Songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Eric Bass (Shinedown) is thrilled to announce his debut solo album, I Had A Name. A concept album and set within a sprawling new world, I Had A Name was written, recorded, and produced entirely by Bass. The record will be released on February 21st 2025 and is available for pre-save / pre-order now at this location. Check out the lead single and music video for “Mind Control” below.

“We live in a world right now where music gets homogenized and maybe everything sounds and feels the same. I wanted to create something different and I hope listeners hear that,” Bass shares. “Lyrically and emotionally I hope it empowers them and they can see themselves in the characters and stories I sing about.”

He continues: “We all go through dark times and hardships, but there's always a way out. I think that's what being a human being is about. I feel like Earth is a test and we’re here to prove ourselves, go through things and come out better on the other side.”

On the new single, he adds: “‘Mind Control’ is part of a larger story than I’m telling on this record and in the graphic novel that goes along with it. We’re following this character Devaren as he’s talking about his disdain for the population and how he can’t stand them, but at the end of the song he has this reflective moment where he actually regrets everything he’s been doing. The interesting thing about the characters in this story is that they represent a different part of my neurodivergence and mental health journey. In ‘Mind Control’ Devaren represents the depression that has crept into my life over the years that I didn’t see coming. I just had to personify that in a character so in ‘Mind Control’ it has taken over, but ultimately in our story it will be defeated.”

I Had A Name artwork and tracklisting:

"A World Unseen"
"The New Gods Of War"
"Azalia"
"We Can’t Go Home"
"Goodnight Goodnight"
"Mind Control"
"New Graves"
"All Good Children - Our Guts"
"Modenhardt"
"Dead Inside"
"The Churches Of The Dead"
"Wanna Go To Hell"

Eric Bass is best known as the co-songwriter, producer, and bassist for multiplatinum rock institution Shinedown, who holds the record for most No. 1 singles on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart. In November 2024, he unveils “Mind Control”, the inaugural single from his debut solo album, landing on February 28, 2025. Eric Bass Presents: I Had A Name is an immersive, expansive, and richly thematic work. As well versed in KISS and Van Halen as Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, Bass poured passion and creativity into I Had A Name.

“Mind Control” is an invitation into a new world. The song introduces the villainous Devaren, a dystopian dictator filled with disdain for his imprisoned citizens and haunted by guilt and remorse. “Mind Control” is part of a multimedia tapestry conceived, written, recorded, and produced by Bass.

“I’m in a blessed position to be able to make this kind of ‘rock opera’ solo album,” he says. “The album will eventually coincide with a graphic novel and a series of music videos that play like a short film.”

The initial storytelling spark behind I Had A Name ignited in a hotel room in Milan, Italy, as Shinedown toured behind 2018’s Attention Attention. “I sat on the bed with a pen and paper and wrote for two hours. It turned into a synopsis for a prequel to the story I’m telling on the album. When I started writing music, I thought about these characters. The album doesn’t chronologically tell the story, but it depicts various scenes from it – bits and pieces that happen throughout it.”

Rolling Stone called Shinedown’s “A Symptom Of Being Human,” written by Bass and frontman Brent Smith, “an unexpected pop hit.” The plaintive ballad’s crossover appeal owes much to its stark confrontation of depression. As with much of Attention Attention and Planet Zero (Shinedown’s first No. 1 on Billboard’s Album Sales chart), I Had A Name looks both outward at society and inward, as darker emotions seep out from within the more significant metaphors and storylines on the surface.

“I’ve spoken about my struggles with depression and neurodivergent issues before,” Bass points out. “When I finished writing this record, I looked back at these characters I’ve created and realized I’d written the most autobiographical record of my life, which wasn’t conscious as I was writing it.”

“The album is an epic odyssey. I don’t want mental health to be an ‘angle’ that obscures that,” he adds. “But I don’t mind talking about it. Anytime I talk about it, I hope it’s helpful to someone else.”

With his Shinedown bandmates’ full support and encouragement, Eric challenged himself to write every lyric, compose every song, perform every instrument, and produce and mix the entire affair.

Ultimately, as with every endeavour of the South Carolina native’s career, Eric Bass Presents: I Had A Name is about authenticity. “I’m always about honesty in art,” he says. “When I listen to something, I want to hear that the person dug into the dirt and bled for it to happen. The truth always prevails.”

For further details, follow Eric Bass on Facebook.

(Photos by Sanjay Parikh)