Review Summary: While Godsmack occasionally sticks a bit too much in their comfort zone from past albums, Faceless still delivers a satisfying slab of alternative metal that incorporates their tribal influences and stands strong on its own
Faceless, the title of Godsmack’s 3rd album, really has a bit of irony to it. In 2003, after releasing only two albums, they were anything but faceless in the modern rock world, scoring multi-platinum sales with their self-titled album and Awake, as well as memorable hit singles such as "Keep Away", "Voodoo", and "Awake". You couldn’t even turn the TV on without hearing "Sick of Life" being blasted full volume on U.S. Navy commercials. It was very apparent they had already left quite a mark on the mainstream, and they didn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon.
You can tell that Godsmack wanted to capitalize on the success of their first two albums and make their deepest recording yet by working with David Bottrill. Arguably best known for his stellar production on Tool’s back-to-back classics Aenima and Lateralus, Bottrill would seem like a logical choice to bring out the best in the band. So with a winning combination, how does this release play out?
For the most part, Godsmack succeeds here. Many of the high points of Faceless come from the haunting, almost-tribal sounding approach to many of the songs, which bring cohesion to the final package. The rolling, bottom-heavy riffage and pounding drums in "Straight out of Line", "Releasing the Demons", and "I F****** Hate You" may not be particularly groundbreaking, but they pack a punch, leaving one wanting to head-bang again and again even after multiple listens. "Serenity" and the bridge section of the song "Changes" both add in the aforementioned tribal sounds with their use of acoustic guitars and conga drums. This welcomes back a relaxed yet compelling vibe not heard since Godsmack’s smash single "Voodoo". The huge standout player on the album really is guitarist Tony Rombola, who takes the songs to a new level with simple, yet well-written solos, especially on the infectious "Re-align".
Where the album occasionally falters is with singer Sully Erna. His voice fits very well with the more aggressive moments on the disc, yet he can’t get past writing redundant, clichéd lyrics. He falls back onto the overused “hate you” and “what you did to me” (both which we’ve grown so wearily familiar with) all too often. The music also ends up from time to time following a similar “haven’t I heard this before?” path, with a good portion of songs at the end of the album regurgitating ideas already presented on Awake.
Sully also attempts to add in a new higher register, melodic singing into his repertoire, which ends with frequently mixed results. He reuses vocal melodies on both the title track and "Changes", and goes out-of-key very noticeably on "Make Me Believe". However, his vocal performances on the songs "Serenity" and "Re-align" are two of the best of his career, which are beautiful both in his lyrics and singing.
The band definitely tried to branch out their sound on here, but they often ended up staying a bit too much in their comfort zone at times. Regardless, it still had strong success, being their first album to top the Billboard charts, with platinum sales and two Grammy nominations to boot. Godsmack could have made, and got close to making, the best record of their career on Faceless, yet when all is said and done, it ended up being a very good album that still had some potential left unfulfilled.
Pros:
-Memorable guitar solos and plenty of heavy riffs
-Expanded use of tribal sounds and rhythms
-"Re-align" and "Serenity"
Cons:
-Lyrics and Sully's new higher voice
-Some songs sound a bit too similar to those off of Awake
