. Guitar wise, it's always been the PRS for me. I still run cabs on stage though because I have to have it. I was a big rig guy for a very long time, but really love the convenience of the Fractal. Sonically, I think it’s one of the best sounding records we’ve ever made. Even though he’s in the band, he was able to take mental steps away from it. He’s a brilliant producer and was the best at policing us. He said he'd rather us go crazy making an album than us watching someone else go crazy trying to make it. We did the album at his studio in Charleston. What was it like working with him in this capacity? This is the first time Eric has solely produced a Shinedown album. Collectively, it’s about the human mentality of where the world is now. We touched a little bit on this in the video where everyone is always on their phone and no one is really paying attention to what's going on in the world around them. You've dug the hole, and this is when you start sticking your fingers in the dirt to start to climb out. You’re gasping for air after “Devil” and seeing where you are and what's around you and trying to figure things out. What can you tell me about the track, “Black Soul”?įor me, you’re still in a very dark area of the record when that song starts. All the songs on the album have their place in the concept or can be listened to individually. We're known as a songwriting band, and a lot of people really connect with Brent's lyrics. When you force yourself to write for a record, it’s easy to get stale and out of your own element. We all just sit down and feel where the mood is going to take us. I don’t think we've ever decided to write a song about A, B & C. It can start with something that Eric has or a lyric that Brent has or even a riff that I have. Where does the band draw inspiration for its songwriting? A coming to light within yourself and realizing that you can do many things on your own. Then the album ends with “Brilliant," which is romantic serendipity.
It’s when you’ve dug yourself a fifteen-foot hole and now you have to figure out how to get out. The album starts out with “Devil”, which is about being in the worst place you can possibly be. We write about what we know, and that's ourselves and what we personally go through. At times, it’s about one person and other times, it's about all four of us. It’s funny, our last record was called Threat to Survival, and this record is almost about self-survival. But it's not a concept in the typical sense. It wasn’t something that was forced but came very naturally. We didn't really set out to make a concept record, and it wasn’t until we got to the middle of making the album that we began to realize what it was. Was that the original intention going in? Attention Attention has been described as a concept album.