Sound of Madness by Shinedown

Album: The Sound of Madness (2008)

Charted: 85

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Songfacts®:

This rant about self-involved drama queens was chosen to be the album's title track after some road testing on a short run of dates. The song finds Shinedown frontman Brent Smith giving no sympathy to the complainers who are always making excuses for their failures.
Shinedown lead singer Brent Smith wrote this song with Dave Bassett, an outside writer who wrote nine of the 11 tracks on The Sound Of Madness album with Smith. The album was produced by multiple Grammy Award winner Rob Cavallo (Kid Rock, Green Day, My Chemical Romance).
The song topped the Mainstream Rock chart. It was the third single from The Sound of Madness, following "Devour" and "Second Chance," to top that tally. Shinedown were the first act to collect three Mainstream #1s from an album since Three Days Grace from One-X in 2006-07.
Brent Smith says this is the song that best represents Shinedown, citing the lines:

I created the sound of madness
Wrote the book on pain
Somehow, I'm still here to explain

He told Metal Hammer what it represents: "Do not give up. Accept failure but don't live in it. Find the next step, platform or road. Whatever means the world to you, are you willing to die for it? Because I am."
Lookin' so sorry that I'm gonna believe
You've been infected by a social disease

This was 2008, when social media was becoming widely adopted. Thus the double meaning of "social disease."

Comments: 22

Lex from Albany, NyIt's about his cousin who got kidnapped, and what his uncle went through....I've read.
Nooneinparticular from UsofaFeel free to correct me if Im wrong but, after watching the video another 20x or so, this is the conclusion Ive come to regarding the plot of this video. Our, 'anti-hero' is actually a criminal of sorts and lends $$ to phone call guy who, as it turns out, is a SERIOUSLY sick POS who essentially took the girl from her home by way of coercion. Phone call guy calls the pimp, to whom he surrendered the girl for $$ in order to finance his habit/addiction. Our Anti-hero discovers what his $$ is being used for and takes matters into his own hands, ensuring justice is served while simultaneously saving the girl. By the end of the video, we discover this anti-hero has ACKCHUALLY been doing this for sometime i.e; collecting and acting on intel gathered on that subspecies of the race we refer to as, 9ed0-filez/traffickers. Thoughts anyone???

I do not think the actual meaning/message behind the song is synonymous with the video. I think the song is about have mental problems and having the courage to admit it and eventually/hopefully do something about it. I could see our current mental health coming from a mile away when they began to cut funding for mental health institutions in 2009......

My .02......
Joe Ross.This song is actually all about revenge and getting power from those people who wronged this song’s main character and how they kidnapped his child and how he wants her back.
King Nothing from Usayour wrong terri
Becky from South AlabamaTotally agree Terri!
Terri from Alabama HoodWith all the children abducted, trafficed and murderd across this would of ours this song is screeming out wake up wake up to a society thats asleep. The white child had only one choice trust this black man to save my life after being kidnapped. Black man must be undercover rescuer that solves missing people a mission not to many can do most of time the result is recovering the body. Wow so much truth in this songgggggg... take my advice parents cellphones enable the killers to track down and kill your children, don't believe it well soon the proof and truth will be for all to see stay tuned and god bless.
Crusin from ModestoGet it ! This life is a spiritual life ! You wanna fight with a gun! With fists? By being "right" or "leftists" when you gonna wake up and fight?!?! God is real and Satan is real and Satan is the author of madness
Mike Oxard:) from QcSounds like he wants to destroy someone lol
Sum Girl from AmericaBro. I love this song and can relate to it so much. I feel like, as I get older, people are getting more into themselves. I have no issues with it because I'm basically used to it. But, sometimes the people I'm around are so into themselves they don't even listen to my issues since they're so wrapped into themselves. Pulling tears, whining and moping. But when I need to discuss my issues they turn the other cheek or don't care. I would love to give them "a kick in the ass" so they can finally wake up.
Bobby from OhioA drug addict insulting people with mental problems. What a joke. Define the phrase “gone bipolar”. You don’t “go” bipolar. It’s not a punch line. It is called bipolar disorder. I have it, and believe me it is no joke. I’ve never met a person with bipolar disorder who blamed it on anyone else. “When ya gonna wake up and... realize mental health is a serious issue that, even now, Is misunderstood and swept under the rug. That’s why we keep it to ourselves. That’s why when we “have a day” as I say, we seem so threatened, or sometimes threatening. Wake up and educate yourself before using your microphone to insult millions of people. Shane too cuz I really like the music to that song. But I’ll never listen to it again. If this guy cleaned up then good for him. That is a difficult thing to do.
Dave from TucsonNever did fully "get what this song was all about." However I gotta say it is extremely catchy.. And makes a great gaming song.. My wife and I both fully enjoy kicking butt to tbis song.. I never had heard of Shinedown before, until seeing Expendables.. I became an instant fan from that song.. Diamond Eyes is yet another great song imho.. Well thats my .02$ on the topic/matter carry on everyone :)
Zero from Nowhere, NjWell, I'm bi-polar, never abused any kind of drugs though (except maybe caffiene) heh , heh...anywhooo

I never knew what this song was about, now that I read the lyrics and the song facts I can totally relate, I got this friend who is EXTREMELY paranoid and thinks everyone is against him and another one that just sits in his house and mopes all day. This is what I feel like telling them.
Michael from Nashville, TnI believe it is a combination of subjects, but considering that Brent Smith is a recovering alcoholicaddict, I would say that is a large part of it. I can relate coming from that myself, and I used to sleep with a gun from the parinoya. I seems it is a song to himself about addiction, especially "wrote the book on pai, somehow I'm still here to explain". Bo-polar is very comon among addicts. Just my 0.02¢
[p3yt0n} from Somewhere, Ini think the song is about someone trying to destroy one of their enemies.
Steven Kraatz from Victoria, Txi think the song is about white people
James from Kansas City, MoI think it's about someone trying to act higher than you, but then you can say "I wrote the sound of madness." (so back off.)
Cliff from Minneapolis, MnI don't agree with the whole mental illness theory. I think it is more about someone else's issues. Someone who is utterly consumed with themselves and he is basically telling them to get over themselves. But to each their own interpretation.
Tabitha from Summer Shade, KyI love this song. I have heard them before, but never really listened. Then I heard this song and loved it. Fortunantly for me a week latter after hearing the song on the radio I got to see them in concert. They do one hell of a concert. I am hopeing to see them again in Nashville mext month!
Jared from Boise, IdI can't figure out the music video for this song
Michael from Columbus, OkI think the whole songs about the singers mental illness. "Another lose cannon gone bi-polar", hes taliking about his own mood swings, paranoid fron it all. People don't understand tell him to either take his medicine or "I think you need a shotgun blast, A kick in the ass", just telling him to get of his ass whens he's down and can't control it. I could be way off , but thats how I read it.
Syton from Colorado Springs, CoLove it, I'm glad I got into this band, they stand out pretty well in today's plethora of mainstream sound-alikes. This album is great, not a bad song on it.
Larry from N'djamena,Truly badass song

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