Kings Of Leon debut new song and video, Radioactive

Caleb Followill is Radioactive...in a barn. Go figure!
Caleb Followill is Radioactive...in a barn. Go figure!

Kings Of Leon have given fans a taste of their new material with the song, Radioactive, which debuted yesterday on the radio and as a video. The track is the first single off the band's upcoming fifth album, Come Around Sundown, which is due out 18 October in the UK and the next day in the US.

The gospel-tinged cut is a seamless mix of the band's southern rock influences and the more current sound of their Jacquire King-produced 2008 breakout, Only By The Night. Perhaps to emphasize the former, the sepia-toned clip shows the Followills performing in a barn (always a nice touch), grillin' and chillin' at a picnic and jamming out with a children's choir. You can check out the song and video right here.

To kick-start the whole shebang, last night (7 September) the band played an intimate showcase at a Nashville skate park called called Rocketown. The gig was announced online just hours before it took place, and a huge crowd turned out to hear hits like Sex On Fire, Use Somebody and Closer, along with new songs such as Radioactive and Back Down South.

Frontman Caleb Followill played his 1971 ES-325 that Gibson rebuilt after he trashed it on stage in 2009. He apologized to the crowd that the band would be playing new material but requested that they act as if they knew the songs because, "It'll look better on television." (The event was videotaped for European television network ITV.)

So what do you think of the new song Radioactive? Let us know.

Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar WorldGuitar PlayerMusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.