Shinedown // EI8HT // Album Review

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This is it, baby! Shinedown are back with their latest offering, EI8HT, which lands this coming Friday, May 29th. This being their 8th studio album, no surprises there. We have had 2.5 decades of this fine band, and they have grown into a monstrous entity over that time.

Now as an Irishman, I don’t get the opportunity to see these crazy cats too often, but I popped my Shinedown cherry when they supported Iron Maiden a few years back at Belsonic in Belfast, and it was cool to finally see them in the flesh. That being said, I really want to see them up close and personal in a more intimate, hot and sweaty venue where I can fully appreciate everything that Shinedown is. So, for now I’ll have to make do with this blistering album and get myself excited for their forthcoming UK Tour at the end of the year and cross my little fat fingers in the hope that a local promoter brings them across the pond. The album kicks off with a grandiose track in ‘At The Bottom’ which has serious Queen vibes all over it, and I am wondering where this new album is going to take us. But as the second track ‘Dance Kid Dance’ breaks down the door, you know you’re back on track with a blistering assault on the senses that just feels like a shot of adrenaline through your veins.

From there, you are treated to a collection of bangers, one after another, that just fuel your soul again and again with melodic delicacies. Brent’s voice is a joy to behold; he soars over the highly addictive collection of songs that just ebb and flow so beautifully, you get the kitchen sink and all across this sizeable album, from filthy, gritty headbangers to easy-on-the-ear rock ballads with nods to bands like Def Leppard and the heyday sound of 90’s Mutt Lang-inspired rock. Before you know it, you are flying through this album, buzzing from track to track as each one gets the blood pumping, feet tapping, head bopping, and you’ll be warbling with Brent as best you can.

The band don’t rest on their laurels; each track in its own right is a journey that the band takes you on, with subtle nuances in each and every one that showcase the band’s ability to flex their musical muscles with ease. I guess that is part of being a band on a journey, growing together and spreading your wings, sonically so that you no longer feel restrained by any box a genre may try to fit you in, but instead you are brave enough to break through that glass ceiling and soar as you have always strived to do, that could of course come with the commercial success the band have experienced. That also affords you a degree of self-determination. But here we have a band in full flight, passion pouring out of their pores in every track, each one an anthemic-stadium-sized monster, four years in the making, and it’s not hard to understand why.

It would have been easy, I am sure, to fire out 8 tracks in one or two years, go through the motions and sit back and wait for the plaudits to roll in. But everything about this album tells you there is nothing in Shinedown that suggests they ever go through the motions; the attention to detail here is astounding! EIGHT is a triumph to modern music, a case study in what rock music should be in 2026. This once again harks back to the likes of Queen, bands that could so easily have played it safe and tossed out radio-friendly hits time and time again, but who always pushed the boundaries of what we understood rock music to be. Shinedown for me are as adventurous and sharp as that, pushing the boundaries of what we thought we knew about this band over the edge in 2026.

EI8HT is a joy to behold, an 18-course meal of sonic delicacies to feed the soul.

Thankfully, you don’t have to wait long to experience it for yourself; the countdown is on.

EI8HT arrives Friday, May 29th, courtesy of Atlantic Records.

PRE-ORDER EI8HT HERE

Tracklist for EI8HT

  1. At The Bottom
  2. Dance, Kid, Dance
  3. Burning Down The Disco
  4. Three Six Five
  5. Young Again
  6. Dizzy
  7. Imposter
  8. Machine Gun
  9. Outlaw
  10. Safe And Sound
  11. Searchlight
  12. Bear With Me
  13. Deep End
  14. Killing Fields
  15. Back To The Living
  16. Wide Open
  17. So Glad That You Asked
  18. The Pilot

The album will be available in multiple formats and bundles, including first press white sleeve 2LP, evergreen 2LP, orange smoke 2LP, CD, digitally, and more, alongside signed editions and all new co-ordinated merchandise. And if you order any format of the band’s album from their store before 2pm on Monday 23rd February, you can get early access to buy tickets for the unmissable tour!

Pre-order EI8HT HERE or by clicking below.

PRE-ORDER EI8HT HERE

Joining Shinedown for their dazzling worldwide tour on various dates will be Coheed and Cambria, Black Stone Cherry, Those Damn Crows, From Ashes to New, and DJ Rock Feed.

The U.K. dates are with Coheed and Cambria and Those Damn Crows and line up as follows:

November 14 – Birmingham, UK – bp pulse LIVE

November 16 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro

November 17 – Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena

November 19 – London, UK – OVO Arena Wembley

November 20 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena

Ireland sees Those Damn Crows as special guests at:

November 22 – Dublin, IE – 3Olympia Theatre

See full itinerary below and more information at www.shinedown.com.

North American tickets go on sale to the public on Friday, February 20th at 10am local time and European and United Kingdom tickets go on sale Friday, February 27th at 10am local time with various presales earlier in the week for all markets.

SHINEDOWN DANCE KID DANCE ACT II WORLD TOUR DATES

May 13 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center *^%

May 15 – Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple Festival Headlining

May 16 – Madison, WI – Kohl Center *^%

May 18 – Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford PREMIER Center *^%

May 19 – Wichita, KS – INTRUST Bank Arena *^%%

May 22 – Austin, TX – Moody Center *^%

May 23 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Center *^%

May 26 – Jacksonville, FL – VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena *^%

May 28 – Estero, FL – Hertz Center *^%

May 30 – Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena *^%

June 2 – Biloxi, MS – Mississippi Coast Coliseum *^%

June 5 – Norfolk, VA – Chartway Arena *^%

June 6 – Hershey, PA – GIANT Center *^%

July 11 – Mt. Pleasant, MI – Soaring Eagle *#%

July 13 – Toronto, ON – Coca-Cola Coliseum *%

July 15 – Quebec City, QC – Centre Vidéotron *#%

July 17 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena *%

July 18 – Albany, NY – MVP Arena *#%

July 20 – Manchester, NH – SNHU Arena *%

July 21 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Center *%

July 23 – Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena *%

July 25 – Knoxville, TN – Food City Center *#%

July 30 – Lubbock, TX – United Supermarkets Arena *#%

July 31 – Colorado Springs, CO – Weidner Field *%

August 2 – El Paso, TX – UTEP Don Haskins Center *#%

August 4 – Tucson, AZ – Tucson Arena *#%

August 6 – Ontario, CA – Toyota Arena *%

August 7 – Las Vegas, NV – Michelob ULTRA Arena *#%

August 9 – Sparks, NV – Nugget Event Center *%

August 10 – Boise, ID – ExtraMile Arena *#%

August 12 – Billings, MT – First Interstate Arena at Metrapark *#%

August 14 – Spokane, WA – Numerica Veterans Arena *#%

August 15 – Vancouver, BC – PNE Pacific Coliseum *#%

August 17 – Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place *#%

August 20 – Fargo, ND – Fargodome *#%

August 21 – Welch, MN – Treasure Island Resort *%

August 23 – Springfield, IL – Illinois State Fair *#%

September 4 – Dyersville, IA – Velocity Festival

September 10 – McHenry, IL – McHenry Music Festival

October 31 – Paris, FR – Zénith Paris – La Villette &

November 2 – Milan, IT – Alcatraz &

November 4 – Tilburg, NL – O13 &

November 6 – Prague, CZ – Forum Karlín &

November 8 – Copenhagen, DK – Falkonersalen &

November 9 – Stockholm, SE – Annexet &

November 11 – Berlin, DE – Columbiahalle &

November 12 – Düsseldorf, DE – Mitsubishi Electric Halle &

November 14 – Birmingham, UK – bp pulse LIVE *&

November 16 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro *&

November 17 – Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena *&

November 19 – London, UK – OVO Arena Wembley *&

November 20 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena *&

November 22 – Dublin, IE – 3Olympia Theatre &

* w/Coheed and Cambria

^ w/ Black Stone Cherry

# w/From Ashes To New

& w/Those Damn Crows

% w/ DJ Rock Feed

The world tour adds to the band’s first-ever curated festival event – Shinedown’s Lunatic Ball Beach Weekend, taking place October 23-25, 2026 in Miramar Beach, Florida. The three-day destination experience features performances from Shinedown (two unique headlining sets), BUSH, Hanson, Flyleaf (with Lacey Sturm), Living Colour, From Ashes to New, Guardians of the Jukebox, Neon Mooners and more. Get tickets at www.shinedown.com.

Shinedown continue their global ascent riding unprecedented momentum. Over the past year, the multi-platinum band released four major singles, “Dance, Kid, Dance,” “Killing Fields,” “Three Six Five,” and the era-defining “Searchlight,” that dominated U.S. radio across formats. The first two hit #1 at rock radio, while “Three Six Five” crossed over with #1 at Alternative, Top 10 at Hot AC and AC, and Top 20 at Top 40, extending the band’s all-time record for most #1’s on both the Billboard Mainstream Rock (21 #1’s) and Mediabase Active Rock (23 #1’s) charts.

They also made history debuting “Searchlight” live at the Grand Ole Opry – introduced onstage by Carrie Underwood – a performance that became one of the night’s most talked-about moments and showcased the track’s expansive blend of rock, Americana, blues, bluegrass, and outlaw country influences while losing none of the group’s anthemic power. Brent introduced the song saying, “Sometimes when you listen close enough to the universe and you’re willing to receive something from it – a song can come out of thin air. We didn’t find this one, it found us.”

Beyond the studio, the band hit new heights onstage – selling out iconic NYC venue Madison Square Garden for the first time and raising $300,000 for Musicians On Call through a $1-per-ticket donation on their U.S. tour, supporting a new bedside music program with HCA Florida Healthcare.

Shinedown storm into the 2026 iHeartRadio Music Awards with nominations for Rock Artist of the Year, Duo/Group of the Year, and Rock Song of the Year for “Dance, Kid, Dance”, following a powerhouse 2025 showing that saw them win Rock Artist and Rock Song for “A Symptom Of Being Human.” The Awards take place in Los Angeles on March 26.

With momentum at an all-time high, Shinedown are poised to make 2026 their biggest year yet.

ABOUT SHINEDOWN:

Multi-platinum rock force Shinedown have solidified their place among modern music’s most impactful acts, amassing over 8.3 billion global streams, 15 platinum and gold singles, certifications across their entire album catalogue, and more than 10 million albums sold worldwide. Known for chart-topping songs that pair massive hooks with timely, honest themes, the band connect far beyond rock audiences into wider culture. Their electrifying live shows and the commanding voice of frontman Brent Smith have fuelled sold-out tours and festival headline slots across the globe.

Riding that momentum, they head into 2026 set to scale new heights with bigger stages, the release of EI8HT, and an ever-expanding vision of what a modern rock band can be.

Shinedown are:

Brent Smith [vocals]

Zach Myers [guitar]

Eric Bass [bass, production]

Barry Kerch [drums]

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