IN: Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001 after the dissolution of his previous band. Smith, still under contract with record label Atlantic Records, recruited the band's original lineup of Jasin Todd as guitarist, Brad Stewart on bass, and Barry Kerch on drums. Consistent for the first two album cycles, a few lineup changes followed in the late 2000s, eventually stabilizing with Smith and Kerch alongside Zach Myers on guitar and Eric Bass on bass. The group has released five studio albums:

Work on a fourth studio album began in February 2011, with the band spending the first half of the year writing and demoing over 33 songs. The band again decided to work with Cavallo as a producer, but moved into a new sound and lyrical direction on the album, capturing a more of a message of "empowerment, perseverance, and inspiration", inspired by Smith's then-recent change of getting sober and living a healthier lifestyle, and the new band members contributing to the writing process for the first time on an album. The recording process wrapped up about a year later in February 2012, and the album, Amaryllis, was released the next month, on March 27, 2012, in 30 countries simultaneously, through a joint release between Atlantic and Roadrunner Records in countries Atlantic did not distribute into. Amaryllis debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 charts, selling 106,000 copies in its opening week. While the opening sales doubled the debut of The Sound of Madness, overall sales fell well short, with the album only being certified Gold, indicating a half million copies sold.  Five singles were released from the album: "Bully", "Unity", "Enemies", "I'll Follow You", and "Adrenaline". The band's singles once again fared well, albeit it slightly below The Sound of Madness singles; "Bully" and "Unity" topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts, "Enemies" and "I'll Follow You" peaked at number 2, and "Adrenaline" peaked at number 4. Additionally, only "Bully" managed to have any cross-over success, break into the Billboard Top 100 chart, at number 94. and eventually being certified Gold as well. Shinedown also contributed the non-album song titled "I'm Alive" to the soundtrack of the 2012 film The Avengers.  In November 2012, Smith announced in an NME interview that a follow up Shinedown album had already been recorded. Smith stated "We've actually, we have another record of material. It's actually recorded...It's still very massive, it still has an epic feel to it all, but the tempo is a little slower, and the subject matter is a little different. I would say it's actually a bit darker, a little bit more mischievous." Despite the announcement, the band proceeded to move continue on with the Amaryllis touring cycle, touring through 2013 to complete another two year touring cycle. Shinedown and Three Days Grace embarked on a co-headlined tour beginning in February 2013, and went on another iteration of the yearly "Carnival of Madness" tour with Papa Roach in later 2013.  In April 2013, Smith and Myers recorded ten acoustic cover songs, selected out of a pool of over 4,000 fan requests, selecting a variety of different types of songs, from Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" to Adele's "Someone Like You". The tracks were released across two separate EPs, Acoustic Sessions on January 28, 2014, and Acoustic Sessions Pt. 2 on March 28, 2014, with performance videos created for every track on the first EP. The band took much of 2014 off, a rarity for the band, which had pretty consistently moved back and forth between recording and touring for each album cycle. The time off was for the band to rest, specifically Smith, who had damaged his vocal chords and contracted oral thrush from the constant years of touring prior.

why did it take them so long to release the album if they started working on it in 2011?

OUT: the new band members contributing to the writing process for the first time on an album.


IN: Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. (born September 15, 1961) is a former American football quarterback who played seventeen seasons for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). The last quarterback of the quarterback class of 1983 to be taken in the first round, Marino held or currently holds dozens of NFL records associated with the quarterback position. Despite never being on a Super Bowl-winning team, he is recognized as one of the greatest quarterbacks in American football history. Best remembered for his quick release and powerful arm, Marino helped the Dolphins become consistent postseason contenders, leading them to the playoffs ten times and one Super Bowl appearance in XIX, although a title victory ultimately eluded him during his career.

The Dan Marino Foundation was established in 1992 by Marino and his wife, Claire, after their son, Michael, was diagnosed with autism. The foundation has distributed over $22 million to research, services, and treatment programs serving children with neurodevelopment disabilities. The Dan Marino Center, which opened in 1995 along with the Miami Children's Hospital, is an integrated neurodevelopmental center specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of children at risk for developmental and psychological problems. The center saw more than 48,000 children last year alone. Marino has teamed with other celebrities to raise awareness about autism spectrum disorders, including fellow NFL quarterback Doug Flutie, whose son also has an autism diagnosis.  On November 7, 2005, the National Basketball Association's Miami Heat honored Marino's charitable works and recognized his service to South Florida with a halftime tribute, as well as a large donation to the Marino Foundation. Though a Heat jersey with his name and #13 was unveiled, this did not constitute retirement of his number by the Heat, and was worn by Heat guard/forward Mike Miller as recently as the 2012/2013 NBA season.  On March 23, 2010, The Dan Marino Foundation held its first "Walk about Autism". Over 6000 walkers participated, as well as 420 volunteers provided by the Miami Dolphins Special Teams.  The money raised benefited several funds including the Autism Societies of Miami-Dade and Broward; the University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities; the Florida Atlantic University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities; and the Dan Marino Foundation.

How did it help those with autism?

OUT:
distributed over $22 million to research, services, and treatment programs serving children with neurodevelopment disabilities.