I got some seriously odd looks from the people around me on the train today because I absolutely could not sit still listening to the opening bars of Shinedown’s third single ‘The Sound of Madness’, from their third album of the same name.

The follow up to lead single ‘Devour’ and subsequent ‘Second Chance’, is driven, inciting and powerful. The mix of meaty drums and a whining guitar riff, both then layered with lead singer Brent Smith’s wide-eyed, psycho lyrics “Another loose cannon gone bi-polar/slipped down, couldn’t get much lower/quicksand’s got no sense of humour/I’m still laughing like hell” makes for a sound indeed described best as ‘madness’. The solid pace is scarily faultless, until the welcome almost a capella breakdown, like the calm in the eye of the storm.

The band ran a fan-based poll of which track from their latest album they should release as their next single, and ‘The Sound of Madness’ won fair and square. Shinedown then announced the winner via a stunning home video on their site at the beginning of the month.

If any song from The Sound of Madness was to encompass the direction in which Shinedown are heading, this is the track to do it. And considering the fans are the ones who voted for its release, it seems their madness is being well received.

So, in the words of bassist Eric Bass, “Heavier than a pound of butter…enjoy ‘The Sound of Madness’”

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