Penticton concert-goers will be the first to hear a previously unreleased song when U.S. rock band Shinedown takes the stage at the South Okanagan Events Centre on March 27.
Zach Myers, the band’s guitarist, said fans will hear a mix of songs during the show, including new tune Devil, and at least one other song from their yet-to-be-released album Attention Attention.
“We’re releasing two tracks before the album is released. Devil has released a while ago and another one. I can’t tell you which one, but you guys will literally hear it before anyone else,” he said.
Myers said the Penticton concert, which kicks off the band’s Canadian leg of their touring this year, will include songs from Threat to Survival (Cut the Cord, Black Cadillac) and the group’s five other albums.
“We’ll play quite a few from Threat to Survival. We haven’t toured that album in Canada so they can definitely expect quite a few songs from that, and it’ll be a mix of our previous work,” he said.
Attention Attention, which will officially be released May 4, is the Jacksonville, Fla. band’s sixth album and their first concept album.
The new release is inspired by works created by bass player Eric Bass who had been working on writing 22 pieces of music during the Threat to Survival tour in 2016. Following the European leg of the tour, alongside Iron Maiden, the entire group, Bass, Myers and founding members Brent Smith (lead singer) and Barry Kerch (drums) got busy writing and recording. In the end, the band only used one of Bass’s original songs, but they were inspired to continue making a concept album.
“It’s a story from start to finish. You start in the depths of your worst nightmares, a.k.a. hell. That’s where the devil is and that’s why that’s our first song. And you go through this transportation out of the darkness into this beautiful epiphany of your own mind.”
Devil was released March 7 and peaked at number nine on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart.
Also different with this album is that the band intends to record a video for each song furthering on the idea of a concept album.
“We’ve done two so far, and the second one isn’t even for a single. We still like doing videos. They’re fun to make, and it’s going to be really interesting to see how this turns out,” he said.
Myers said although there are no Canadian dates on their upcoming summer tour with Godsmack, he expects the band will have a few Canadian dates for Attention Attention, although he couldn’t confirm a date in Penticton.
For Tuesday’s show, American alternative rock bands In this Moment and 10 Years along with Canadian rockers One Bad Son will also perform.
“Our shows are fun. There’s lots of lights, lasers, stuff blowing up. It’s a big show,” said Myers.
