Early in 2007, producer Rob Cavallo asked Shinedown frontman Brent Smith about his goals for the band's new album. Smith didn't hesitate.

"I said, 'You know what -- when I'm dead and gone, when everybody in this band has passed or what have you, I want the world to remember this as a record that needed to be made, and that there was a reason for it,' " Smith says. "That was the motivation behind this album.”

"And part of the reason it took so long to make!" Welcome then to THE SOUND OF MADNESS, Shinedown's third album -- and the Florida rockers' boldest effort to date. Like its two predecessors, 2003's Platinum LEAVE A WHISPER and 2005's Gold US AND THEM, THE SOUND OF MADNESS offers a brave and unsparing look into the soul and psyche amidst a fierce musical attack that, even in its quieter moments, vibrate with the passion, energy and focus of a band with

high-minded ideals and limitless ambitions.

Smith and company began the recording process for THE SOUND OF MADNESS with he formidable task of following up two massively successful albums that yielded a staggering seven consecutive Top five rock and alternative radio hits that included "Fly From the Inside," "45," the chart topping "Save Me," and a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's

"Simple Man," along with a reputation as a hot live band with an insatiable appetite for the road. However, after one listen, it’s clear that the band didn't shrink from the task. Where THE SOUND OF MADNESS differs most is in its growth; it’s the product of a

group that has developed an even clearer vision for how it wanted to impact an

audience.

"Lyrically, these songs are the most blunt that I've ever written," says Smith, who formed Shinedown with drummer Barry Kerch in 2001 in Jacksonville, Fla. "I feel that on this record I wrote what a lot of people want to say, but they just don't know how to say it -- not that I should tell anyone how to live their lives, but I've had these experiences and

these thoughts that are in my head. And I can't believe I'm the only one who feels the way I do. So I just tried to express that in the most artistic and the most honest way I possibly could."

On THE SOUND OF MADNESS, Smith and Shinedown express those thoughts and ideas in ways they never have before. The group's hard rock muscles flex on songs such as the first single, "Devour," "Cry For Help," "Sin With a Grin" and the title track. But the likes of "The Crow and the Butterfly," "Breaking Inside" and "Second Chance" incorporate more sophisticated, emotional dynamics (enhanced by a 20-piece string section), while Smith counts "If You Only Knew" as his first straight-up love song, a

tribute to his girlfriend Ashley and a relationship that led to the birth of their son, Lyric, in

late 2007.

"A long time ago I said, 'I'll never write a love song. I'm not that guy,' "Smith recalls with a laugh. "I just never had a reason to write a love song before. I don't mean to be corny, but it's just a song that expressed how much she means to me and how she has given me more than I could ever imagine. I'll spend the rest of my life trying to repay her and

thank her for everything she's done for me."