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Alt-rockers Shinedown play The Expo Rock 'n' roll band Shinedown formed in 2001 in Jacksonville, Florida. It's fifth studio album, "Threat to Survival," debuted at No. 6 on The Billboard 200, selling 65,000 in the first week. [Photo by Darren Doane] Friday Apr 7, 2017 at 12:01 AM Alan Sculley Last Word Features As chart-topping alternative rock band Shinedown continues its spring tour behind its fifth studio album, "Threat to Survival," guitarist Zach Myers says life is better than ever. “Our relationships in the band are healthier now than they ever were,” Myers says during a phone interview. “There’s no bad blood between anybody in this band. That’s hard when you’ve been in a band for 15 years, have five albums out and sold enough records to be successful. That makes some bands fall apart. I don’t know, I think I don't want to perform on stage with anyone else. There's not a person in my band that I would replace." Myers wouldn’t have voiced this sort of sentiment when he first came into Shinedown. He joined as a touring guitarist in 2005, in time for roadwork behind Shinedown’s second album, “Us and Them,” before becoming a full-time member during the recording of "The Sound of Madness" in 2008. It was during that time that original guitarist Jasin Todd and bassist Brad Stewart were fired, creating a new four-man lineup of founding members Brent Smith (lead vocalist) and Barry Kerch (drummer) with new recruits Myers and Eric Bass (pianist and bassist). Despite the reorganization, “The Sound of Madness” became a career-making album for Shinedown. It generated six singles that went to No. 1 on various airplay charts, including “Second Chance,” which crossed over to pop, cracked the top 10 on the Top 40 and introduced the band to a whole new audience. Another big forward step came before Shinedown released "Amaryllis" in 2012. The four band members met to air all grievances, and each gained new understanding that allowed the revamped lineup to gel. “It was supposed to be a 30-minute conversation, and it turned into a five-hour therapy session," Myers says. "All of us kind of yelling and screaming at each other and telling each other the things we had done to each other in the past that weren’t cool. It was just one of those things. Once it was all done, we were back to good. Now if something is going on or if something is wrong, we’ll talk about it that day and get it out of the way.” Shinedown went on to have a productive tour behind “Amaryllis,” which produced three No. 1 rock singles, “Bully,” “Unity” and “Enemies.” Then the band took an extended break that lasted nearly two years, with Smith moving to Los Angeles, continuing a sober life and having a child, while Myers got married. Such life changes gave frontman and lyricist Smith plenty of fodder for the lyrics on “Threat to Survival,” released in 2015. He calls it his most autobiographical album, but stops short of saying there’s a single concept behind the songs. "‘Threat To Survival’ is 11 scenarios,” Smith says during a phone call. “None of those songs were written out of thin air. Those are all real situations. Those are all real feelings. In a lot of ways the album is a guidebook to life made from the experiences I’ve had. It's a very straight-forward record." Shinedown brings some new sounds and sonic touches to its music on “Threat to Survival” — note the youth chorus and synthetic sounds on the No. 1 rock single “Cut The Cord.” Meanwhile, songs like “Outcast,” “Dangerous” and rock hit “Asking For It” retain the hook-filled, hard-rock sound of the band's previous four studio albums. The production on "Survival" also is more stripped back. "On ‘Amaryllis,’ everything on the record included a million tracks," Myers says. "Sometimes there'd be 30 guitar tracks on a particular song. On 'Threat to Survival,' the music is more about what fits the song. What we can do for a song that will make it what it is. There are just three guitar tracks on 'Cut the Cord.' We took a really raw approach to the production." However, Shinedown's stripped back approach to recording "Threat to Survival" is not the same approach the band is taking with its live shows. “It’s a show we’ve never ever done before as far as visually. It’s a completely different look,” Smith says. “It’s pretty over the top. It’s been fun to be a part designing all of its layers." As far as the show's song selection, fans can expect Shinedown to play plenty of hits — something that’s not hard to do considering the band has more than 20 singles in its catalog. "I ask the audience every night, no matter where we’re at, no matter what city we’re in, no matter what country we’re in, 'If this is your first time seeing Shinedown, raise your hand,' " Smith says. "And 80 percent of the audience, still to this day, raises their hands. That shows me our fan base is constantly growing. So when me and Zach put a set list together for a tour, we select the songs the audience wants to hear, the songs the audience knows. We don't stray too far from what we know people are coming to hear and are going to be disappointed if we don't play."