Here is a mind-boggling statistic: Shinedown holds the record for the most number-one hits on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs chart. A truly outstanding accomplishment, the band’s story is one of persistence, defying the odds, and undying passion.
A band commonly associated with the dynamic, powerful vocals and lyrics of Brent Smith, one would be remiss to overlook the key members a part of the team over their last fifteen years of dominance. There is original drummer Barry Kerch, who has stuck with the project through thick and thin; Zach Myers, who has been a cornerstone on guitar for nearly two decades; and last but not least, Mr. Eric Bass on bass… an absolute signature part of everything.
Looking at the rise of Bass, he is a man who has lived and breathed music his entire life, and after stepping back from performing with his band Deepfield in 2003 to handle production and recording behind the scenes, he was called on to join Shinedown in 2008. It quickly became clear that Bass would be more than a hired bass player; he would become a key part of the songwriting and production of the band’s music. In fact, Bass has produced the last two Shinedown albums, 2018’s ATTENTION ATTENTION and 2022’s Planet Zero.
It is an amazing tale of how dedication has paid dividends for a musician who worked in construction at one point. Now, Eric Bass takes the next obvious step in his progression with his first-ever solo album, I Had A Name. Due out on February 28, 2025, the new album took shape when Bass was out touring, putting together some song ideas, and was given an encouraging blessing from the Shinedown camp to fill them out and get them out there under his own name.
It was a great opportunity for Bass to experiment a little more. Soon, the songs came into focus, and there was a clear theme developing about deep thought, frustration, and conflicting views of the world surrounding them. In this, Bass began to develop a storyline where the character Devaren was born. This is a bit of a mysterious individual with plenty of sides to their mentality. Interestingly, these songs are only part of everything because Bass also has plans for a graphic novel. Something to look out for in the future: one of the most striking aspects that comes into play with Bass’s I Had A Name is that this record seems almost autobiographical.
Often, when writers’ creative juices get flowing, they will unconsciously interject personal experiences and feelings into a piece of work. With that in mind, the lyrical content of I Had A Name is as intense as you would expect from an internal battle of one’s mind where they are navigating through life, ups and downs, and the external world of hypocrisy, deceptions, and heartbreak. Beyond this, which you will have to listen intently to understand, the music side of the album is a wild mix of different sounds.
Without question, rooted in a Hard Rock aesthetic, the I Had A Name collective contains many quirky textures. Some of them are reminiscent of Bass’s work with Shinedown, others completely out of left field. This is not at all a negative thing. Bass carefully treads with his imagination on these recordings, surely not going too far off the deep end, where he will lose the audience.
So, what can you expect with I Had A Name? Well, you are just going to have to listen to it yourself to find out. Sure, there are singles like “Mind Control” and the catchy “Azalia” out now, but these are not necessarily indicative of the remainder of the record. Giving a little more insight and being less cryptic, songs like “The New Gods of War” are a blistering shock to the sense, “Goodnight Goodnight” is an emotionally intense ride, and “New Graves” is a delightfully bizarre trip.
In the end, if you expect this Eric Bass solo album to sound exactly like Shinedown, you will be in for a bit of a surprise. However, jump into this almost dream-like odyssey into Bass’s world with an open mind; you will find many really cool elements to absolutely love. That is why Cryptic Rock commends this creative venture and is fascinated to see what happens next, giving I Had A Name 4 out of 5 stars.
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