With a new album underway, Brent Smith ranked every Shinedown album — even the new one — in a video on social media.
The rockers currently have seven studio albums out and their eighth, titled Ei8ht, will be out on May 29. Album rankings are obviously subjective, but it’s perhaps a little more meaningful when it’s coming straight from the horse’s mouth.
The vocalist shared a video of himself ranking all eight of their records on Instagram yesterday (April 15). A text-to-speech voice read each album name in chronological order and he ranked each.
How Did Brent Smith Rank Each of Shinedown’s Albums?
Smith ranked Shinedown’s album as followed: 2003’s Leave a Whisper at No. 5, 2005’s Us and Them at No. 8, 2008’s The Sound of Madness at No. 2, 2012’s Amaryllis at No. 4, 2015’s Threat to Survival at No. 7, 2018’s Attention Attention at No. 3, 2022’s Planet Zero at No. 6 and their upcoming record Ei8ht at No. 1.
The singer didn’t elaborate on his reasoning for placing the albums where he did but he was very confident about their forthcoming release being their best.
Check out the post below and read the comments to see how other fans ranked the band’s discography.
What Do We Know About Shinedown’s New Album ‘Ei8ht’?
Shinedown have already shared six tracks from Ei8ht — “Dance, Kid, Dance,” “Three Six Five,” “Outlaw,” “Safe and Sound,” “Searchlight” and “Killing Fields” — so we have somewhat of an idea of the album’s overall sound so far. There are a total of 18 songs though, so there’s still plenty of unexplored territory left for those who like surprises.
READ MORE: The Longest-Running Mainstream Rock Chart No. 1 of Each Year of the 2000s
A few of the members endured loss during the making of this record, which is a theme that Smith said is a strong one throughout its 18 songs.
“I think that one thing this record represents is that life and time is very, very precious,” he told Rolling Stone in an interview. “We all have a date with destiny.”
“It is a gift to be alive and to be here right now,” the singer continued. “And when I think about it, a lot of these songs… The whole definition of Shinedown is sometimes you shine and sometimes you’re down. There’s a yin and a yang. Everything that’s good has a little bit of bad and everything that’s bad has a little bit of good. It balances itself out.”
See Shinedown’s upcoming tour dates and album details here.
To see the rest of the rock and metal albums we know are coming out this year, check out the gallery below.
The Most Anticipated Rock + Metal Albums of 2026
We’re on the back half of the 2020s. Take a look at some of the biggest releases due in 2026 AND check out what artists are working on new music but haven’t announced an album yet.
Gallery Credit: Loudwire Staff
