Daughtry – Shock to the System (Part 1) (EP Review)

With a bit of time passing, the return of Daughtry has finally arrived. The first project of note since 2021’s Dearly Beloved, Shock to the System (Part 1), is simply as the title implies. Out on September 27, 2024, the new EP is out through Big Machine Rock, and previews the short, but already frenzied tour of the band starting in the fall of 2024.

Looking deeper inside, the admittance of new Drummer Jeremy Schaffer in 2023 has brought some much-needed energy to the group and they are flying high ahead of this release. Along with their newly-minted drummer, the current band consists of Vocalist/Guitarist Chris Daughtry, Lead Guitarist Josh Steely, Rhythm Guitarist Brian Craddock, Keyboardist Elvio Fernandes, and Bassist Marty O’Brien.

With this new release, the Grammy-nominated Daughtry has put the world on notice; they are back again, and they are rocking harder and heavier just to prove it. Returning with six songs, Shock to the System (Part 1) quickly reminds you why this band has reached the level of superstardom where they currently reside.  It all starts with “Reckoning,” a track with tumbling lyrics that blend perfectly with the percussion efforts. Opening with a foot-stomping beat, you are awakened to the fierce return, leaving no doubt that Daughtry has a stronghold in the Rock genre. Chris Daughty belts his wobbling Hard Rock vocals with an intensity and passion that explodes with the relief of showing the world what he and the band can do.

Following this opener, the band crashes into a soaring epic with the force of an army. Almost a Hard Rock public service announcement to the world, Daughtry demands your attention, and deservedly so with “Artificial.” A powerful song, it depicts the path that the world has fallen, specifically stating, “This is the world’s nightmare,” a fact that may resonate with the entire population of the United States of America. With the vocals briefly screaming, you are jolted into a realization that maybe this is the final warning; maybe we all do need to shape up and live a little better.

From here, with the passing of each song you are exposed to the incredible chemistry that Daughtry has created after eighteen years. Proving this, as “Pieces” opens you are immediately transported back to that moment in 2006 when you first met the group. Beginning with an almost ethereal percussion move more akin to that of 30 Seconds to Mars, the piece quickly transforms into a tremendous opera about the pain of living inside a human’s body. The lyrics are reaching for hope, and also searching for any sort of buoy to provide some sort of respite from the constant pummeling that life often provides.

To live with the “broken pieces,” of our hearts is a daily battle and often one that is ignored, but not by Daughtry. The group understands that there is pain and angst, sorrow and dejection running rampant in this world, and they are trying to flip the script. They are appealing to our emotions, appealing to the strength that it takes every day to wake up and battle the demons that reside within our souls. So, while “Pieces” may be a head-banging, rip-roaring expose of Rock music, it is a much deeper, truly poetic response to the daily struggle that every human faces in pursuit of happiness.

Then there is EP’s tile-track; which begins with a snazzy electronic drum beat more appropriate for the clubs of Miami than a Daughtry rocker, but like all else they do, it works. Though it did start with a slightly clubbish feel, the raspy vocals rolling into the yelling pleads of a broken man quickly morph the song into a piece that will shake listeners to their core. The feeling of adrenaline that is being exposed throughout the lyrics seems to be fueled by the adrenaline of a man confronting his mortality. An almost hungry anger slips to the surface, as it is realized that life is slipping by, always changing, and never what we expect it to be, so we must do our best to take each day for what it is worth.

This leads us to the finale “The Dam,” which is the final plea of the group for total illumination to occur within its fanbase. Once again employing an electronic beat to begin, the soft, almost magic carpet-like vocals float on the instrumentals throughout the track and pontificate on the fact that all chickens come home to roost. As a society, we have been cultivating and living in a manner that does not support sustainability and Daughtry is letting us know that the “dam is about to break.”

The soft, coaxing nature of the introduction quickly transforms “The Dam” into the hardest track of them all; completely cementing that Daughtry is at the top of their genre and the charts. Vocals that extend far beyond what seems humanly possible are matched perfectly to a furious drum beat by Schaffer that jolts you wide awake; questioning what you are doing wrong or what you could be doing better. Honestly, it is a wake-up call that was much needed.

It takes a true musician to combine the elements that Daughtry employs on Shock to the System (Part I), and they, once again, have yet to disappoint their fans. Although hopes for another quick release are indeed high, the gift of Shock to the System (Part 1) will not fade soon. That is why Cryptic Rock praises this return, giving the new EP 4 out of 5 stars.