Album Review – Shinedown – Planet Zero
Artist: Shinedown
Album: “Planet Zero”
Rating: 9/10
“The fact is that we’re all here on this planet no matter what, so it’s time to actually move forward together with empathy, perseverance and strength. With that said….welcome to PLANET ZERO.”
Brent Smith, Vocalist, Shinedown
Shinedown has released follow up their last album, “Attention, Attention” I was invited to take a listen and post my thoughts, and it begs the question: “Are we staring down a dystopia future?”. This is what Shinedown is tackling in the new album, “Planet Zero”. While originally slated for an April 22nd release the album had to be postponed due to lack in production to a July 1st release. The fans are definitely on the edge of their seats waiting! The title track is also Shinedown’s 17th number #1!
The 20 track concept of the, “Planet Zero” album consists of a concept that centers around the theme of a dystopian future where human behavior is heavily controlled through a planetary regulation system called Cyren. The album was produced by Shinedown’s very own Eric Bass (who also produced the band’s 2018 acclaimed album ATTENTION ATTENTION,) and recorded at Bass’ newly built Big Animal Studio in South Carolina.
The album starts with, “No Sleep Tonight” giving the fans a great intro to the album with driving riffs and crisp lyrics, it definitely screaming classic Shinedown. The chorus balances out the song and makes it a cohesive track to lead into the title track, “Planet Zero” leaving you aweing at such an amazing transition.
“If we shut each other down and allow ourselves to be divided by the information we consume and the way we talk to each other, we lose our humanity. When you look outside of your phone, you’ll see there are so many people doing good things and trying to take care of each other. But we’re starting to see parts of society slip into an unknown.”
Brent Smith, Vocalist, Shinedown
The album brings us to title track, “Planet Zero” and this track is octane in full. The track has a explosive yet artfully crafted sound and urgent lyrics, mainly on the vocal pause when Brent says his drawn out “…Replaced” its no wonder this track reached #1 in no time.
“Dead Don’t Die” shows Shinedown do what they’ve done time and time again while adding a new flare to it, the powerhouse that is Brent, Zach and Eric really hit it home and land with Brent’s heavy driven vocals.
One cool thing about this album is it has these cool sonic synthesis song intros that really add something to this album. “A Utopian Future” talks of privacy invasion and being thought provoking of saving yourself from, “The clueless and dramatic“. It even references their original track, “45” in the lyrics.
A real stand out track to me in whole album has to be, “Daylight” it has, “If You Only Knew” vibes and stood out due to it slowly it down and being a sign of venerability in the hard driven album. Then quickly segueing into the heavy and angry, “The Saints Of Violence and Innuendo” which has a base verse of:
“Tell Me The Truth..Tell Me The Truth”
The track practically pleading out to the powers that be to juat set the people go out of the shadows and oppression. It’s a very powerful statement from the band.
The album ends with, “What You Wanted” and it seems more of shout-out to the fans listening, “Goodbye, so long. See you later goodnight, did you get what you wanted? is this what you wanted? So long we hope you enjoyed the ride, did you get wanted? Is this what you wanted?” And yes Shinedown, We did. Don’t ever doubt that.
Presave/PreOrder Here: https://shinedown.lnk.to/planetzero
Please visit the event page HERE to get access to the free ticket to this special release day livestream experience, which will be shared with fans worldwide by Veeps, a premium concert streaming platformlaunched by Joel and Benji Madden and part of Live Nation Entertainment.
