While Floridian heavyweights Shinedown are undoubtedly big, they deserve to be Metallica-sized huge and ‘EI8HT’ is their biggest statement yet. Quite whether singer Brent Smith and drummer Barry Kerch had any idea that the juggernaut would still be rolling twenty-five years later when they formed the band in 2001 is something only they could have guessed but when the line-up solidified with the 2008 addition of Zach Myers on guitar and bassist Eric Bass, the path was clear for global domination. It’s not been an easy ride, Smith’s openly known and discussed issues with drink and drugs seeing the band draw ever closer and helping him through the tough times and ongoing work, but this has all contributed to their success and the strength, loyalty and honesty shown means something in a business where ego is king.
This ethos bleeds through into the music too and the band pour everything they have into this new monster, the huge hooks and big riffs matched by lyrics that actually mean something from the heart. It’s all here for the world to see and whilst rock ‘n’ roll may have been built on rebellion, there’s a purpose here when the quartet kick up some dust. With what could have been a patience-stretching eighteen tracks, the band have built up something weighty yet never seems laboured and the numbers gleefully fly by. Blending balls and a sensibility that has elements of pop nous, it’s possible to see ‘EI8HT’ spanning the great divide and drawing an ever widening circle of people into their world, each drawn in by something that will light up their world.
It’s impossible to hear anthemic festival ready material like ‘At the Bottom’, ‘Dance Kid Dance’ and ‘Imposter’ and not think of a sea of thousands of people at Download or Hellfest absolutely losing themselves to the joy of the moment and it’s fare like this that memories are made of. Sure, these are fun but there’s so much more here than party songs and songs like ‘Three Six Five’ and ‘Machine Gun’ are full of a different kind of heart, the lyrics bringing some real depth that are made for diving into and absorbing properly. Soulfulness seeps into the very bones of ‘Searchlight’, shades brought out with their touches of banjos and strings that appear through a gossamer veil, the crushing ‘Safe and Sound’ tipping things to the other side of the seesaw as it rages and packs a mighty punch.
As with most rock bands of the past sixty years, there’s also the breath of The Beatles and George Martin in places, the brilliant ‘Back to the Living’ being a prime example of style and production flair that is one of the album’s highlights. The thing is though, you could pick any of the numbers here and you’d find something to love and hold to your heart. While releases like this can be self-important and archly knowing, what makes Shinedown stand out from many of their contemporaries is the feeling that they approach each new album like it could be their last and the thought of compromising or giving into autopiloted commerce just for sales is a total anathema to them. ‘EI8HT’ is an extraordinary record and one that can be certainly proud of. For a band who always set the bar high, this is their most unfeasibly vertiginous achievement yet.
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