So Called Life

"So Called Life" has been described by critics as a grunge^[5] and hard rock song.^[6] The track runs at 160 BPM and is in the key of D minor, with a duration of three minutes and twenty-six seconds.^[7] The song was written by Matt Walst, Brad Walst, Barry Stock, Neil Sanderson and Ted Bruner while Howard Benson handled the production of the song.^[8] The song was written around March 2020 and according to bassist Brad Walst, the song was originally supposed to be a "cool kind of party song."^[9] Brad Walst spoke about "So Called Life" in an interview with Jave Patterson of Two Doods Reviews explaining about how the song was written.

"It's a little different. It's a pretty heavy song and definitely full of emotions and frustrations of everyday life. It was actually the first song we wrote on this record, going back almost pre-pandemic. We started jamming, actually, beside Neil's pool and it turned out really angry. I think it's a great tune. I think the fans are gonna relate to it. And it's gonna be a fun one live, I know that."^[10]

The music video for "So Called Life" premiered on November 29, 2021, and it was directed by Jon Vulpine.^[11][12] Speaking about the music video, director Jon Vulpine explained how the video came together.

"I wanted to make this video really raw and stripped down. Something high energy with extreme angles and fast movements. A bunch of old analog gear in this 70’s apartment that looked like some hoarder died in it 20 years ago and the guys just came in and recorded. I didn’t want to go for a clean and super polished look so Justin Jones, my DP suggested these rehoused 1960’s Japanese lenses for a grittier more contrasty feel. That along with different lens distortions and attachments just added to the diversity of shots."^[6]

"So Called Life" debuted on the Canada Rock chart at number 41 and later peaked at number 7 on the chart.^[13] The song also reached the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart at number one, topping the chart for four consecutive weeks, and on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart at number 29.^[14][15] This marks the band's 16th number-one song on the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, tying the record for the most number-ones with Shinedown. It earned 796,000 streams in the US.^[16] It also peaked at number 11 on the Alternative Digital Song Sales chart.^[17]