The Ghost Inside are a L.A.-based melodic metalcore outfit fueled by the kinetic riffing and thunderous breakdowns that have become synonymous with the genre. They first found mainstream success in 2014 with the release of Dear Youth, which made its way onto multiple Billboard charts. The band went on hiatus in 2015 following a life-changing bus crash that saw multiple bandmembers sustain critical injuries, but returned in 2020 with a triumphant eponymous fifth LP. Searching for Solace, their sixth full-length effort, followed in 2024.
Comprised of vocalist Jonathan Vigil, guitarists Zach Johnson and Chris Davis, bassist Jim Riley, and drummer Andrew Tkaczyk, the band formed in 2006 under the moniker A Dying Dream and released one EP, Now or Never, before changing their name and unleashing their debut full-length, 2008's well-received Fury and the Fallen Ones. The Ghost Inside began to hit their stride on 2010's Returners, spending more and more time on the road honing their skills and sharing the stage with the likes of Devil Wears Prada, Bring Me the Horizon, and Parkway Drive. The band's third studio outing, Get What You Give, arrived in 2012 on the Epitaph label, and was produced by A Day to Remember's Jeremy McKinnon. Their fourth studio long-player, Dear Youth, arrived in November 2014, and proved to be the group's most successful outing to date, appearing on several Billboard charts. Tragedy struck the following year when the group's tour bus collided with a tractor-trailer outside of El Paso, Texas. Both drivers were killed, and Jonathan Vigil, Zach Johnson, Andrew Tkaczyk, and two others were hospitalized in critical condition, with drummer Tkaczyk eventually having to get his leg amputated. Recovered and undeterred, the band held their first official rehearsal in early 2018, with plans to head back into the studio. They returned to the stage on July 13, 2019, for a sold-out show at The Shrine in Los Angeles, and released their eponymous fifth full-length effort in 2020. The album made the Billboard 200 and was followed in July 2021 by a digital release of the Ghost Inside's 2019 comeback, Rise from the Ashes: Live at the Shrine. February 2024 saw the release of the outcast anthem "Wash It Away," the lead single from the band's forthcoming sixth long-player, Searching for Solace, which arrived later that June.

Theory of a Deadman is a Canadian heavy rock outfit with a versatile modern rock sound incorporating country, acoustic, pop, and post-grunge elements. The first act to sign with Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger's 604 Records imprint, the band has remained a steady presence on the mainstream rock charts since issuing their platinum-selling eponymous debut in 2002. Theory of a Deadman has found regional and international success with the chart-topping singles "Bad Girlfriend," "Lowlife," "Rx (Medicate)," and "History of Violence," and albums like Scars & Souvenirs (2008), Savages (2014), and Dinosaur (2023).
Tyler Connolly (vocals/guitar) reportedly slipped a copy of the band's demo to Kroeger at a post-concert party and the two were soon collaborating on songs together. One of these, "Invisible Man," was used as the B-side for 2002's wildly successful Spider-Man theme "Hero" (a Kroeger collaboration with Saliva singer Josey Scott), and anticipated Theory of a Deadman's self-titled debut the same year. Also featuring Dave Brenner (guitar), Dean Back (bass), and Tim Hart (drums), the album's hook-laden, emotional hard rock sounded very similar to their celebrity benefactor's band. But a healthy touring workload and simple maturation ultimately helped Theory of a Deadman break out of that confining stylistic box for their more varied and distinctive sophomore effort Gasoline, which was recorded with session drummer Robin Diaz. The trio later tapped veteran journeyman Brent Fitz (formerly of Union and Vince Neil's solo band) as their new permanent touring drummer. Theory of a Deadman returned to the studio in 2007 to record their third album, Scars and Souvenirs, which was produced by Howard Benson. The album was released in April 2008, and was certified gold in less than a year. The hard-hitting Canadian rockers' fourth studio album, The Truth Is... arrived in 2011, and was followed by a co-headlining tour with Alter Bridge under the banner the Carnival of Madness, which also included Adelitas Way, Black Stone Cherry, and Emphatic. In 2014, the bandmembers announced they were working on an album, and a new single, "Drown," arrived in April of that year. Their fifth album, Savages, followed in July of 2014. In October 2017 the band released a music video for the song "Rx (Medicate)" in anticipation of the arrival of the full-length Wake Up Call, which dropped later that month. Now going simply by Theory, the pop-leaning set entered the U.S. charts at 24 and peaked just outside the Top Ten in Canada. Continuing their new direction -- sounding close to Imagine Dragons, OneRepublic, and Shinedown -- Theory further embraced soaring pop/rock on the mainstream rock chart-topping single "History of Violence" from their seventh set, 2020's Say Nothing. 2023's Martin Terefe (Jason Mraz, Yungblud)-produced Dinosaur saw the group return to the blazing alt-rock/post-grunge sound of their earlier efforts.

Melodic hard rock outfit Shinedown debuted in the early 2000s with the muscular post-grunge of Leave a Whisper, a platinum-selling 2003 effort kicking off a string of modern rock radio successes that kept the band atop the Billboard charts from the late aughts into the 2010s. They smoothed their sound over the years to incorporate pop-friendly hooks and polished production, scoring crossover hits with singles like "Bully" and "Cut the Cord" from the Top Ten albums Amaryllis (2012) and Threat to Survival (2015). The stylistic evolution continued on 2018's Attention Attention. In 2022, Shinedown released their seventh set, Planet Zero.
Hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, the band's founding lineup included vocalist Brent Smith, guitarist Jasin Todd, bassist Brad Stewart, and drummer Barry Kerch. Snapped up by Atlantic Records during the early-2000s flurry of post-Creed and -Nickelback signings, the group released their debut album, Leave a Whisper, in 2003. Whisper eventually went platinum, aided by its single "Fly from the Inside." Shinedown also supported it with an intense slate of live shows, remaining on tour throughout most of 2004. The following year, the band issued a live album documenting those shows, then returned in October 2005 with their sophomore effort, Us and Them, which went gold. The group underwent a few lineup changes in the years to follow, re-emerging in 2008 as a quintet that included Smith and Kerch along with guitarists Nick Perri and Zach Myers and bass player Eric Bass.
The long-awaited Sound of Madness, featuring Grammy-winning producer Rob Cavallo (Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day), arrived in July. The set went double platinum in the U.S., peaking at number eight on the Billboard 200. It yielded six singles, including the crossover hit "Second Chances," which rose into the Top Ten of the Hot 100. Soon after the album's release, the band parted ways with Perri and continued as a quartet. In keeping with their driving sound, the band loaned some of their songs to the WWE to use during their pay-per-view events, as well as to a number of other soundtracks, all the while touring for Sound of Madness. The trek eventually led to a CD/DVD set, 2011's Somewhere in the Stratosphere, which featured a pair of complete live sets from the group's Carnival of Madness and Anything & Everything tours.
The band's fourth studio album, Amaryllis (Atlantic/Roadrunner), was released in the spring of 2012. Once again produced by Cavallo, the effort debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, their highest entry to date. Singles like "Bully" and "Unity" fared well on the charts, with the former crossing over to the Hot 100. The group promoted the album with separate tours with Three Days Grace and Papa Roach, which carried them into late 2013. A pair of acoustic EPs, Acoustic Sessions and Acoustic Sessions, Pt. 2, arrived in early 2014, featuring Smith and Myers covering songs from the likes of Metallica and Adele.
In June 2015, Shinedown issued the single "Cut the Cord," which landed on their fifth studio long-player, Threat to Survival. Released in September, Threat to Survival was another Top Ten hit for the band, debuting a refreshed sound that was less Breaking Benjamin and more Imagine Dragons on tracks like "Cut the Cord," "State of My Head," and "How Did You Love." While touring behind Threat to Survival -- including a European stint with Iron Maiden -- Bass wrote prolifically, producing dozens of songs and a concept for the band's sixth album. Produced by Bass, Attention Attention was released in May 2018 and included the singles "Devil" and "Get Up," two of four album singles to hit number one on the Billboard rock chart. The soaring stand-alone single "Atlas Falls" (originally recorded during the Amaryllis sessions) appeared in May 2020, with its proceeds benefitting the humanitarian aid nonprofit Direct Relief.
Sidelined from touring by the pandemic lockdown in 2021, Shinedown set to work on another album. The politically charged Planet Zero arrived in 2022, featuring the chart-topping title track and "The Saints of Violence and Innuendo." The LP peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 and reached number one on the rock, hard rock, and alternative albums charts.