Godsmack is
Sully Erna: vocals
Robbie Merrill: Bass
Tony Rombola: guitar
Shannon Larkin: percussion
"IV", Godsmack's most recent album since the 2003 release, "Faceless" is much different from thier previous work. In this new album, not only has their sound changed, but their song writing style has changed as well. Do not buy this album and expect to hear the heavily distorted guitars as heard in "Faceless", because you wont be hearing them. although the songs are still written in a somewhat similar style as their old material, the hard, metal-edge of Tony's guitar has been switched down low to a sound that brings back slight echos of thier self titled debut album. so if you're more into the rough sounds of "Awake" and "Faceless", this one's not for you. All the same, if you're a diehard Godsmack fan, it's deffinately worth a listen.
1. LIVIN' IN SIN- beginning the album is the slow, haunting "Livin' in Sin". it opens with the soft sound of churchbells and the murmur of "forgive me Father, for i have sinned". soon more voices join this one, and out of the confusion of all the voices comes the slow, distorted opening riff. the voices fade and are replaced with Sully's tourtured singing. the sound progresses louder and louder, reaching the chorus and then begins again. not a bad song, but deffinately not one to open the album with. its slow depressing tempo is the exact opposite of what i expected the opening song of an album should sound like. all in all, it sets a bad mood for the rest of the album, but listen on and the rewards are great. 3/5
2. SPEAK- now this would be my choice for an opening song! the first single off "IV" begins with an attention-grabbing screech of what sounds like a synthesizer, then a rumbling guitar riff soon takes over and gets the adreneline going. this is a good song to judge the album on, as the guitar style and writing style are similar to the other songs of the ablum. the fast upbeat tempo is deffinately welcome after the slowness of 'Livin' in Sin' as well, and its generally just a cool song to rock out to. if you're not going to buy the album then at least do yourself a favor and download this song. trust me, its worth it. 5/5
3. THE ENEMY- 'The Enemy' is a good old fashioned song about that special someone in your life that you just wanna beat the crap out of. i especially like Sully's vocals in this song. the staccatoed bass and guitar lines back up his angry call of "Hey, Mr. Backstabbing son-of-a-b****, you're living in a world that'll soon be dying. " very well. a nice energetic song. 4/5
4. SHINE DOWN- one of my personal favorites, it opens with a hamonica solo that leads into a defiant guitar riff. from beginning to end, this song just has a vibe to it that grows on you. shannon holds it down with a nice steady beat. partway through there is a cool harmonica solo. this song is great because its different. think of how many godsmack songs you've heard with a harmonica in them an then get back to me. definately a highlight track. 4.5/5
5. HOLLOW- slowing down a little, the acoustic song 'Hollow' kind of disrupts the vibe. not the greatest song on the album. the words to the chorus don't really seem to fit. again, not really a bad song, just not the best place to put it.
3/5
6. NO REST FOR THE WICKED- classic godsmack. this is where their old sound shines through. the thundering guitars return and the pace is picked back up again. it still carries itself well and kind of grows on you. it is one of those songs that is neutral: not outstanding but still worth a listen. you may listen to it a couple of times. 4/5
7. BLEEDING ME- this song is great. beginning with a cool little guitar riff, it soon develops into a powerful song, lyrically and musically. one of my favorites, this is a good example of how godsmack's style has changed and how Sully's lyrics have changed as well. if it were up to me, this would be the next single from "IV". this is probably the most well balenced, structured song on the album. 5/5
8. VOODOO TOO- this brings back memories. thoughout the song there are nice drum patterns played that remind me of "The Awakening" from "Faceless" and of coarse "Voodoo" from their debut album. besides that, there isn't much else about this song that grabs you're attention. lagging behind lyrically as well as musically, this is definately a skip button worthy song. 2/5
9. TEMPTATION- Temptation is a wickedly awsome song. deffinately the heaviest song of the album. sully's vocals really stand out in this one, and the lyrics are so good i forgive him for 'voodoo too'. the chorus is great and with sully's incredible voice, its all the better, sining "it's time to love, it's time to hate... temptation still got a hold on me". very well structured and another good rock out song. definately an album highlight. 5/5
10. MAMA- this is another well structured, well written song. this ones kind of sad in a way, as its about sully taking to his mama, asking why she let him "grow up so god**** fast". a nice emotional side to the band. it also has two solos, one in the middle of the song and one that starts up at the end and continues until the sounds fade away. another highlight. 4.5/5
11. ONE RAINY DAY- this song shocked me when i saw that it clocked out at about 7 minutes. a good song to end the album on, its slow steady beat gets stuck in your head and the lyrics to this song are also very good. sully's voice is just as good as ever, and eventually the song fades and is replaced with the sound of rain, which lasts a full minute. 4.5/5
OVERALL-
this is in my opinion, Godsmack's best work to date. they kind of break away from thier original hard rock sound and broaden their horizon with songs like "Shine Down" and "livin' in Sin". I believe that with this album they could gain a bigger fan base because of the changes they've made. this is probably the only Godsmack CD I own that I can listen to the whole thing all the way through and enjoy every song. A definate break-through for Godsmack. if you're a fan and you don't own this CD yet, you better hurry, cuz you don't know what your missing. i was never a particularly huge Godsmack fan before this album, but i was shocked when i first heard it because of how much different they sound. so give it a try, you won't be sorry!
track highlights: Speak, Shine Down, Bleeding Me, Temptation, and Mama
