"At the beginning of the record, you can feel this intensity and these bold statements that are being made," Smith says. "But as the record progresses, you hear the individual and the record start to shift, and they start to get their confidence back, and they start to understand what's going on, because they're having to face emotions that they've never really faced before. We call it digging in the dirt mentally. This person has to flush it out. In order to be able to get out of this room and out of this chair and go back into the world, they have to train themselves mentally. They have to accept the fact that it's not always going to be great. It's not always going to be exactly the way you want it.
"A lot of this record is about me, and a lot of this record is about the things in my life that I've been afraid to face in one way or another. But it's also about Eric and what he faces. And that was a very bold understanding that me and him had during the making of this record, that nothing was off limits. This record is also about Zach, and this record is also about Barry, you know? We had to come from a very real place."
To ring in the album, Shinedown has revealed a few dozen tour dates throughout North America and Europe, kicking off with a pair of shows March 23-24 in Deadwood, S.D. That includes an eight-show run in Canada, an area the band skipped on its last jaunt, as well as a newly announced co-headlining schedule with Godsmack in the summer, beginning with a July 22 set in Detroit and concluding Sept. 2 in Wantagh, N.Y. "We're not gonna do the traditional, 'play the single and maybe one other,'" Smith says, saying that the band'll "definitely surprise the audience. We always try to keep 'em guessing."
Shinedown North American Tour Dates
3/23 - Deadwood, SD @ Deadwood Mountain Grand
3/24 - Deadwood, SD @ Deadwood Mountain Grand
3/27 - Penticton, Canada @ SOEC
3/29 - Edmonton, Canada @ Shaw Conference Center
3/30 - Dawson Creek, Canada @ Encana Events Center
3/31 - Calgary, Canada @ Grey Eagle Casino
4/2 - Winnipeg, Canada @ Bell Mts Centre
4/3 - Saskatoon, Canada @ Sasktel Centre
4/4 - Lethbridge, Canada @ Enmax Centre
4/6 - Abbotsford, Canada @ Abbotsford Centre
4/7 - Yakima, WA @ Yakima Valley Sundome
4/9 - Modesto, CA @ Modesto Centre Plaza
4/10 - Chico, CA @ Senator Theatre
4/12 - Riverside, CA @ Riverside Municipal Auditorium
4/13 - Scottsdale, AZ @ Arizona Bike Week Live at the Rock Yard
4/14 - El Paso, TX @ Speaking Rock
4/16 - San Antonio, TX @ Tobin Center for the Performing Arts
4/17 - Corpus Christi, TX @ Concrete Street Pavilion
4/18 - Baton Rouge, LA @ Raising Cane's River Center
4/20 - Tampa, FL @ 98RockFest Live at Amalie Arena
4/21 - Orlando, FL @ WJRR Earthday Birthday Live at Central Florida Fairgrounds
4/28 - Sunrise, FL @ Monster Energy Fort Rock Fest Live at Markham Park
5/4 - Concord, NC @ Carolina Rebellion Live at Rock City Campgrounds
5/6 - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
5/8 - Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena
5/10 - Tulsa, OK @ Bok Center
5/11 - Council Bluffs, IA @ Westfair Amphitheatre
5/12 - Maryland Heights, MO @ Pointfest
5/14 - Salem, VA @ Salem Civic Center
5/16 - Birmingham, AL @ Legacy Arena at BJCC
5/17 - Evansville, IN @ Live at the Ford Center
5/18 - Moline, IL @ Tax Slayer Center
5/20 - Grand Forks, ND @ Alerus Center
7/14 - Oshkosh, WI @ Rock USA
7/22 - Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
7/27 - Chicago, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
7/28 - Indianapolis, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
8/2 - Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
8/4 - Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheater
8/6 - Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater
8/11 - Houston, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
8/12 - Dallas, TX @ Starplex Pavilion
8/19 - Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
8/24 - Hartford, CT @ XFINITY Theatre
8/25 - Boston, MA @ Xfinity Center
8/26 - Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion
8/28 - Burgettstown, PA @ KeyBank Pavilion
8/31 - Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
9/1 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
9/2 - Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Heath at Jones Beach Theater