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Godsmack is an American hard rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band comprises founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its formation, Godsmack has released four studio albums, one EP, four DVDs, and one greatest hits collection.
Known for their fierce touring regimen, Godsmack have played in front of millions of live fans, and conducted worldwide headlining arena tours
. They established one of the most memorable live arsenals in rock, having been regulars at past Ozzfests, playing below Pantera after only two years of being a signed act, appeared at Woodstock '99, toured with Metallica, and headlined their own arena juggernauts throughout the world.
The band has sold over 20 million albums worldwide, including over 12 million in the United States. They have sold over 3 million singles worldwide, and three of their singles went gold in the United States. The band has had two consecutive number one albums (Faceless and IV) on the Billboard 200. They have had fifteen top ten mainstream rock singles and a debut album selling over 6 million copies worldwide since its release. They have also been nominated for four Grammy Awards, making them one of the most successful and influential modern rock bands.
HistoryFormation (1995)Godsmack Logo.In February 1995, Sully Erna decided to start a new band as the lead singer after playing the drums for more than 23 years, including over two years in the now-defunct band Strip Mind.[archiveurl= web.archive.org/web/20070930171134/http://www.godsmack.com/bio/bio.asp ] His new band The Scam formed with Erna on vocals, Robbie Merrill on bass, local guitarist and friend Lee Richards on guitar, and Tommy Stewart on drums. The Scam quickly changed its name to Godsmack, after recording one demo.
The band's name, according to Merrill in the Smack This! DVD, was taken from the Alice in Chains' song "God Smack". However, Erna stated in a 1999 interview that "I was making fun of somebody who had a cold sore on his lip and the next day I had one myself and somebody said, 'It's a godsmack.' The name stuck. We were aware of the Alice in Chains song but didn't really think much about it. It's a cool song and the name had meaning for
us".
Early works (1995–1996)In 1996, Tony Rombola and Joe D'arco joined Godsmack as the guitarist and drummer, after Richards left after finding out he had a six-year-old child and Stewart left due to personal differences.[url=www.rocknworld.com/morley/06/Godsmack.shtml ] In the same year the band entered the studio for the first time, recording its first CD titled All Wound Up. The CD was recorded in just three days for $2,600.
For the next two years, the band played throughout the Boston area. Eventually Godsmack's CD landed in the hands of "Rocko", a DJ for Boston radio station WAAF (FM). The radio station put "Keep Away" into heavy rotation and the song rose to the number one spot at the station very quickly.
In an interview Sully Erna stated, "we had been selling maybe 50 copies a month at the time WAAF picked up the album. All of a sudden we started moving over a thousand records a week. It was insane. Even crazier, I was doing all this from my bedroom. After years of grinding away, things finally started taking off".
Godsmack (1998–1999)Godsmack self-titled album cover.In the summer of 1998, Universal/Republic Records signed the band onto their label. D'arco left the band for unknown reasons and was replaced by once former drummer Tommy Stewart, who came back after longing to be in the band again.[title=Godsmack's Sully Erna Speaks out on drummer switch ] The band's first studio recording All Wound Up was re-mastered. The finished self-titled debut CD Godsmack was released to the public six weeks later, leading to the band's first headlining tour, "The Voodoo Tour".
After the CD's release the band hit the road playing club shows as well as playing the Ozzfest and Woodstock '99".[publisher=Godsmack ] after being initially certified gold in 1999.[first=Jason]
The album caused controversy due to its profane lyrics, containing a substantial amount of swearing.[url=www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608002718/Godsmack.html] After listening to his son's copy of the album, a father in the U.S. complained to Wal-Mart, who sold him the album, that the lyrics were offensive. Wal-Mart and Kmart took the album off the shelves. The band and its record label later added a Parental Advisory sticker to the album, and some stores ordered amended copies of the album. Erna commented on the situation to Rolling Stone magazine, stating, "Our record has been in the marketplace for more than a year now without a parental advisory sticker and this is the one and only complaint…. Stickers and lyrics are by nature subjective…. We have decided to put a sticker on the record".
Awake (2000–2002)In 2000, Godsmack returned to the studio after the multi-platinum success of Godsmack to start recording Awake. The album was released on October 31, 2000. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, and has been certified 2x platinum by the RIAA.
With the release of Awake, Godsmack toured Europe supporting Limp Bizkit. Erna said at the time, "we've been touring nonstop since August 1998, So most of Awake was written on tour while we were ping-ponging between America and Europe, building up the band. "Ozzfest" was actually the only big
tour where we rode under someone else's wings; we did a lot of work on our own". The band played Ozzfest in 2000 again as they had in 1999.
Two of the songs on the album were used in United States military commercials ("Sick of Life" and "Awake") as background music. Erna stated, "Someone in the military is a fan, and they asked if they could use the music, and we accepted".
Faceless (2002-2003)In 2002, Erna was asked to write and perform a song for the soundtrack to The Scorpion King. The motion picture was the third in the Mummy saga, and was a spin-off prequel of the Mummy series. The song Godsmack wrote and performed was titled "I Stand Alone" and became the number 1 single at Rock Radio and the most played Active Rock song in 2002 for 14 weeks straight. It was also used in the game Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.
With Shannon Larkin (ex Ugly Kid Joe, Souls at Zero, Wrathchild America, MF Pitbulls) replacing Tommy Stewart, who left due to personal differences for the second time,[title=Shannon Larkin ] Godsmack went back into the studio to record a new album that was released in 2003. Faceless debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 selling 267,000 copies its first week, and the album would go on to sell over one million copies in the United States.
The album got its name after a pool incident, retold by Larkin; "Sully and I were standing up for one more jump, we're both there buck-naked, and I look over to the left and there's some woman who had just opened the blinds standing there with her mouth wide open". Erna added, "She was just waking up, we go, 'Sorry', and then boom, right into the pool. The next thing we know the cops are banging on the door, and that's sort of the point of calling the record Faceless". The album was produced by Erna and engineered by the well known producer and engineer Andy Johns, known for engineering Led Zeppelin's Led Zeppelin IV.[title=Interview: Shannon Larkin of Godsmack ] The first single from the album, "Speak" was released on February 14, 2006. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 211,000 copies in its first week.
IV has since been certified platinum.[title=A Conversation with Drummer Shannon Larkin ]
The album's minimalist name "IV" derives not only from its being the band's fourth studio album, but also from a running piece of backstage humor, as related by Larkin and Erna:
Greatest hits and hiatus (2007–2008)Good Times, Bad Times... Ten years of Godsmack album cover.
To celebrate ten years as a band, Godsmack released a greatest hits album entitled Good Times, Bad Times... Ten Years of Godsmack on December 4, 2007. The album debuted at number thirty-five on the Billboard 200, selling 40,000 copies in the first week of release. It includes a cover of the Led Zeppelin song "Good Times Bad Times", as well as a DVD of Godsmack's acoustic performance in Las Vegas at House of Blues. The album was originally intended to be a boxed set, but the band scrapped the plans so they could release a best of album. Godsmack will be following the release of the album with an acoustic tour.[title=Blabbermouth.net – Godsmack Looking Back at 'Good Times, Bad Times' In November ]
In an interview regarding rumors of an "indefinite hiatus," Erna is quoted as saying, "we're not going away, we are just gonna take a break and enjoy our 10th year anniversary and kind of recharge our batteries. And then Godsmack will be back, and we will come back bigger and badder than ever."
They also performed at Rock the Ink in Providence Rhode Island on October 25, 2008. At that concert Erna stated that they are going to have a new album released next year, along with a possible tour.
Godsmack's untitled fifth studio album (2008-present)In 2008, the band announced that they would begin writing another studio album. The expected release date was said to be around mid 2009.
According to Shannon Larkin, the band is now heading into the studio to write and record the fifth full length album, due out in 2009.[title=Godsmack Updates From Shannon]
Influences and styleThe band's primary influences include Alice in Chains, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Judas Priest, and Rush according to Erna, Larkin, and Rombola.[archiveurl=web.archive.org/web/20070930180834/http://www.gibson.com/Whatsnew/pressrelease/2000/nov30a.html ] Erna's style of singing mirrors that of Layne Staley's the singer of the '90s grunge band Alice in Chains, and Erna has cited Staley as his primary influence. The overall sound of the band's first two albums sound similar to the sound of the Alice in Chains album, Dirt, according to Subvulture.com. More recently, Godsmack has attempted to distance themselves from the Alice in Chains comparison with Erna stating in an interview with Matt Ashare, "I've just never really heard that in our music".
The band's music is often compared to Alice in Chains, which the band cites as an influence.[author=Begrand, Adrien ][author=Turman, Katherine ] Adrien Begrand of Popmatters states, "Erna perfectly mimics the late Layne Staley's low, guttural, sinister singing and snarly, metal-inspired growls"-Erna's vocals also seem to be reminiscent of Metallica's James Hetfield-and, "The band's music is a faithful retread of Jerry Cantrell's churning, tuned-down hard rock".
Rolling Stone Magazine describes Godsmack as "hard as nails and cranked to eleven," while Alternative Press praised the band for its "churning, riff-driven hybrid of all that is heavy, past and present."
Erna's singing style has been stated as "the snarl of James Hetfield", and, "is composed of dark harmony that sounds a lot like Alice in Chains".[author=Wiederhorn, Jon ] Merrill's bass style has been described as "bulldozer bottom with occasional slap-bass reverb".[author=Kot, Greg ] Larkin's drumming is thought to "worship at the twin altars of Neil Peart and John Bonham".
Band members- Sully Erna: lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, drums, percussion, harmonica, banjo (1996–present)
- Tony Rombola: lead guitar, backing vocals (1997–present)
- Robbie Merrill: bass, backing vocals (1996–present)
- Shannon Larkin: drums, percussion (2002–present)
- Note: Erna performed drums on the band's debut album, Godsmack, and occasionally plays drums at live shows (alongside Larkin).
Former members- Lee Richards: guitars (1996–1997)
- Joe D'arco: drums (1996–1997)
- Tommy Stewart: drums (1996, 1997–2002)
Discographycol-3
- Studio albums
- 1998: Godsmack
- 2000: Awake
- 2003: Faceless
- 2006: IV
- 2009: Untitled Studio Album
col-3
- DVDs
- 2001: Godsmack Live
- 2002: Smack This!
- 2004: Changes
- 2007: Good Times, Bad Times...
Ten Years of Godsmack - 2009: Rock'N the Rally (Live at the Sturgis)
col-3
- Other
- 2004: The Other Side [1]
- 2007: Good Times, Bad Times...
Ten Years of Godsmack [2]
col-3
Award nominationsGrammy Awards
- Godsmack has been nominated for four Grammy Awards.
Copyright Citations
This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: Godsmack
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