\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div> \n\tThey\u2019re also rewarding fans with a heavy new number, EI8HT\u2019s <\/em>anthemic call to arms \u201cSafe and Sound,\u201d<\/a> which Smith says is \u201cabout standing on business,\u201d to quote Justin Bieber. But it also represents something else: \u201cI know certain people are like, \u201c\u2018Can they still rock out?’\u201d Smith says. \u201cAnd I\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah.’\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tBut of course the song is just one side of EI8HT<\/em>. They also hit four-on-the-floor beats on the dance ditty \u201cBurning Down the Disco,\u201d gothy brooding on the keyboard-adorned \u201cDeep End,\u201d romantic balladry on the country-esque \u201cDizzy,\u201d and pensive folk on \u201cThe Pilot\u201d \u2014 all with the quartet\u2019s requisite catchy hooks (the \u201cna-na-na\u201d refrain of \u201cImposter\u201d may prove unforgettable) and Smith\u2019s cutting voice binding the disparate sounds together undeniably into Shinedown songs. \u201cNo A.I. was used in the making of this album,\u201d Smith beams.<\/p>\n \n\tStill, as much as Smith volunteers about his work life \u2014 detailing Shinedown\u2019s core crew of around 20 people, the roughly 78 folks it takes to put on arena shows, the importance of terrestrial radio to bolstering the band\u2019s longevity \u2014 it\u2019s the moments when he veers off script that say the most about EI8HT<\/em>. Smith feels for bassist-producer Eric Bass, who lost his father, an aunt, and a sister-in-law while making the record. He\u2019s also mourning the recent death of \u201cone of my dearest friends in the music industry, just one of my dearest friends ever,\u201d Three Doors Down singer Brad Arnold<\/a> and shaken by the loss of actor James Van Der Beek<\/a>, who was the same age as Smith. \u201cI think that one thing this record represents is that life and time is very, very precious,\u201d he says. \u201cWe all have a date with destiny.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n \n\tOn top of that, Smith and his bandmates also had to remove themselves from the culture wars recently when they saw fans arguing online about the group\u2019s place on Kid Rock\u2019s MAGA-adjacent Rock the Country festival. \u201cWe saw infighting that we had never seen before, and for us, it was our job to diffuse it,\u201d Smith says. Even though Shinedown drummer Barry Kerch had called Ludacris a \u201ccoward\u201d<\/a> for exiting the bill, the group decided they, too, needed to drop off the bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI just want to remind everybody, it says the \u2018United States of America\u2019 \u2013 united<\/em>,\u201d Smith says. \u201cAnd a lot of people right now don\u2019t feel united.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSmith credits his parents with raising him not to discriminate against gender, skin color, religion, and sexual orientation. \u201cThat is what makes you who you are and we are all on this planet, and we occupy it together,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \n\tAlthough Shinedown doesn\u2019t \u201cstand on any politics\u201d and Smith identifies neither as a Democrat nor Republican (\u201cI\u2019m an American,\u201d he says instead), he wishes Congress would listen to the people they represent. His idea to fix American politics is to have both a Republican and a Democrat in the Oval Office. \u201cIf you\u2019re a Democrat, why can\u2019t you have a Republican for your running mate?\u2019 he says. He points to Republican Abraham Lincoln who ran with Democrat Andrew Johnson in 1864 as an instance where a balanced ticket like that worked.<\/p>\n \n\tDropping off the festival didn\u2019t ultimately quell all of the unrest in Shinedown\u2019s fanbase. \u201cThere were certain people that were not happy about [pulling back],\u201d Smith says. \u201cI will say that there was an overwhelming amount of people that agreed with the decision \u2026 You\u2019re entitled to your opinion 1,000 percent in this country, and that\u2019s one of the beautiful things about it.\u201d And it\u2019s not like fans are missing out on seeing Shinedown live. \u201cWe\u2019re getting ready to launch and release a lot of dates, man, and at the end of the day, we\u2019re still who we are,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEbru Yildiz*<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n \n\tAt the other end of the spectrum, Smith drew inspiration while making EI8HT<\/em> from watching his son, Lyric, grow from a 16-year-old into a legal adult, recalling illuminating existential conversations. \u201c[I told] him, \u2018Man, I think the meaning of life is to live it,\u2019 so he\u2019s kind of figuring out his journey,\u201d Smith says. Echoes from those chats informed \u201cWide Open,\u201d a country-esque hard rocker, on which he sings, \u201cI might be scared of what I\u2019ll miss, but I\u2019d rather take the risk, out here in the wide open.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWith everything that\u2019s going on, it could be terrifying to become an adult,\u201d the singer says, \u201cbut you have to look at the world as, \u2018It\u2019s wide open, and it\u2019s a level playing field.’\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSmith is proud of how EI8HT <\/em>spans an emotional gamut. \u201cIt is a gift to be alive and to be here right now,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd when I think about it, a lot of these songs\u2026 The whole definition of Shinedown is sometimes you shine, and sometimes you\u2019re down. There\u2019s a yin and a yang. Everything that\u2019s good has a little bit of bad, and everything that\u2019s bad has a little bit of good. It balances itself out.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tEI8HT <\/em>track list:<\/strong><\/p>\n \n\t1. \u201cAt the Bottom\u201d\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-rollingstone-2022\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>
2. \u201cDance, Kid, Dance\u201d
3. \u201cBurning Down the Disco\u201d
4. \u201cThree Six Five\u201d
5. \u201cYoung Again\u201d
6. \u201cDizzy\u201d
7. \u201cImposter\u201d
8. \u201cMachine Gun\u201d
9. \u201cOutlaw\u201d
10. \u201cSafe and Sound\u201d
11. \u201cSearchlight\u201d
12. \u201cBear With Me\u201d
13. \u201cDeep End\u201d
14. \u201cKilling Fields\u201d
15. \u201cBack to the Living\u201d
16. \u201cWide Open\u201d
17. \u201cSo Glad That You Asked\u201d
18. \u201cThe Pilot\u201d<\/p>\n