Shinedown Essentials

Bringing high drama to earthy hard rock, Shinedown's surging songs tap deep wells of feeling. Largely that's due to singer Brent Smith, who can swing from relatable everyman to raging banshee in the space between a scene-setting verse and arena-slaying chorus. Both a swaggering and inspirational presence, Smith has spearheaded the Florida band's steady charge through the ranks of modern American rockers. Boldly dreamy guitar textures also contribute to Shinedown's epic feel, as hammered home across 2008's career-making The Sound of Madness and its gale-force power ballad “Second Chance”.