Shinedown's Brent Smith on social media's impact on mental health & the power of music
He spoke to Loz Guest on Mental Health Awareness Week
Last updated 13th May 2022
As part of Kerrang! Radio’s on-air activity for Mental Health Awareness Week, Loz Guest caught up with Shinedown frontman Brent Smith for a wide-ranging chat about mental health.
During the conversation, Loz mentioned to the ever-eloquent Brent that Shinedown have been very vocal about discussing the subject of mental health for a number of years now.
“Yeah, because it’s so important for people to understand we live in a world where everything is on display,” Smith said.
Reflecting upon social media’s profound effect upon mental health, he continued: “I think me and you have talked about social media and the aspects of the good parts of it and the negative parts of it.
“The constant understanding that the band and I try to reinforce with people in regards to mental health and the awareness of that and the world that we live in now - and because everything is on display - you still have to remember that the smartphones and these devices that we’re on, you don't need to let the machines take over.
“What I mean by that is you got to remember you're in control of your device, and you have to make a conscious decision… what you are capable of understanding, how you look at your own mental health and what have you.
“You have to take care of yourself. You have to also understand that if you're going to be on these social networks, if you're going to be on these platforms and what have you, there's going to be an amount of scrutiny. I mean, it's all opinion based. So that can really mess with you if you let it and it's just being responsible for yourself.
“That's one thing that we do try to explain to people like ‘look, you're still responsible for who you are and what you do.’ But the fact of the matter is, mental health for the longest time was stigmatised as the person who's trying to get attention or there's not really anything wrong, they just want to gripe, or they want to complain or (make) excuses.
“That's not the case all the time. We've learned through the last 20 years… and I have done a tonne of research, I've talked to a lot of different people in the medical community that are in psychology, different activists, different people that are really trying to look at the development, especially with the youth and how kids are growing up these days and how that's going to affect their adulthood in regards to all of this social media and that everything is on display.
“So more than anything, what we've always tried to do is explain that it's okay to ask for help first of all. People don't need to feel embarrassed or ashamed because they're having issues with the way that they feel.”
Returning to the subject later in the chat, Smith said: “I think that there are warning signs when you see… like #blessed that’s a warning sign. Like #blessedlife, #livelife, that for me when I see that, I’m like ‘that’s a warning sign.’ Because it's not real. Sometimes that's what we call ‘fake positivity.’ That's not good.
“Listen, I know people are gonna (read) this and they're gonna have their opinion and they may be like, ‘why, I do that!’ You may want to look at yourself and ask yourself, ‘do you really feel like that or is there something there that you need to address?’ Maybe there are some things you might need to unpack and address.”
Although social media can have an adverse effect on mental health, Brent Smith was keen to extol the virtues of listening to music and insisted that “music is medicine.”
Smith continued: “I wake up every day and am so thankful for songs and for all the different styles of music because you can wake up in the worst mood or you can be having a rough day and, I tell you what, a song will come on when you least expect it when you need it the most and it will just arrive. All of a sudden, you forgot what you were angry about or you forgot why you were in a bad mood and all of a sudden you're back in the game. Yeah, it's powerful.”
He added: “I'll give you an example. I work out a lot and physical fitness is a big part of my existence, which again, being physical, being active, being motivated that helps this up here (points to head) a lot. Just that blood flow and oxygen throughout the body, that helps out exponentially when you're talking about mental health.
“The AC/DC album ‘Back in Black’, ‘Shoot To Thrill’, that's like my finisher man in the gym. Like, ‘I can't go anymore. I can't do another rep. I can't go another five minutes. I can't do it.’ I'll hit ‘Shoot To Thrill’. ‘Yes, I can!’ All of a sudden, man, I've got it. It's pretty remarkable. So yeah (music) is a very close companion.”
Tackling weighty subjects such as the corrosive effects of social media on mental health and society, cancel culture, and the increasingly toxic division among those of differing ideologies, Shinedown’s new studio album ‘Planet Zero’ is released on Friday 1st July 2022.
The real locations of 21 rock and metal album covers:
AC/DC – ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’ (1976)
The sleeve to the international version of AC/DC's 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' was created by fabled English design group Hipgnosis. The building in the background was a motel on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
AC/DC – ‘Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap’ (1976)
The motel on AC/DC's 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' cover is now called Hotel H-Wood.
Thunder - 'All The Right Noises' (2021)
Thunder's 13th studio album 'All The Right Noises' from March 2021 features a visually striking outdoor sculpture called the Singing Ringing Tree set against a dramatic skyline.
Thunder - 'All The Right Noises' (2021)
Located on the Pennine hill range overlooking Burnley in Lancashire, the Singing Ringing Tree is a wind powered sound sculpture that stands 3 metres tall. Designed by architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu of Tonkin Liu, the unique sculpture features pipes of galvanised steel that create sounds when the wind hits them. Luke Morley stumbled upon the sculpture when Googling "bizarre musical instruments."
Black Sabbath – ‘Black Sabbath’ (1970)
The seminal and highly eerie cover for Black Sabbath's eponymous debut album 'Black Sabbath' in 1970 was shot at the 15th Century Mapledurham Watermill, located on the banks of the River Thames in Oxfordshire.
Black Sabbath – ‘Black Sabbath’ (1970)
A photograph of Mapledurham Watermill, location of Black Sabbath's self-titled debut album 'Black Sabbath.'
Black Sabbath – ‘Black Sabbath’ (1970)
Six years after the release of 'Black Sabbath', Mapledurham Watermill featured prominently in the 1976 World War II movie 'The Eagle Has Landed'. Here's actress Jenny Agutter during location filming on 14th June 1976.
Black Sabbath – ‘Black Sabbath’ (1970)
The grade II listed building of Mapledurham Watermill has become a mecca for Black Sabbath aficionados around the globe – including children's TV presenter Mr Tumble, aka Justin Fletcher.
Pink Floyd – 'The Division Bell' (1991)
Pink Floyd's longtime album artwork collaborator, the late-great Storm Thorgerson, had two gargantuan metal heads the size of double decker buses made for 'The Division Bell' sleeve and he positioned them in a field near the cathedral city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, which you can see in the background. In 2017, the two heads appeared at the magnificent Pink Floyd exhibition Their Mortal Remains at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Pink Floyd – 'The Division Bell' (1991)
After extensively searching through fields, Bob Egan of the website Pop Spots discovered the exact location of Pink Floyd's 'The Division Bell' sleeve.
U2 - ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ (1984)
U2 recorded their fourth studio album 'The Unforgettable Fire' at Slane Castle in County Meath, Ireland, however they opted for a different castle to adorn the sleeve – Moydrum Castle, east of Athlone in Ireland. Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry liked the mysticism of the ivy-engulfed ruined castle and thought it suited the music perfectly. The photo was a copy of a picture on the cover of a 1980 book In Ruins: The Once Great Houses of Ireland by Simon Marsden and the band's representatives had to pay an undisclosed fee for the copyright infringement.
U2 - ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ (1984)
The ruined, and now even more overgrown, Moydrum Castle in Ireland in 2020.
Yes – ‘Going For The One’ (1977)
After the legendary Roger Dean designed the band's previous four album sleeves from 1971's 'Fragile' to 1974's 'Relayer', Yes enlisted Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis fame for 'Going For The One'. The sleeve retained Dean's Yes logo, and featured a naked man looking towards the Century Plaza Towers in Century City, California against a blue sky.
Yes – ‘Going For The One’ (1977)
Designed by Minoru Yamasaki (who also designed the original World Trade Center) and completed in 1975, the visually striking and geometric Century Plaza Towers are 174 metres high and the tallest buildings in California outside of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Neil Young – ‘After The Gold Rush’ (1970)
Neil Young's third studio album from over half a century ago features a photograph of the musician walking through Greenwich Village in New York. The photographer Joel Bernstein was just 18 years old when he took the photo, and he was said to be "shocked" that Neil Young picked it.
Neil Young – ‘After The Gold Rush’ (1970)
A composite of the 'After The Gold Rush' album cover against the railings. They're located on the northwest corner of Sullivan Street and West 3rd Street, Greenwich Village, New York.
Led Zeppelin – ‘Physical Graffiti’ (1975)
The cover to Led Zeppelin's sixth studio album 'Physical Grafitti' features two side-by-side tenement buildings located at 96 and 98 St. Mark's Place in New York's East Village.
Led Zeppelin – ‘Physical Graffiti’ (1975)
As you can see from this Google street view image, artist Peter Corriston and designer Mike Doud were forced to crop out the top floor of the five-storey buildings so they would fit onto the square sleeve better.
Led Zeppelin – ‘Physical Graffiti’ (1975)
The Rolling Stones' video for their 1981 single 'Waiting on a Friend' was filmed on the front steps of #96 St. Mark's Place in an apparent nod to Led Zeppelin. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards meet on the steps of #96 before walking to the corner of 1st Avenue to the meet with the rest of the band.
Rush – ‘Moving Pictures’ (1981)
Created by long-time Rush collaborator Hugh Syme, the artwork to Rush's 1981 magnum opus 'Moving Pictures' is a very literal translation of the album title. A triple entendre, it features workers moving pictures, then the paintings themselves depict emotional – or moving – scenes, and finally the back sleeve has a film crew making a motion picture of proceedings. The sleeve was photographed outside the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen's Park, Toronto.
Rush – ‘Moving Pictures’ (1981)
Defined by its characteristic pink-hue sandstone – giving it the nickname The Pink Palace - the Ontario Legislative Building in Rush's native Canada was completed in 1893. It houses the viceregal suite of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, and offices for members of the provincial parliament.
The Who – ‘The Kids Are Alright’ (1979)
The Who's 1979 soundtrack album to the film of the same name features a photograph of Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon draped in a huge Union Jack flag outside a section of the Carl Schurz Monument at 116th Street and Morningside Drive in New York.
The Who – ‘The Kids Are Alright’ (1979)
Bob Egan of the website Pop Spots has brilliantly superimposed the artwork onto the monument.
David Bowie - ‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’ (1973)
The artwork to David Bowie's seminal masterpiece 'The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' depicts of Bowie as Ziggy at 23 Heddon Street in London, outside the home of furriers "K. West". The photograph was taken by Brian Ward in monochrome and recoloured by Terry Pastor.
David Bowie - ‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’ (1973)
Here is a 1980s photograph of Heddon Street with the Ziggy Stardust album artwork superimposed on top.
David Bowie - ‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars’ (1973)
On the 40th anniversary of 'The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' in 2013 a plaque was unveiled at 23 Heddon Street. Pictured are Spiders from Mars band members Woody Woodmansey and the late Trevor Bolder at the plaque's unveiling.
Led Zeppelin – ‘Houses of the Holy’ (1973)
The otherworldly cover image that adorns Led Zeppelin's fifth studio album 'Houses of the Holy' is a collage of several photographs of two alien-like children (siblings Stefan and Samantha Gates) taken at the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis fame.
Led Zeppelin – ‘Houses of the Holy’ (1973)
The 40,000 interlocking and mostly hexagonal basalt columns that make up Giant's Causeway are the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption some 50 to 60 million years ago.
Led Zeppelin – ‘Houses of the Holy’ (1973)
The image on the inner gatefold sleeve of Led Zeppelin's 'Houses of the Holy' was captured at the medieval Dunluce Castle near the Giant's Causeway and depicts a silver man holding up the young girl.
Led Zeppelin – ‘Houses of the Holy’ (1973)
The now ruined Dunluce Castle in Northern Ireland, which was built over half a millennium ago in the Late Middle Ages. It's located on the edge of a basalt outcropping in County Antrim.
KISS - ‘Dressed to Kill’ (1975)
The artwork to KISS's third album depicts Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley wearing dodgy suits and standing on the southwest corner of 23rd Street and 8th Avenue looking north in New York City. The photo was taken by esteemed photographer Bob Gruen.
KISS - ‘Dressed to Kill’ (1975)
Another Pop Spots image with the KISS 'Dressed to Kill' album cover superimposed over 23rd Street and 8th Avenue.
Pink Floyd - Animals (1977)
Pink Floyd's tenth studio album depicts a floating pig above the imposing Art Deco megastructure of Battersea Power Station in London. Storm Thorgerson designed the sleeve but the idea was the brainchild of Roger Waters who regularly passed the station on journeys into central London from his home.
Pink Floyd - Animals (1977)
Located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, work on Battersea Power Station was completed in 1955 before it was decommissioned in 1983. The building was converted into flats in 2021 and 2022, and it's currently owned by a consortium of Malaysian investors.
The Clash – ‘The Clash’ (1977)
The Clash's eponymous debut album features artwork designed by Polish artist Rosław Szaybo and a cover photo shot by Kate Simon in an alleyway opposite Camden Market, London.
The Clash – ‘The Clash’ (1977)
'The Clash' album cover superimposed on the real alleyway in Camden Town.
Eagles – ‘Hotel California’ (1976)
One of the best-selling records of all time, the Eagles' ubiquitous 1976 album 'Hotel California' is adorned with a photograph of The Beverley Hills Hotel in California. The timeless image was captured by photographer David Alexander while standing 60 feet above Sunset Boulevard on top of a cherry picker.
Eagles – ‘Hotel California’ (1976)
An aerial photograph of The Beverley Hills Hotel featuring the distinctive turrets and palm trees that appear on the 'Hotel California' cover. Work on the hotel was completed in 1912 and from the 30s to the 70s, the world-famous hotel became synonymous with Hollywood glamour.
Ramones – ‘Rocket To Russia’ (1977)
The photograph hat adorns the Ramones' third studio album was taken by the band's manager Danny Fields at 315 Bowery behind the legendary New York club CBGB.
Ramones – ‘Rocket To Russia’ (1977)
In image of the exterior of CBGB prior to its closure in 2006 with 'Rocket To Russia' superimposed over it.
Pink Floyd - ‘Wish You Were Here’ (1975)
The photograph of the stuntmen Ronnie Rondell and Danny Rogers for Pink Floyd's 'Wish You Were Here' was taken by Aubrey "Po" Powell of Hipgnosis at The Burbank Studios (now the Warner Bros Studios) in California. Decades before the advent of CGI, one of the stuntmen had to be set on fire wearing a flame-retardant suit and Rondell drew the proverbial short straw.
Pink Floyd - ‘Wish You Were Here’ (1975)
The Warner Bros Studio complex in Burbank, California in 2020.
Steely Dan – ‘Pretzel Logic’ (1974)
Walter Becker and Donald Fagen's third album features a photograph of a pretzel seller taken by the late Raeanne Rubenstein. The pretzel seller was standing on the west side of Fifth Avenue and 79th Street in New York near the Miners' Gate entrance of Central Park.
Steely Dan – ‘Pretzel Logic’ (1974)
A composite picture of the album cover on the real 'Pretzel Logic' location in New York.
Deep Purple – ‘Deep Purple in Rock’ (1970)
The 'Deep Purple in Rock' album cover was the brainchild of the band's manager Tony Edwards, who suggested placing the US Presidents' heads on Mount Rushmore with the heads of the Mark II line-up; Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.
Deep Purple – ‘Deep Purple in Rock’ (1970)
Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills in Keystone, South Dakota. Created by Gutzon Borglum, the sculpture features the 60-foot (18 m) heads of Presidents George Washington (1732–1799), Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), and Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865).
Queen – ‘Made In Heaven’ (1995)
Queen's last studio album, released four years after Freddie Mercury's death, features a photograph at dusk of Irena Sedlecká's Mercury sculpture located at Lake Geneva in Montreux, Switzerland.
Queen – ‘Made In Heaven’ (1995)
The iconic Freddie Mercury statue overlooking Lake Geneva in Montreux. Standing three metres high, the sculpture was unveiled several years after Freddie's death by Montserrat Caballé and Freddie's mother Jer.
Black Sabbath – ‘The Best of Black Sabbath’ (2000)
Black Sabbath's 2000 compilation album 'The Best of Black Sabbath' features a black-and-white photograph of four water-filled stone graves on the cover.
Black Sabbath – ‘The Best of Black Sabbath’ (2000)
The stone graves date back to around the 11th Century and they're located at the ruined St Patrick's Chapel in Heysham, Lancashire overlooking Morecambe Bay. Photography by Twitter user @gdpreston__.
Led Zeppelin – ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ (1971)
The block of flats that can been seen on the back sleeve of the gatefold to 'Led Zeppelin IV' is Salisbury Tower, a 20-storey tower block on Middleway View in the Ladywood district of Birmingham. Completed in 1968, the tower is 57 metres tall and contains 116 flats.
Led Zeppelin – ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ (1971)
Birmingham's Salisbury Tower from the Led Zeppelin 'IV' back sleeve in August 2020.