Godsmack: DISCOGRAPHY RANKING.
August 6, 2014 was when Boston mayor Marty Walsh commenced Godsmack Day, which also commemorated the band’s sixth studio sizing ‘1000hp’. While not in the top 1% of eternally iconic bands of the same genre; they’ve made quite a name for themselves with their blending of Post-Grunge, classic Metal, Hard Rock and sporadic Blues sympathies; plus there’s Sully Erna’s distinctive dragon-esque vocals. How do their albums fare?
8. The Other Side (2004): Their acoustic EP which came off the heels of Faceless offers a startlingly restrained equivalent to Awake in the form of Asleep- with its effectively creepy sound engineering and haunted house atmosphere. One of three new tracks is Touche, which sports a terrific Middle-Eastern vibe and co-lead vocals from John Kosco even if a bit shallow on the lyrics. What’s aforementioned here helps to compensate for Running Blind- their worst track to date with its cringey dime store lyrics. What we’re left with is a fairly listenable companion to their discography, though not of much overt importance.
7. The Oracle (2010): Similar to Awake, one of their more synonymous releases kicked off a new decade. There’s legitimate reasons as to why, with its harder than ever instrumentation and promoted-as hell single Cryin’ Like a Bitch- a potent diss track at both Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue and Philip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers. Even better are the standouts- War and Peace, Love-Hate-Sex-Pain, and even a Blues bruiser in Devil’s Swing. (Whiskey Hangover that came out ahead of album release is also a barn burner). While it’s true to their roots, The Oracle is a less cohesive, more meatheaded collage that has better individual tracks than replayability as a whole.
6. Awake (2000): Their second album that was released at the right time during or close to the heyday of Nu Metal, effectively avoided the sophomore slump with it pushing harder with and varying up the instrumentation from their debut. The title track deservedly sits among their best singles of all.
5. Godsmack (1998): There’s an argument to be made that they wore their influences on their sleeve in their early days, and I can see why, especially with their hit ‘Whatever’. Despite those accusations they still manage to somewhat strike with an identity and sound of their own with their debut, which they did even more so in the future. Their lyrical content here is at some of their more compact- ‘Keep Away’, ‘Bad Religion’, the Werewolf centered opener ‘Moon Baby’; plus who could forget ‘Voodoo’- which kicked off their public fascination with tribal and Wiccan culture into hyperdrive.
4. Faceless (2003): What’s often considered to be in their numero uno has some going for it, even with it already being stapled with I Stand Alone from The Scorpion King soundtrack from 2002, a crowd-pleaser of a single. Bizarre enough is that amongst some filler and repetitive motifs are some of their finest tracks to date, that also assisted their transition out of Post-Grunge into their own identity- Re-Align, Straight Out of Line and the tribal-themed ballad Serenity.
3. 1000 hp (2014): The nostalgic opener 1000hp sets the stage for what continues some of the work done by IV but in a different way. Shouting to the ceiling with a battering ram but also being emotionally enticing, there’s also an aurora that feels of 70s/80s vintage hard rock here that also gives it a level of restraint compared to some of their more guttural content. Something Different and Turning to Stone are also powerful, with some of the instrumentation of the latter recalling Serenity.
2. When Legends Rise (2018): Many music fans who have open minds are no stranger to radical reinvention as the industry is forced to change with their times, and or when an artist/outfit seeks to branch out. Godsmack have done that before, but took a step further with their 2018 outing to effective results. There’s certainly a more friendly and at times poppy atmosphere to most tracks that can be off-kilter if compared to a lot of their past efforts, but that’s somewhat irrelevant. Time has truly grown on the production value behind tracks like Unforgettable and its subsequent music video, Let It Out, Every Part of Me, Bulletproof and the finest of them all- Under Your Scars. Its hurrah to the pageantry of the power ballad amidst a truthful surface and hard-hitting guitar solo are all riveting. We’ll see if they keep their word of wanting to steer away from their “vintage classic Godsmack”, but When Legends Rise is truly a commendable march in the right direction.
1. IV (2006): In spite of that it’s overlooked in comparison to their early work, this is their most tantalizing album to date that reminds you of the pure definition of CD. Those who are turned off by their apparent addiction to anger venters and chuggers should give them a second chance with IV. They’re at the top of their game in terms of lyrical content, with their wholehearted embracement of Blues Metal and themes of spiritual angst and isolation. Just about every track is splendidly crafted and almost impossible to replace. Pieces like The Enemy and the restrained ballad Hollow unite with the overall themes of finding salvation and coming clean, and having a female vocalist in Sully Erna’s collaborator Lisa Guyer was a refreshing addition to the band’s production value at the album’s release. The Blues elements are especially audible in Shine Down with its harmonica opening. The music video and overall value of Speak adds to the more positive thematic elements while maintaining the classic Godsmack edge. Their sequel song Voodoo Too is even more exciting than the original, and One Rainy Day couldn’t have been better in terms of closing out the show. The latter paints a vivid portrait of a broken relationship, apparent trauma and loneliness with a bleak, rainy backdrop. IV might just be a diamond in the rough in terms of overlooked rock gems from the 2000s, and it lives up to its producer and engineer credit in Andy Johns- the architect behind classics like The Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St. and Led Zeppelin IV. (May he rest in peace).
