SHINEDOWN Completes Recording New Album: 'It's Heavier Than 'Threat To Survival',' Says ZACH MYERS

SHINEDOWN has completed recording its new album for a tentative late spring/early summer release via Atlantic. The follow-up to 2015's "Threat To Survival" marks the group's first full-length effort to be produced entirely by bassist Eric Bass.

"The new album is done," SHINEDOWN guitarist Zach Myers told Kaytie of the Razor 94.7 radio station on Friday (January 5). He then clarified: "Our part is done. Not all of our part — Eric is now mixing the record as well. He was just gonna produce it and someone else was gonna mix it. But now he's mixing the record. So Eric is not done, but the [rest] of us are done with our recording parts. So it is done. It's in the can."

According to Myers, SHINEDOWN recorded a total of 16 songs for the new album, out of which "12 or 13" will make the final cut. "It's the hardest album for me — I think for all four of us," he said. "And I'm not just saying this; everybody, when they make [a new album, they say], 'It's the best thing we've ever done.' I'm being honest when I say it's the hardest record for me so far trying to cut a song from."

As for the musical direction of SHINEDOWN's new disc, Myers said: "It's heavier than 'Threat To Survival', but it's fresh, it's new.

"My favorite thing about our band is that we've never made the same record twice," he continued.

"There's so many bands you know on Active Rock radio that have their potion — 'I'm gonna pour this in here, and pour this in here' — and if it's not broke, don't fix it. And I'm, like, I have to be an artist first; all four of us do. I have to be a musician first, so I can't just cookie-cut the same sheet of dough and go, 'Well, here it is. It worked last time.' I'd rather not do that and fail than do that and succeed. And that's truly how I feel."

Myers said that the decision to have Eric produce the entire album was an easy one. "He had already done three Number One songs, so it was, like, why not?" he explained. "Eric owns a studio in Charleston [South Carolina]. He owns a real studio that's not at his house; it's a real studio. That's where we did 'Cut The Cord', that's where we did 'Diamond Eyes', that's where we did a ton of songs. And it just made sense. And it came organically. It wasn't [like] we met with a bunch of producers and we didn't like any of 'em, it was, like, 'Why doesn't Eric do this?'"

Zach went on to say that Eric has always been "the creative guy" in SHINEDOWN. "When we make records, that's the 'Eric time'; that's when Eric is at his best," he said. "I was kind of excited for Eric to produce this entire record, and then I got even more excited once we started making it, 'cause it is my favorite SHINEDOWN record as of right now."

While Zach handles a lot of the tour-related aspects of SHINEDOWN's business, "Eric thrives in that studio; that's his homebase, that's his home field," Myers said. "And it feels really nice to have him produce the record. Because I get 'red light fever' in the studio. On stage, I'm the least nervous person you'll ever meet. In the studio, I get super nervous and I don't remember how I play. Studio is repetition, so you're recording the same part over and over. So I'll forget how I played it the time before, and Eric can literally do something the same way mechanically every time. So that's there he thrives. Barry [Kerch, drums] as well. Me and Brent [Smith, vocals] can come in and out; we've gotta step away from it. But I believe Eric will become a very, very sought-after producer after this record is out."

Smith told the 97.7 WQLZ radio station last summer that SHINEDOWN's new album would likely be "a concept record. That's a very, very deep rabbit hole to go down, but I think we're ready to do it," he said. "The band's never done this before, and taking in that type of an atmosphere sonically is really taking an audience on a journey."

"Threat To Survival" contained the No. 1 rock radio hits "Cut The Cord" and "State Of My Head", along with the Top 10 tracks "Asking For It" and "How Did You Love".

SHINEDOWN last year completed a European tour as the support act for IRON MAIDEN.