Daughtry unveils SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM (PART TWO) — a new chapter in the band’s evolution, delivering raw emotion, cinematic intensity, and their most vulnerable work yet.
Following a landmark year of chart-topping singles and sold-out arena tours, multi-GRAMMY® Award-nominated rock powerhouse Daughtry return with SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM (PART TWO) — a gripping, high-voltage EP out now via Dogtree Records/Big Machine Rock.
This second instalment pushes deeper into themes of chaos, control, and catharsis — pairing storming guitar riffs with soul-baring lyricism. At its emotional core is ANTIDOTE, a stark, piano-led closer that builds with cinematic strings and one of Chris Daughtry’s most heart-wrenching vocal performances to date. “Looking back, it’s hard to watch the poison take control when you don’t have the antidote,” he sings — a chilling reflection on vulnerability and survival.
“This EP is ultimately about facing the things we’ve ignored within ourselves and confronting the wake-up calls that force us to go deeper. These songs unlocked something very real, honest, and visceral in me as a writer and as a human being,” says Chris Daughtry.
The EP includes seven new tracks: THE SEEDS, DIVIDED, THE DAY I DIE, THE BOTTOM, TERRIFIED, RAZOR, and the aforementioned ANTIDOTE. Each track adds a new layer to the band’s creative reinvention — navigating change, identity and defiance with muscular hooks and unfiltered intensity.
Daughtry recorded the project alongside long-time collaborators and rock heavyweights Marti Frederiksen and Scott Stevens, whose production heightens the EP’s theatrical scope without losing its grit. Between headline sets and tour runs with Creed, Breaking Benjamin, Staind, and Disturbed, the band laid down what would become one of the most defining collections of their career.
SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM (PART TWO) follows the explosive success of PART ONE, which saw Daughtry claim their first ever #1 at Active Rock with ARTIFICIAL and earn the title of Billboard’s Most Played Artist at the format in 2024. Loudwire hailed the project’s “palpable heaviness,” while SPIN and Billboard praised its unflinching honesty and sonic ambition.
Frontman Chris Daughtry continues to expand his reach beyond music — with featured vocals for Papa Roach, Sevendust, and Nothing More, a chart-busting cover of Separate Ways alongside Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale, and even original comic book artwork for DC’s Batman #50. His voice — both literally and figuratively — remains one of the most recognisable in 21st-century rock.
With over 9 million albums and 25 million singles sold, Daughtry remain one of the best-selling rock acts of their era — and with SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM (PART TWO), they prove they’re far from finished. This autumn, the band return to the road with Seether for a US tour kicking off in Virginia Beach on October 1st.
Brutal, beautiful, and brutally honest — SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM (PART TWO) is Daughtry at full throttle.
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