Brent Smith and Shinedown remain energetic to the nth degree on “The Human Radio,” the second single from their sixth studio album, ‘Attention Attention.’ 

“We march, we fight, we live / We scream, we die, we give / We want the world to know / We are the human radio.” Florida hard rock band Shinedown brought the hellishness to 2018 with a new song “Devil”.  “Devil” serves as the promo single for their highly-anticipated sixth studio album, Attention Attention, which arrives May 4, 2018.  They’re back slightly less devilish on their second single, “The Human Radio.” “The Human Radio” was released on April 6.

“The Human Radio” opens with a sick, rhythmic bass line.  The foundation, the rest of the record is built upon its robust glory. By the chorus, the drums, guitars, and vocals are gargantuan – overblown in typical, hard rock fashion. Amazingly, frontman Brent Smith is able to show some poise and restraint on the verses, despite continuing to exhibit attitude.  Lyrically, he kicks things off with his middle fingers to the skies:

“I gotta four letter word for ‘I don’t care’

A whole lotta drive, to get me there

I’ve seen a whole lotta wrong, to say the least

Spent a whole lott time, staring down the beast.”

After bottling it in for so long, he eventually unleashes the ferociousness on the chorus.

“I’m reaching out to the human radio

Taking a chop on ‘em, I reach hard on ‘em

Get the money, throw the tantrum

The human radio is playing your anthem.”

While the hard rock idiom is firmly in play, “The Human Radio” isn’t without its fair share of modern trickery.  There are some vocal effects, specifically vocoder.  Also, keyboards (synths) play a role.  Neither vocal effects or synths take away from the record stylistically however – this is still firmly planted in the spirit of rock and roll.

Final Thoughts

All in all, Shinedown continues to build excitement for album number six. While “The Human Radio” has its share of medium-loud moments, when it is indeed loud, it’s really LOUD. When Brent Smith gets loose, he gets really loose. #Rock On.

Shinedown • Attention Attention • Atlantic • Release: 5.4.18

Writers: Brently Stephen Smith & William Frederick Bass, Jr. | Producer: William Frederick Bass, Jr.

Photo Credits: Atlantic