Shinedown lead singer laying down foundation for new album

Rock band Shinedown has been enjoying some relative calm of late but all that's about to change as the guys head off to perform for the troops in Iraq and Kuwait later this week. While the rest of the band used the time off to spend quality time with their families, lead singer Brent Smith tells us he's been busy laying down the foundation for what will be the group's third album: "I'm just down here working with a producer friend of mine named Rick Beato and we're just going over some stuff and I'm just writing right now some things and he's recording it and we're just putting some things together 'cause I'm looking at, you know, further down the line here in the future the third Shinedown record. So I'm just kind of getting a little bit of a, just a little bit of a leg up. I have enough time right now to do it so that's what I'm doing right now."

Shinedown leaves for the Middle East on November 7th. They will play one show in Kuwait and four shows in Iraq for U.S. troops.

The band's next U.S. performance is set for November 17th in Port Charlotte, Florida. Joining the group on the bill will be Hinder and Eighteen Visions.