The band has three #1 albums (Faceless, IV, The Oracle) on the Billboard 200, four Grammy nominations, and eight #1 hits on Mainstream Rock Radio. Godsmack has sold over 19 million records worldwide.
Since its inception, Godsmack has toured on Ozzfest on more than one occasion, and have toured with many other large tours and festivals, including supporting its albums with its own arena tours. In the summer of 2009, Godsmack toured as support to Mötley Crüe's Crüe Fest 2 tour.
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. 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 newly formed band started playing small bars in their hometown of Boston, Mass.. Locally popular songs such as "Keep Away" and "Whatever" soon brought them to the top of the hit charts in the Boston/New England area.
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".
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. 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, the night-time 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. Newbury Comics, a New England record store chain, agreed to sell the CD on consignment. Shortly after the success of "Keep Away", Godsmack went back into the studio and recorded a single titled "Whatever", which became the new local favorite on WAAF (FM).
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 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."
Alice in Chains is believed to be the primary influence to Godsmack. Many believe Godsmack obtained their name from the Alice in Chains song "God Smack" off 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." Erna went on to later confirm that indeed "God Smack" is the inspiration for the bands name and the reason their sound sounds similar to that of Alice in Chains Other bands cited by Godsmack members as their primary influences typically include Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Black Sabbath, ² and White Zombie. 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 comparison to Alice in Chains is 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 opened for Metallica, while headlining with Dropbox in the summer. 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 released their latest album 'The Oracle' on May 3rd, 2010.
Some songs from the album "Faceless" are also in the video game soundtrack for "Prince of Persia: Warrior Within".
Current members
* Sully Erna - Vocals, Lyrics, Guitar and Percussion.
* Robbie Merrill - Bass and Backing Vocals
* Tony Rombola - Guitars and Backing Vocals
* Shannon Larkin - Drums/Percussion
I Am
Godsmack Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am the lies in you
I'm gonna make you shine in everything you do
I am your lighted way
And I'm your darkest day
I'm here to help you see you can rely on me
Just consider me your friend
Can I guarantee you life?
I don't think I can
This isn't the life for me
This isn't the way I want to be
And let me tell you
Death will come when I'm good and ready
I am your peace of mind
Confusing all your time
I'm running through your veins, I am your pain
I thought by now you'd know
I'll never let you go
It's time you recognize I am the devil's eyes
Just consider me your friend
I am until the end
Can I guarantee you life?
I don't think I can
This isn't the life for me
This isn't the way I want to be
And let me tell you
Death will come when I'm good and ready
This isn't the life for me
This isn't the way I want to be
And let me tell you
Death will come when I'm good and ready
Take me by my hand
And let me show you what I am
I'm taking control again
Now I know I can
Take you back to where it all began
'Cause I am
This isn't the life for me
This isn't the way I want to be
And let me tell you
Death will come when I'm good and ready
The lyrics of Godsmack's "I Am" are complex and open to interpretation. The song is written as a conversation between the singer and the listener. The singer is personifying himself as various opposing forces – light and dark, truth and lies – in order to help the listener understand that he can be both good and evil, both helpful and harmful.
The first verse begins with the singer declaring himself as the listener's "spoken truth" and also "the lies in you". The singer seems to be acknowledging the duality of human nature, that it is possible to be both good and bad. The lines "I'm gonna make you shine in everything you do" and "I'm here to help you see you can rely on me" can be interpreted as the singer trying to convince the listener that he is trustworthy and that he has their best interests at heart.
The second verse continues in this vein, with the singer stating that he is the "peace of mind" that is "confusing all your time" and also "running through your veins, I am your pain". These lines suggest that the singer is not only trying to help the listener, but also trying to control and manipulate them. The final lines "It's time you recognize I am the devil's eyes" can be seen as a warning to the listener to be careful not to trust everything that the singer says.
Line by Line Meaning
I am your spoken truth
I represent your honest thoughts and beliefs.
I am the lies in you
I am also the deceptive thoughts and actions that go against your true nature.
I'm gonna make you shine in everything you do
I have the power to uplift and empower you to succeed.
I am your lighted way
I am the guiding force that helps you navigate through life's challenges.
And I'm your darkest day
I am also the negativity that can make life difficult and hard to bear.
I'm here to help you see you can rely on me
I am your loyal friend who will always be there for you in times of need.
Just consider me your friend
I want you to think of me as a trustworthy companion.
I am until the end
I will remain faithful to you throughout our journey together.
Can I guarantee you life?
I cannot promise that life will always be easy or fair.
I don't think I can
I am honest about the limitations of my influence and control.
This isn't the life for me
I am dissatisfied with my current circumstances and state of being.
This isn't the way I want to be
I am determined to change my situation and become a better version of myself.
And let me tell you
I want to be completely clear and honest with you.
Death will come when I'm good and ready
I accept that death is inevitable but refuse to let it control me or my decisions.
I am your peace of mind
I can offer you calmness and tranquility amidst the chaos of life.
Confusing all your time
I also have the power to cause confusion and uncertainty in your thoughts.
I'm running through your veins, I am your pain
I am so ingrained in your life that I can either ease or exacerbate your suffering.
I thought by now you'd know
I thought you would have already recognized my importance and significance in your life.
I'll never let you go
I am committed to being a constant presence in your life.
It's time you recognize I am the devil's eyes
I want you to realize that I can be both good and bad, and that it's up to you how you use my influence in your life.
Take me by my hand
Allow me to lead and guide you through life's journey.
And let me show you what I am
I want you to experience firsthand the full extent of my power and influence.
I'm taking control again
I am determined to take charge of my life and destiny.
Now I know I can
I have discovered my true potential and capabilities.
Take you back to where it all began
I want to take you to the root of all our experiences and influence.
'Cause I am
I am the defining force in your life, for better or for worse.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SALVATORE P. ERNA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind