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Shinedown lead singer Brent Smith never thought he'd write a love song.
Then his son was born in 2007, and the alternative metal rocker wrote If You Only Knew as a tribute to his then-girlfriend and their son Lyric.
"I never had a reason to write a love song until my son was born," he explained in a telephone interview. "And even though I'm not with his mother anymore, we are still friends."
Shinedown's third album, The Sound of Madness, follows two successful albums (Us and Them and Leave a Whisper) that produced seven Top 5 hit singles on the Billboard rock and alternative charts
The band is wrapping up its Carnival of Madness tour Aug. 27 with a final stop at the Toyota Center in Kennewick. Showtime is 6 p.m.
Though the band Chevelle has opened for Shinedown at the other venues on its national tour, it won't be at the Tri-City show. Other bands scheduled to perform are Sevendust, Puddle of Mudd and 10 Years.
Smith said the birth of his son helped him turn around his life and become sober and less self-absorbed. The new album is a reflection of that different outlook on life.
"The motivation behind this new album was that the music remain real," he said.
But that doesn't necessarily mean he thinks this is the band's best work. "All the songs we've recorded are like children to me," he said. "There are no favorites."
Though there's a big, heavy sound to most of Shinedown's recordings, Smith doesn't like to classify the band's music into a specific genre like rock or metal.
"Metal is more driven by screaming angst and rock is totally different from that and neither fits us," he said. "We're not really metal, more rock with metal influences.
"What separates us (from other bands) is that our songs are just honest recordings about life."
Smith formed Shinedown about 10 years ago along with guitarist Zach Myers, drummer Barry Kerch and bassist Jasin Todd. Todd was later replaced by bassist Eric Bass.
Fans attending the show also will be part of the filming of the concert which will be shown on the HD music channel Palladia and later released on DVD sometime next year.
The Tri-City show will have cheaper reserved seats at $35. It will cost you $37.50 to stand on the coliseum floor where no seats will be set up.
Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com or the coliseum box office. Those purchased at the box office avoid service charges.
