Shinedown

Melodic hard rockers Shinedown hail from Jacksonville, Florida and feature vocalist Brent Smith, guitarist Jasin Todd, bassist Brad Stewart and drummer Barry Kerch. Snapped up by Atlantic Records during the early ‘00's flurry of post-Creed and Nickelback signings, the group released their debut album Leave a Whisper in 2003. Whisper ended up doing quite well for the band, aided by its single "Fly from the Inside." Shinedown also supported it with a heroic slate of live shows, remaining on tour for most of 2004. The following year the band issued a live album documenting those shows, then returned in October 2005 with their sophomore effort, the Us and Them., the latter of which went Gold. The band underwent a few lineup changes in the years to follow, re-emerging in 2008 as a quintet that included Smith and Verch, along with guitarists Nick Perri and Zach Myers and bass player Eric Bass. The long awaited Sound of Madness, featuring Grammy award winning producer Rob Cavallo (Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day), arrived in July. ~ Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide