Devil (Shinedown song)

The song was first released on March 7, 2018, as the first single from the band's sixth studio album, Attention Attention.[3][4] An accompanying music video was released on the same day,[5] also including the intro track "The Entrance" at the beginning of the video. The video was directed by Bill Yukich, who had previously directed the videos for Beyonce's Lemonade videos for HBO.[6] The song is included in WWE 2K19's soundtrack, being selected by Baron Corbin to appear in game.[7] The Song was also included in the Apex Legends Season 3 cinematic trailer.

Lyrically, the song has been described by Alternative Press as "a deep dive into the heart of fear".[8] Attention Attention is a concept album that details a person's progression, from being in a dark, negative space, to working through their issues and eventually progressing into be a new, more positive person; "Devil" is the second track from the album, and the first fully formed song after the intro track, placing it in the more negativity-themed side of the album.[6] Frontman Brent Smith outlined the meaning of the song:

'Devil' is about being afraid, 'Devil' is about being terrified of not only yourself, in some respects, but the world around you, and understanding that there are so many things and so many different situations and people and places and atmospheres and exposure that human beings are put in front of on a daily basis, [and] the world can be a really difficult place to navigate. So that's where the story starts.[6]

Musically, Loudwire described the song as having a dense, wall of sound quality to it, describing it as having a "sliding guitar lick and off kilter beat"...backing choirs.. layers of synth, piano and guitar textures."[9]

Band

• Brent Smith – vocals
• Zach Myers – guitar
• Eric Bass – bass
• Barry Kerch – drums