Multi-platinum, record-breaking band Shinedown have released the thought-provoking and cinematic music video for lead single “Planet Zero” – PRESS HERE to watch. The video arrives as “Planet Zero” hits #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay Chart this week. The explosive single, the title track from the band’s seventh studio album out April 22 on Atlantic Records, is Shinedown’s 17th #1 and sixth consecutive chart-topper, breaking a new record for the most #1s in the 40-year history of the chart.
Directed by Charles De Meyer, the video brings to life a glimpse of a dystopian future (complete with a menacing A.I. character named Cyren from the album’s interludes who we hear at the end of the music video) that warns of the dangerous dehumanizing consequences of cancel culture run rampant.
“We wanted the first visual of ‘Planet Zero’ to be unlike anything we have done previously. We chose to work with visionary director Charles De Meyer. We did not want a traditional music video feel – we wanted avant-garde, thought-provoking and surreal. Make no mistake, there is a message in the visual, a warning of what is to come, if society does not wake up, and demand the truth be told. Welcome to PLANET ZERO…” — Brent Smith
On Planet Zero, Shinedown is serving up an incisive look at some of society’s most critical issues, including the increasingly toxic division among those of differing ideologies, the need for honesty in our public discourse, and the corrosive effects of social media and cancel culture on mental health and humanity. The “Planet Zero” single rings the alarm with a cautionary warning that if we shut each other down, we risk losing empathy, respect for one another, and our ability to communicate and unify in a way that leads to actual progress and understanding.
Check out the first look and interview with front man Brent Smith and bassist and producer Eric Bass on GRAMMY.com. Pre-order Planet Zero HERE. Each pre-order includes an instant download of “Planet Zero.”
Over the last two decades, Shinedown have cemented their status as one of the most vital and forward-thinking powerhouses in modern rock. Their most ambitious and masterfully realized work to date, Planet Zero is a high-concept, ultra-vivid, viscerally charged saga. A critical yet optimistic look at the fractures and frays of a society that has undergone many challenges in the last few years, the album is part social commentary and part in-depth exploration of the human psyche. Produced by Shinedown’s Eric Bass (who also produced the band’s 2018 acclaimed album ATTENTION ATTENTION,) and recorded at Bass’ newly built Big Animal Studio in South Carolina, Planet Zero matches its immersive world-building and takedown of authoritarianism with a deliberately unvarnished sound, and the album is spliced with interludes featuring Cyren, an insidious and unsettling robot character that appears throughout the Planet Zero journey. While a raw ferocity fuels much of Planet Zero on tracks like “The Saints of Violence and Innuendo,” “No Sleep Tonight,” and “America Burning,” there is also hope, triumph, and reminders that we all need one another on songs like “Daylight,” “Dysfunctional You,” and “A Symptom of Being Human.” After all, it is the band’s impassioned striving for unity that has long been at the heart of their creative output and deeply informed the making of Planet Zero. Not only a driving force for their songwriting, their humanitarian outlook led Shinedown to be one of the first artists to fundraise for non-profit humanitarian aid organization Direct Relief in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, raising more than $400,000 with their “Atlas Falls” relief effort. Full Planet Zero tracklist is below.
Shinedown will kick off The Revolution’s Live Tour beginning April 1, propelled by the undeniable power of front man Brent Smith’s voice and their biggest stage production yet. Following this April and May run with special guests The Pretty Reckless and DIAMANTE, Shinedown will head to Daytona Beach for Welcome To Rockville 2022 where they’ll headline Saturday, May 21 alongside Guns N’ Roses and Rise Against. In June, Shinedown will head overseas for a UK and European run featuring festival appearances at Rock im Park and Rock am Ring in Germany, Download Festival in the UK, and HellFest in France along with select shows with Iron Maiden. The band will then embark on a run of Canadian dates beginning in July with support from Pop Evil and Ayron Jones. Full routing below and stay tuned for more touring announcements. For tickets and all show details, please visit www.shinedown.com.
Planet Zero follows Shinedown’s 2018 acclaimed album ATTENTION ATTENTION, which was certified RIAA Gold. The band recently brought the LP to life in a riveting feature film. A visual counterpart to the album’s narrative about a mental health journey and the resolve of the human spirit, the ATTENTION ATTENTION film weaves together the album’s 14 songs into a provocative and thought-provoking cinematic story that illuminates yet another dimension of Shinedown’s limitless creativity. PRESS HERE to watch the trailer. The film, directed by Bill Yukich (Beyoncé, Metallica, Wiz Khalifa) is available for viewing on digital and cable VOD in the U.S. and Canada via iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, Comcast, Dish Network, Verizon Fios, and Mediacom, and is also available for purchase on Blu-ray and DVD – PRESS HERE to purchase and watch. It will soon be available in other international territories.
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