The Sound of Madness by Shinedown
The Sound of Madness is the third studio album by American rock band Shinedown, released June 24, 2008. The album's lead single, "Devour," was released to radio on May 5, 2008. The album's lyrics explore diverse subject matter as opposed to their previous albums; "Devour" ventures into political territory while "What a Shame" tells a story about lead singer Brent Smith's uncle, who died during the recording of the album, and how Brent and his cousin, professional wrestler Olivia Smith, dealt with his death. The song "If You Only Knew," which is about Smith's then-fiance and newborn child, was the first time that he had written a love ballad for Shinedown. Shinedown's tour to support the album subsequently started with the band playing a few festival shows before the release of The Sound of Madness. The Sound of Madness is Shinedown's most successful album, and has issued both one multi-platinum single ("Second Chance") and a gold single ("If You Only Knew"), as well as being certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2010 for shipments over 1,000,000 copies. The Sound of Madness is the first album to feature guitarist Zach Myers and bassist Eric Bass. Brent Smith told Billboard.com, "It's time to just go over the top, literally go above and beyond what a human being thinks they're capable of recording. We want to do a huge hard rock record that has a lot of crossover potential but also some of the most insanely intense and heavy material that this band has ever tried—and see if we can pull it off." Smith said the group had more than forty songs written from writing sessions in Atlanta, Nashville, and Los Angeles. Shinedown road tested four "potential singles," which were written with the bands founding guitarist Jasin Todd, "Sound of Madness," "The Crow & the Butterfly," "Second Chance" and "Devour," on a short run of shows before his exit from the band.
Shinedown wrote 40 songs for <i>The Sound Of Madness</i>, picking 11 of the best to make the cut. Then they road tested four favorites, measuring audience reactions to gauge which two were hit worthy. "Devour" won in spades, followed by the title track. Throwing relentless punches and loaded with razor sharp hooks, "Devour" sets the tone with such victorious ferocity that it was licensed as the theme song for World Wrestling Entertainment's June, 2008 pay-per-view event, <i>Night of Champions</i>, as well as the soundtrack to EA Sports' "Madden NFL 09" video game, in addition to which it was chosen to be featured on ESPN throughout the 2008 major league baseball season. A pounding bass drum and sinister guitar riff begin "Sound Of Madness" as sneering singer Brent Smith rallies young outcasts and deserters. If every angry pariah listened to this call to arms simultaneously, there could be riots and fires in the streets. That an album this heavy and angry hit mainstream radio tells you something about the troubled times, circa summer 2008.
