Boston lumpen-rockers of note for flogging the last bit of life out of Alice in Chains' workhorse Grunge formula: phatt guitar riffage, over-the-top crooning, and heavy bass lines that sink through the sludge like Liquid Plumber. By taking Heavy Metal chops and precision beats and hammering them together with "roid rage," Godsmack created the state-of-the-art in turn of the century jock rock.
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Godsmack is a heavy metal band from Boston. The name "Godsmack" did not come from an Alice in Chains song though popular rumor deems it so. It came from the lead singer insulting one of his band mates for having a cold sore on his lip. The next time he came in for practice, he had one too. Sully Erna, the lead singer and practicing Wiccan believes in Karma, and his making fun of his band mate was the way in which he was repaid... His band mate told him that that was a "godsmack."
In 2002, Godsmack received a Grammy nomination in "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" for the song "Vampires" from the album Awake. Godsmack have been called nu metal many times but they are a bit far from that genre. Lead singer Sully Erna's voice fits more with traditional heavy metal, they've never had rapping or turntables in their songs and many of their songs have guitar solos.
Hot on the heels of their continuing success, their single "I Stand Alone" propelled the hype of the movie The Scorpion King in March 2002. As the single maintained Godsmack's strong presence at modern rock radio into the summer, founding member Tommy Stewart left the band in June. The David Bottrill-produced (Peter Gabriel, Tool, Mudvayne) album, Faceless, appeared in April 2003. It also marked the debut of ex-Amen drummer Shannon Larkin. The all-acoustic Other Side arrived in spring 2004.
Current Members
Sully Erna - Vocals/Guitar/Drums/Percussion
Robbie Merrill - Bass
Tony Rambola - Guitars/Backing Vocals
Shannon Larkin - Drums/Percussion
Former Members
Lee Richards - Guitars
Tommy Stewart -Drums
Discography
Godsmack (August 25, 1998)
Awake (October 31, 2000)
Faceless (April 8, 2003)
The Other Side (November 18, 2003, eight track acoustic LP)(Regular release April 2004)