Godsmack?

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

I always lumped these guys in the nu-metal category, with the drudge of bands that all sounded alike 5-10 years ago. Then a friend of mine gave me a copy of Godsmack's Changes DVD and I was pleasantly SHOCKED. The sound production is through the roof, sounds better than most cds I own. The musicianship is much better than expected; numerous guitar solos and drumming that must be seen to believe (including a two-man drum battle). The songwriting I was also impressed with. Ranging from killer thrash riffs to Sabbath-esque bridges and a nice, but brief, homage to Rush and Aerosmith. Despite some similarities in tone, Godsmack is not a nu-metal or "whatever you call it" band of the recent mainstream metal. I may be late, but I just realized that.

I keep wondering if I'm missing out on anything else from the past 10-15 years, where I've completely ignored mainstream music.

 

[Platinum Maze]

Their drummer Shannon Larkin was in the thrash band Wrathchild America back in the late 80's, eventually changing their name to Souls At Zero. The other drummer you probably saw was their singer Sully Erna, who was also in a Boston based thrash band, Meliah Rage. He only toured with them, and did not appear on any studio albums. My buddy saw them a couple years ago and he said the drum battle was unbelievable!

Good band. I like the first 2 albums. There are some great songs, especially on Awake. I believe the first album was released about this time of year in 1999. At least that's when I remember hearing it for the fist time.

 

[sixxswine]

Get the Best/Hits collection, that's all you need..
That or buy the first two Alice In Chains albums...
Don't get me wrong they are "good" but Alice In Chains did it better, hell they couldn't even come up with an original name so they settled on "Godsmack" after an Alice In Chains track...

 

[muzmaze]

Good band, not one that I ever really-really liked. Sully lives down the street from me and have bumped into him a few times, he's a cool dude.

 

[poundingmetal74]

Good band. Nothing totally incredible but they write decent tunes. I have their S/T and Awake albums, after that I stopped paying attention because a lot of their music is the same (If you've heard one you've heard them all)

I saw them live with Metallica a few years ago and Godsmack stole the show. Sully and their drummer did a dual drum solo which was incredible.

 

[Thoth-Amon]

This band seems to be getting alot of praise here... personally I've always felt the sucked and their riffs were ludicrously bad.

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

Their drummer Shannon Larkin was in the thrash band Wrathchild America back in the late 80's... The other drummer you probably saw was their singer Sully Erna, who was also in a Boston based thrash band, Meliah Rage.

Very interesting! I had a Wrathchild America album back in the day and I used to belong to the Meliah Rage fan club. Thanks for those tidbits of information...very interesting indeed!

That or buy the first two Alice In Chains albums...
Don't get me wrong they are "good" but Alice In Chains did it better, hell they couldn't even come up with an original name so they settled on "Godsmack" after an Alice In Chains track...

When I reported back to my friend how much I enjoyed the DVD, Alice In Chains was the first thing he said. If you like Godsmack, you'll like AIC. I'll definitely be checking them out as well.

 

[rokk]

I've sampled AIC and Godsmack over the years and neither did anything for me.

 

[sixxswine]

I've always felt the sucked and their riffs were ludicrously bad.

Wow an English major?!

 

[sixxswine]

When I reported back to my friend how much I enjoyed the DVD, Alice In Chains was the first thing he said. If you like Godsmack, you'll like AIC. I'll definitely be checking them out as well.

I would suggest... Facelift and Sap from Alice In Chains...
Also pick up Good Times, Bad Times by Godsmack a great compilation of their best tracks. You'll love the DVD that comes with that one...
Larkin also played with Amen another great band...

 

[Krow]

Ehhhh... I've always atleast sort of liked Godsmack... Voodoo always seems to create a creepy mood... moreso than most death metal which is just full on violence (I listen to alot of death metal... not dissing it by any means)... and I Fucking Hate You isnt a bad song to vent to.

 

[wdiv]

I really dig their s/t cd -- it's got a great "swagger" to it. Also a bit funny how nearly every song has "yeah" or "go away" (or some variation) in it. After that they got a bit stale, but I still throw the s/t in the cd player every now and then.

 

[SouthernTrendkill]

So do you guys actually consider them metal, or not?

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

I would suggest... Facelift and Sap from Alice In Chains...
Also pick up Good Times, Bad Times by Godsmack a great compilation of their best tracks. You'll love the DVD that comes with that one...

I'm pretty much just looking for DVD concerts...what can I say? I'm addicted.

So do you guys actually consider them metal, or not?

Depends on how YOU define metal. If AC/DC is metal, then certainly Godsmack is. I don't know how to define them. At times they sound like Black album-era Metallica, sometimes like more mainstream metal bands, sometimes a little proggy with cool instrumental interludes touching on Rush and Black Sabbath. At least these guys can play their instruments and write decent songs, which is more than I can say for most mainstream metal bands of the past decade.

 

[poundingmetal74]

So do you guys actually consider them metal, or not?

Absolutely. They're a fucking heavy band.

 

[Donnie Darko]

Iv always liked Godsmack, pretty damn good hard rock/metal band

 

[desert_demon]

Interesting comments. I too had dismissed Godsmack as a Nu-Metal band. I had heard a couple of their tracks on movie soundtrack albums and was not that impressed. Maybe a Greatest Hits package is the way to go as Sixxswine suggests.

 

[Trans-Siberian Outcast]

Or get the DVD if you have capability to watch concerts at your house. I have a feeling these guys come across a lot better live than on record. Like the drum battle...you have to see that to believe it.

 

[muzmaze]

Definitely better live. Thier "rock heroes" live tribute to Priest was damn good!

 

[JonnyD]

Meliah Rage. He only toured with them, and did not appear on any studio albums.

Actually he recorded 1 album with them that got shelved for many years, it was released under the name "Unfinished Buisness" in 2003

Godsmack is ok, they are catchy and easy to sing along with