Like many artists, Shinedown had a plan for 2020. 

They were going on their unplugged Deep Dive Tour to give fans a chance to see them play deep cuts and rarities, many for the first time. 

Those plans vanished with the onset of the pandemic, resulting in a lot of downtime that they used to write and record their seventh album, Planet Zero, released in April 2022.

Probably the most topical album of their career, Planet Zero debuted in the Top 5 on the Billboard 200 chart and No. 1 on six other Billboard charts on the strength of tracks like “Dead Don’t Die” and the hit title track, as well as the anthemic “Daylight” and “A Symptom of Being Human.” This adds to a legacy that had already seen them chart 18 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and 30 Top 10 hits, the most of any band. 

To date, Shinedown have sold more than 10 million records. In short, they are a pretty big deal. 

True road warriors, Shinedown have been out more than a year promoting Planet Zero, with the latest cycle of the Revolutions Live Tour set to stop by Memorial Coliseum on April 27 with Three Days Grace and From Ashes to New.

Trying road less traveled

The creative process for the making of Planet Zero commenced shortly after shutdowns, resulting in a longer than anticipated gestation period. 

“It was supposed to be 10 days and it ended up being 16 months,” guitarist Zach Myers told Connect Savannah in a recent interview. 

The album took the band down untraveled roads as well. Normally their songs tackle issues the band members are dealing with or have experienced, but this time they chose to explore unfamiliar topics. 

“When you’re in a place like (the pandemic), you have all of this other stuff around you and there was a lot to write about,” Myers said. “There’s a ton of social commentary on this record, which really hasn’t happened with a Shinedown record.”

Touring together again

Though they were just a few shows into the trek at the time of the interview, Three Days Grace drummer Brad Walst told Whatzup that the tour was going well and the response had been great. 

“It’s got a lot of energy,” he said. “The Shinedown show is pretty awesome with great production and, obviously, they’ve got (18) No. 1 (singles) and we have (17) No. 1’s. So, there’s a lot of hits. From Ashes to New is a great band that also brings a lot of energy. The fans have reacted huge for that band, too.” 

The Shinedown and Three Days Grace relationship goes back to the early years of both bands. This is the first time they’ve toured together in about a decade, and that 2013 tour played an important part in the story of Three Days Grace. It was that trek when Brad Walst’s brother, Matt Walst, stepped up to replace singer Adam Gontier who had announced he was leaving the band just weeks before they were set to co-headline with Shinedown.

“We hold a special place in our hearts for the Shinedown boys,” Brad Walst said. “I think back to those times when Matt first was filling in because we had a five-week arena tour booked with Shinedown in 2013.

“I think back to that and if Matt didn’t do that tour, our lives might be a lot different now. It’s pretty awesome to share a stage with a band like that, for sure.”

New recording process

Three Days Grace released their seventh album, Explosions, last year, their third release with Matt Walst handling vocal duties. Like Shinedown’s Project Zero, Explosions was written and recorded during the pandemic, which provided many challenges. Being from Canada, Brad Walst said it was hard to get together because they were totally locked down three or four times. 

“We did a lot of the writing over Zoom, which we’d never done before,” he said. “To sit in front of a screen and be creative is not easy, but we learned a lot. It took a little longer to do it that way, and I personally would not want to do that again. But I think the cool thing about this record is we recorded 10 songs separately in different studios. It was odd and a little weird, but the end result was a great record.”

Something for everyone

As Brad Walst said, this nearly sold-out show will feature a lot of hit songs. It’s likely you’ll know all of them if you have listened to rock radio the past 20 years. 

According to Brad Walst, choosing a setlist when you have so much popular material is always a challenge because it becomes a balancing act between pleasing as many people as possible and offering up a show that fans have yet to see.

Shinedown’s Myers agrees with this sentiment.

“It gets a little dicey,” he said in his interview with Connect Savannah. “Obviously, you have your, we call them the four corners: You’ve got to play ‘Second Chance.’ You’ve got to play ‘Simple Man.’ You’ve got to play ‘Sound of Madness’ and you’ve got to play ‘Cut the Cord.’ Other than that, you can kind of maneuver around a bit.”

Regardless of what the bands play or what you want to hear, the Revolutions Live Tour is guaranteed to be a fun night spent with loud guitars, energetic performances, rabid fans, and a full night of celebrating rock music. 

Make sure to bring you singing voices because there will plenty of chances to let the band hear you as well.