Godsmack
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Godsmack is a Heavy Metal band from Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Alice in Chains is believed to be the primary influence to Godsmack. In early interviews, the band admitted they started off as a tribute band to Alice in Chains. Many believe Godsmack obtained their name from the Alice in Chains song "God Smack" from the album Dirt. In an interview with MTV upon the death of Alice in Chains lead singer Layne Staley, Godsmack frontman Sully Erna stated that Staley "was single-handedly the guy that got me to start singing." Other bands cited by Godsmack members as their primary influences typically include Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Rush, and Black Sabbath. More recently, Godsmack have 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." In that same interview, Erna offers an alternative explanation to the origin of their band name by stating, "It happened at rehearsal when our drummer came in with a big cold sore on his lip. I was making fun of him all day because we had a photo shoot coming up. And then the next day when I came in, I had a big cold sore on my lip. So my guitar player said, See, God just smacked you for making fun of him." Nevertheless, the comparisons to Alice in Chains are well documented. Sully Erna's style of singing mirrors that of Layne Staley's while the overall sound of the band's first two albums sound incredibly similar to the sound of Dirt. The logo of Godsmack is similar to the sun logo of Alice in Chains. Godsmack also released an album titled "Faceless" which is similar in name to Alice in Chain's first album Facelift. The band even transcended from their heavy sound to a more mellow acoustic sound on their album "The Other Side" in the same manner Alice in Chains did in Jar of Flies.
In 2002, Godsmack received a Grammy nomination in "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" for the song "Vampires" from the album Awake. In 2004, they were opening for Metallica, while headlining with Dropbox in the summer. Then they did acoustic shows for their newly released album The Other Side in the fall of 2004, while still opening for Metallica. In September 2004, Godsmack issued a live DVD titled "Changes," which the band recorded earlier that year. That same month, the group also released "Batalla de los Tambores," a live cut available only via online services such as Apple's iTunes Music Store, Real and Napster. They are currently in the studio working on their next album due out April 25, 2006. Their latest single Speak came out on February 14, 2006.
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Game Appearances
Godsmack's songs, I Stand Alone and Straight Out Of Line, were used as the theme songs for the 2004 Ubisoft game, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within and Bring it On appears NFL Madden '06
Current members
- Sully Erna - Vocals/Guitars/Drums/Percussion/Harmonica
- Robbie Merrill (b. November 24, 1964, in Norwood, Massachusetts, U.S.A.) - Bass
- Tony Rombola (b. June 13, 1963, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, U.S.A.) - Guitars/Backing Vocals
- Shannon Larkin - Drums/Percussion - ex-Amen, Candlebox, Life of Agony, Souls At Zero, Ugly Kid Joe, Wrathchild America
Former members
- Lee Richards - Guitars
- Tommy Stewart - Drums
- Joe D'arco - Drums
Discography
Albums
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | US Billboard Peak | US sales |
| Image:AllWoundUp.jpg | July 28, 1998 | All Wound Up (released independently and remastered as the self-titled, Godsmack) | EK | ||
| Image:Godsmack-Godsmack (album cover).jpg | August 25, 1998 | Godsmack | Universal | #22 | 5x Platinum |
| Image:Godsmack - Awake.jpg | October 31, 2000 | Awake | Universal | #5 | 2x Platinum |
| Image:Faceless cover.jpg | April 8, 2003 | Faceless | Universal | #1 | Platinum |
| Image:Godsmack - The-Other-Side.jpg | March 16, 2004 | The Other Side (acoustic EP) | Universal | #5 | Gold |
| Image:Godsmackivcover.jpg | April 25, 2006 | IV | Universal |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | UK Singles Chart | US Mainstream Rock | |||
| 1998 | "Whatever" | - | #19 | - | #7 | Godsmack |
| 1999 | "Keep Away" | - | #31 | - | #5 | Godsmack |
| 1999 | "Voodoo" | - | #6 | - | #5 | Godsmack |
| 2000 | "Bad Religion" | - | #32 | - | #8 | Godsmack |
| 2000 | "Awake" | - | #12 | - | #1 | Awake |
| 2001 | "Bad Magick" | - | #28 | - | #12 | Awake |
| 2001 | "Greed" | - | #28 | - | #3 | Awake |
| 2002 | "I Stand Alone" | - | #20 | - | #1 | The Scorpion King Soundtrack |
| 2003 | "Serenity" | - | #10 | - | #7 | Faceless |
| 2003 | "Straight Out of Line" | #73 | #9 | - | #1 | Faceless |
| 2004 | "Re-Align" | - | #28 | - | #3 | Faceless |
| 2004 | "Running Blind" | - | #14 | - | #3 | The Other Side |
| 2004 | "Touche" | - | #33 | - | #7 | The Other Side |
| 2006 | "Speak" | #85 | #10 | - | #1 | IV |
External links
- Official website
- Official Message Board
- ArtistDirect.com - Godsmack
- http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/godsmack/bio.jhtml
- Italian Godsmack site/forum
- Official fan site
- {{{2|{{{name|Godsmack}}}}}} at The Internet Movie Database
- {{{2|{{{name|Godsmack}}}}}} at The Internet Movie Databaseals:Godsmack
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