Review Summary: ...creativity falls.
Godsmack’s popularity is entirely understandable. Simple riffing, catchy undemanding lyrics supported by a hefty production job to make it sound as squeaky clean and accessible as possible are the key ingredients for mainstream success. Unfortunately, these ingredients are what makes the band so bland to others. Each release sounds like a continuation of its predecessor considerably lacking in originality and the band’s abrasive camouflage often comes across as a tough-guy attitude which was most prevalent on
“1000hp” four years ago.
Godsmack’s music is like bread. Or walnuts. It looks hard on the outside but it’s soft on the inside plus they’re both easy to digest.
“When Legends Rise”, the band’s latest album, is exactly that. On the exterior, the album is a robust hard rock record that sounds like it takes influence from nu metal but recorded with modern equipment. However, upon closer inspection, the soft, safe, cushy elements that make Godsmack so popular begin to materialise and smother the harder exterior. Take the album-opening title track- it gains instant momentum with a gambolling riff only for it to be swiftly relegated behind the guaranteed stadium anthem maker: excessively shouting ‘woah!’ during the chorus. “Just One Time” may showcase an increased presence of drumming and heavier, less staccato riffing, however, it still feels tepid due to Sully’s vocals edited to fade in and out throughout the song.
Furthermore,
“When Legends Rise” feels like a combination of incredibly forced songs. Uncomfortably wedged in the middle of the track listing lies “Under Your Scars” a ballad that features vocals straining under the emotive weight the lyrics demand such as
'Do we make sense, I think we do/ when you say black and I say white/ it’s not about who’s wrong as long as it feels right'. Alongside exaggerated violins and sombre piano, this ballad feels more awkward than affectionate. Sully’s singing is primarily guilty of accentuating this artificial sensibility. “Bulletproof” and the ironically titled “Unforgettable” maximise a breakdown or chorus by arranging his vocals to fade out of the mix before the next upbeat segment when they return loudly. If this cheap technique wasn’t used on nearly every song on the album it might be considered effective but it’s overuse coincidentally diminishes the impact it is designed to produce.
Nevertheless, despite the way in which Godsmack establish their choruses there’s no denying that they sound huge and are easily catchy. Towering choruses that have clearly been the focus of each song and therefore tailored to sound as big as they do are present throughout
“When Legends Rise”. Most of the time, the instrumentalism is pushed behind them but in tracks such as “Let it Out” and “Take It To The Edge”, the stamping riffs run alongside the vocals. Here, Godsmack proves they are clearly capable of creating heightened, energised moments without the use of edited vocals or insipid ‘ooh’s!’ to create a massive, easily accessible presence.
“When Legends Rise” is simply another album to the band’s discography. Godsmack has clearly intended to minimise the level of angst that
“1000hp” was overflowing with, which they have succeeded in doing. The Alice in Chains semblance is still noticeable due to the fact that this album sounds indifferent to Godsmack’s past records which in turn sounds like an imitation of bands such as Alice In Chains and Disturbed. As little as this album does in the grand scheme of things, from a certain point of view is does develop Godsmack’s career: they’ve now become a replica of themselves rather than a replica of their influences.
