Shinedown’s Barry Kerch doesn’t miss his bandmate Brent Smith’s addiction period.
“To go through what Brent did and be the horrible addict that he was and then come out on the other side — his new addiction is Shinedown,” the drummer recently told Loudwire Nights. “The gym and Shinedown … I wouldn’t trade [that] for the world. I don’t miss that guy, but now the guy that he is is so intense and so hyper-focused on Shinedown, you have to keep up with him.”
“[There is] definitely new Shinedown music coming,” Kerch also revealed. “Hopefully sooner than later this year and then a new record next year.”
In a May interview on The Mistress Carrie Podcast, Barry again talked about the songwriting and recording for their next album after 2022’s ‘Planet Zero.’ He explained, “Actually, last week I was in Charleston [South Carolina] with [bassist and producer] Eric [Bass] at his studio where we recorded the last record, and [we] recorded, I think, six songs of drums for the new stuff.”
The musician added, “So we’re actually further along than I thought we’d be this early in the year. So I think new Shinedown music will probably be by the end of the year, early next year. So, it’s kind of exciting.”
In another interview with WMMR’s Brent Porche, Kerch discussed the new musical style of Shinedown’s upcoming songs. He said, “It’s gonna be what Shinedown does, which every record is completely different than the last one. It still sounds like Shinedown. You’re never going to change [singer] Brent Smith’s voice, but I can’t make ‘Leave A Whisper’ again.”
“I can’t make ‘Planet Zero’ again. I can’t make ‘Sound of Madness’ again. That was then, that was that snapshot of time… We definitely try to grow and evolve and do something different because at the same time, we’re artists, we’re musicians,” Kerch also noted. “We want to create what we hear in our heads, and that’s what we do. So it’s coming soon, and it’s going to be cool.”
Shinedown will perform at the South Star Music Festival 2024 on September 28.