The Sound of Madness is the third studio album by American rock band Shinedown, released June 24, 2008, via Atlantic Records.

Shinedown's tour to support the album subsequently started with the band playing a few festival shows before the release of The Sound of Madness.

[8][10] Then-touring guitarist Zach Myers later recounted that both Smith and Todd were going through significant substance abuse issues at the time with drugs and alcohol, which lead to much infighting between the two.

We want to do a huge hard rock record that has a lot of crossover potential but also some of the most insanely intense and heavy material that this band has ever tried—and see if we can pull it off.

[10] Sessions were prolific, with Smith writing over 60 songs during the period, though the fact that he now lacked a guitarist and bassist was a constant concern.

In order to start touring in support of the album, Smith assembled a new official lineup for the band, consisting of Nick Perri of Silvertide on lead guitar, Eric Bass on bass guitar, and upgrading touring member Meyers to a permanent rhythm guitarist position.

[14][12][15] Of particular note was "Second Chance", which crossed over to the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 7, and eventually being certified triple platinum, indicating three million units of the single sold.

Tim Grierson at About.com stated "Though hard rock remains Shinedown's forte, this new record suggests that the band members are more than willing to pursue other sonic territory in order to better express themselves."

"[21] However, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave a mixed review, noting that "Shinedown serve up what they always have: active modern rock embodying the sound of post-grunge in the new millennium without offering much that is memorable, either for better or for worse.