SHINEDOWN Singer Says 'Bully' Does Not Condone Violence

Since SHINEDOWN released the song "Bully", some critics have suggested that the song's lyrics condone the use of violence to combat the violence inflicted by bullies. But with the release of the song's video on Tuesday (March 6),frontman Brent Smith told The Pulse Of Radio that "Bully" does nothing of the kind. "I'm not condoning violence in this song," he said. "What I'm condoning is survival. You want to be able to use your words in any situation, but the reality is, is that you have to make sure people realize that you think highly of yourself, and that you have self-respect and you have dignity. And the song is really about, if you push me, I will push you back, and if you hit me, I will hit you back."

"Bully" is already a No. 1 hit at rock radio, while the video features scenes of bullying alongside footage of the band performing the song.

Loudwire described the "Bully" clip as covering "both the dark side and the light at the end of the tunnel of a very serious issue from those personally impacted to others that just turn a blind eye, connecting the dots between us all."

The track is taken from SHINEDOWN's fourth studio album, "Amaryllis", which comes out on March 27 and follows up the band's biggest success yet, 2008's "The Sound Of Madness".

That disc sold more than a million copies and produced six hit singles, including a number of rock radio chart-toppers.

SHINEDOWN will lead the 2012 edition of the Avalanche Tour. The North American trek will kick off on March 27 in Anaheim, California, with ADELITAS WAY, NEW MEDICINE and ART OF DYING also on the bill.

When asked by The Pulse Of Radio how he feels SHINEDOWN has evolved musically on "Amaryllis", Smith said, "The musicianship got way stronger, the songwriting got way more sophisticated, and I think that overall we were able to push ourselves in a direction that was — I don't necessarily know if it was the obvious next step, but we enjoyed the journey with each other."