The chatter in the buildup to Shinedown’s seventh album Planet Zero (Atlantic Records) has focused on the lyrics and subject matter and a new ground for a band who have stood up for unity, mental health support, and anti-bullying. Freedom of speech has long been a vanguard of rock lyrics, and it is interesting that Shinedown’s challenge of cancel culture has been seen as evidence of an underlying conservatism, though lines about people being “woke, but not awake” and sections of the society being “Clueless and Dramatic” will invite comment, even if the stated intention is to encourage exploration of nuance and individuality. Indeed, the band stated on the album launch “It’s not a record for the right, it’s not a record for the left… it’s a record for all of us.”

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