Listening to the `Madness'; Shinedown's new CD takes band on an amazing journey.

Byline: Richard Duckett

It has been more than two years since the Florida-based hard rock band Shinedown came to The Palladium. They are finally coming back Sunday, but there's been some "madness" between visits.

"The Sound of Madness," that is, Shinedown's new album that was 18 months in the making. Brent Smith, Shinedown co-founder and lead vocalist, feels it was worth the time. Audiences are finding out if it was worth the wait, as the band has been on a heavy touring schedule to promote the album.

"I'm looking forward to getting back to Worcester. Every single show we've done there has been amazing," Smith said during a telephone interview last week from Little Rock, Ark., where the band was set to perform that night.

Smith placed a lot of importance on "The Sound of Madness," and believes it has lived up to his expectations. "I'm beyond pleased with it," he said.

The album is the third for the group, which was founded seven years ago. The first two recordings, "Leave a Whisper" and "Us and Them," were successful, going Platinum and Gold, respectively, and accumulating seven consecutive top five rock and alternative radio hits that included "Fly From the Inside," "45," the chart-topping "Save Me" and a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man."

Still, Smith believes that Shinedown is destined to shine even brighter.

But after a tour two years ago there was time for a little reflection.

"One of the things - we got off the road and I took a moment to look at what had already been done," Smith said. Concerning the second album, "I had been disappointed with the way that it sounded ... I felt it was rushed."

Talking to people at the group's label, Atlantic Records, about a prospective third album, Smith felt the rush might be on again.

"They said they wanted it in six months. I said, `I need no time limit.'" He got his way. "It took 18 months to do it."

A lot can happen in 18 months, and Shinedown was radically restructured - or to use Smith's term, "reinvented."

"The fact of the matter is, unfortunately during the writing and making of the record there were some issues going on. It was like watching a ship going through `Mayday.' It was time to let some people go. I just couldn't allow this thing called Shinedown to die."

Coming on board were former Silvertide member Nick Perri on guitar, Eric Bass on bass, and former touring guitarist Zach Myers as a permanent fixture. Smith and drummer co-founder Barry Kerch are the band's only surviving original members. However, Smith said that Perri, Bass and Myers were all friends of his from way back and the familiarity soon meshed musically.

"We reinvented it, but I will say this is the best the band has been," Smith said.

The band went into the studio with renowned Grammy Award producer Rod Cavallo, and Smith expressed his high hopes to him. "I said, `You know what - when I'm dead and gone, when everybody in this band has passed or what have you, I want the world to remember this as a record that needed to be made, and that there was a reason for it.'"

Smith speaks in an emphatic manner that is a complement to the band's music.

Reviewers and bloggers alike have noted that "The Sound of Madness" is both heavier and softer than the previous albums. The opening track, "Devour," is a furious piece inspired by a visit the band made to Iraq.

But "The Sound of Madness" also features the first love song that Smith ever wrote. There are rockers (getting rave reviews) and back-to-back ballads (which disappointed some bloggers) - but all are characterized by an intense but crisp multi-layering of sound.

Asked about the title for the album, Smith said that "the name was an obvious choice ... There's madness every day of your life. But the word `madness' is beautiful. That's your life - it's everything around you. When I was doing the record, every day was madness. Not all the time, but it was great. It was about looking all around us."

Iraq "definitely was a madness of a different sort," Smith observed.

If "Devour" speaks with a rage, Smith is not overtly political, and the passion comes with a concern and empathy for soldiers away from their families and homes. "We've got to get the soldiers home to their families," he said.

He called going to Iraq "the most life-changing experience besides watching my fiancee have our son."

Meanwhile, his fiancee inspired the song "If You Only Knew."

"It was written about my fiancee. I said I would never write a love song, but I never had a reason to until I met her. She's such an amazing part of what I do. She pushes me to not only be a better man and a better father, but a better musician," Smith said.

Touring with Shinedown does take him away from his family and home a lot.

"It's really a song about missing you."

One could suggest that one thing Shinedown misses is a really big hit to take it over the moon, so to speak, or sun.

Smith pointed that the band has had eight (now counting "Devour") hit singles on the radio. "But I know what you are saying. I'm never satisfied on any level and never will be. Every single day I try to out do."

There is definitely no sunset in sight for Shinedown, and more tours and international engagements are in the offing.

"I want the whole world to know what Shinedown is," Smith said.

Also on the bill Sunday is Theory of Deadman and Blackstone Cherry. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m.

Shinedown, with Theory of a Deadman and Blackstone Cherry

When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: The Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester

How much: $25. For tickets, call [phone]

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Shinedown plays Sunday at The Palladium in Worcester.