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Today in Godsmack History: Good Times, Bad Times

Godsmack covered the Led Zeppelin song in 2007, for their album, Good Times, Bad Times… Ten Years of Godsmack, released on December 4, 2007. It was the only song on the album to be newly released as a single and gained moderate radio airplay on US rock stations peaking at #8 on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and #28 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. A music video was also created for the Godsmack version of the song, featuring live footage.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TONY ROMBOLA!!!!

Today in Godsmack News: Tony Rombola’s Birthday!

Born in Norwood, Massachusetts on November 24, 1964, Rombola is a self-taught guitarist. He first picked up a guitar at age 11. According to his father, the first song Tony learned was a song by Black Sabbath. His first introductions to rock music were the albums Led Zeppelin III, 2112 and We Sold Our Soul for Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Having never taken guitar lessons, Rombola learned everything he knows from guitar magazines such as Guitar World. His first guitar was an SG copy, before moving to custom Les Pauls that he enjoys now.

Before meeting up with Godsmack vocalist Sully Erna and bassist Robbie Merrill in the mid-‘90s and subsequently joining Godsmack, Rombola played cover bands, funk, rock, classic rock, and metal. The two encountered Rombola performing in a local circuit with some band playing covers of Alice in Chains and Rage Against the Machine. Erna and Merrill knew they needed someone with Rombola’s skill to reach the success that they have with Godsmack. They recorded an EP in 1997 which later became their self-titled debut album in 1998. This album went on to sell over 4 million copies in just a couple of years. The song ‘Keep Away’ was inducted into the top 100 greatest rock songs, labelled under ‘Guitar legends’.

Rombola was also a carpenter before he joined Godsmack. Tony says that if not for the band, he would still be working as a carpenter. Tony has a wife, Sue, and three step children: Joe, Trisha, and AJ. Tony enjoys playing video games and golf as hobbies.

Tony worked with and Brian Coombes, of Tristan Park and David Pierog at Rocking Horse Studio, on the Prospect Hill Album which was released in November 2007. David and Tony are co-producing his first solo release with bassist Joe Pierog.

Tony has been the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for Godsmack since the mid-1990s following the departure of Lee Richards. Tony Rombola has also been cited as ‘an extraodinaire’ in the guitar world, by Guitar World magazine, and is cited to be the only guitarist to keep an 'original soloing style’ during the nu metal period, earning him the respect of the guitar industry.

Rombola is also a guitarist for the side-project band Another Animal along with Godsmack alumni Shannon Larkin, Robbie Merrill and Lee Richards. They formed at the beginning of 2007 with vocalist Whitfield Crane and they released their self-titled debut album in October 2007, and played shows, whilst frontman Sully Erna did a small solo tour.

Recently Tony has also formed another side-project with Larkin called The Apocalypse Blues Revue. Described as “evil blues” the band released their first album in 2016.

Tony Rombola does not appear to be affiliated with any social media, so head over to godsmack.com or the official godsmack instagram to wish him a Happy Birthday!

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Today in Godsmack History: “Awake” 

“Awake” is from Godsmack’s second studio album. The music video made for this single was filmed at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio. The video contains footage of prisoners rioting and leaving the reformatory and seeing Godsmack play in the exercise yard inside a fenced-in area. The music video was produced by the band.

In an MTV online chat, Godsmack vocalist Sully Erna said that “Awake” is Godsmack “getting some closure, on a past relationship”. Erna then said: “That’s me getting closure on a relationship. I’m just saying that now I’m awake, and I’m able to deal with everything I have to deal with. Where before I felt like I was going to lose control without this person in my life. I’m saying that I’m okay now without that person”.

“Awake” was released to radio on October 3, 2000. "Awake" achieved mainstream success. The song was on the Mainstream Rock chart for 53 weeks and peaked at number 1 on the Mainstream Rock chart. "Awake" also was on the Alternative Songs chart for 28 weeks and peaked at number 12 on the Alternative Songs chart. "Awake" was on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart for 24 weeks and peaked at number 1 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart in 2001. "Awake" was nominated for the Rock Single of the Year category at the 2001 Billboard Music Awards. With the popularity of “Awake”, Godsmack’s album of the same name was certified 2x platinum by the RIAA in March 2002.

There are three versions of “Awake”, the first version, which is the original version, appeared on Godsmack second studio album, Awake. The second version is a radio edit which appeared on the single release of the song and music video, and the third is an acoustic version called “Asleep”, which appeared on their EP, The Other Side.

The radio edit is the same song as the album version, just shortened. The album and acoustic versions have very similar lyrics but different sound. The acoustic version runs for 3:58, making it closer to the radio edit than the full album version.

This song was featured prominently in the Nash Bridges episode “Manhunt” that first aired on November 3, 2000. It was also featured in the game Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 and The One starring Jet Li.

Since the mid-2000s, the song has been featured extensively in the U.S. Navy’s “Accelerate Your Life” commercials. The Godsmack albumAwake’’s opening track, “Sick of Life,” would also be used in the campaign.

The song also made an appearance on several compilations including the band greatest hits album, Good Times, Bad Times… Ten Years of Godsmack, WWF Tough Enough, Kerrang: Life Is Loud, and Crusty Demons: Unleash Hell.

The song features as the background track in the promos of the 2006 Bollywood film Fight Club.

Although the song was featured in the United States Navy’s “Accelerate Your Life” commercials, Erna insists that Godsmack doesn’t support any war: “By no means has this band ever supported any war for any country or that we support government decisions or why we’re sticking our nose in other people’s business at times. What we support is our troops. And the women and men that go over there — or anywhere — to fight for our country and our lives and protect our freedom and I feel that.”

“I actually sympathize with a lot of the soldiers, and the military in general, that are trained to go out and protect for us, and what they have to go through, it’s really kind of shitty in a sense that these young kids have to go over there and die, sometimes, for something that isn’t our problem. And that kind of sucks. So what I have to do is at least support them, because they don’t have the choice that we do.”

Some critics say that the band’s young audience will now be influenced to join the military because of the popular tunes. However, Erna doubts very seriously that a kid is going to join the Marines or the United States Navy because they heard Godsmack as the underlying music in the commercial.

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Also Today in Godsmack History: “The Enemy”

“The Enemy” is the last single from the album IV released on October 31, 2006; six years to the day after the release of their album Awake. The song landed a spot on the Mainstream Rock Tracks at number four, just like Godsmack’s previous single “Shine Down”. “The Enemy” is performed at almost every show on the band’s “IV Tour”, and was also the official theme song for WWE’s 2006 SummerSlam PPV. This song was also included on the THQ video game, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007. “The Enemy” is Jason MacDonald’s most recent entrance theme in UFC Championship.

According to lead singer Sully Erna, the song is about a guy who was his friend. When Godsmack became popular, the guy was going with Erna to clubs and parties. They quit hanging out as much but the guy continued to go out to places where people knew that he knew the band. He would hang out in the VIP rooms and tell people that Godsmack was coming. Toward the end of the night, he would make up an excuse as to why Godsmack wasn’t showing up. Sully Erna felt betrayed by somebody using his name and image to acquire their own fame.

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Today in Godsmack History: Awake Album

Today marks the release of Awake, the second studio album by Godsmack, released on October 31, 2000. It spawned three singles: “Awake”, “Bad Magick” and “Greed”. It also features the song “Goin’ Down”, which first appeared on the band’s first studio recording All Wound Up. This was the only Godsmack album to feature drummer Tommy Stewart.  The Japanese bonus track version includes the tracks:

12. “Why” 3:15 13. “Sweet Leaf” (Black Sabbath cover) 4:55

Since the mid-2000s, the songs “Sick of Life” and “Awake” have been extensively used for the United States Navy’s “Accelerate Your Life” commercials.

The band opted to convert a warehouse in Haverhill into a makeshift studio, rather than use a more traditional studio setting. According to Sully Erna, the band just didn’t want to move into any luxurious studio, because they wanted to keep the edge on for writing and “not get too far away from what we’re all about”. So they just stayed in the slums rather than moving into luxury.

Erna says the results show in the music’s “tougher” sound, however it has a very raw edge to it. It’s not very polished,“ he says. “But it still has a lot of good grooves, and it still has a lot of power.”

The band also kept in touch with its roots by working some older unreleased material. The album includes older songs that just missed being on the debut. “Goin’ Down” is a track from the original Godsmack album that was dropped in favor of “Whatever” for the major-label release. The songs “Bad Magick” and “Vampires” also date back to the same period.

Awake debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200, selling 256,000 copies in its first week, and the album would later be certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA, selling 2.5 million units in the United States. In Canada, it sold more than 100,000 copies, certifying it Platinum by Music Canada

Since its release, the album’s title track dominated rock radio and broke chart records throughout 2000 and 2001. The album’s instrumental track “Vampires” earned the band its first Grammy nomination and contains dialogue from television show Mysterious Forces Beyond. "Greed” earned the band Boston Music Awards nominations for single and video of the year.

Chart (2000) - Peak position Austrian Albums Chart - 26 German Albums Chart - 59 New Zealand Albums Chart - 38 Canadian Albums Chart - 9 The Billboard 200 - 5

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISA GUYER!!!!

Today in Godsmack News: Lisa Guyer’s Birthday

Lisa Guyer is a Rock/Blues American singer, guitarist, and songwriter, best known to the Godsmack Community for her vocal contributions to Godsmack’s “Hollow” and Sully Erna’s solo albums. She was born on October 25, 1963 into a musical family that put on shows in their community, and Guyer learned to sing and dance by age four and has been musically active ever since.

Guyer’s vocal skills are completely self-taught. Godsmack’s Sully Erna describes Guyer as having “a phenomenal voice and a four-octave range. Guyer is an associate professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

The Lisa Guyer Band released two albums, Gypsy Girl (1997) and Leap of Faith (2000). She was featured on Godsmack’s IV (2006) and Sully Erna’s Avalon (2010), Avalon Live (2010), Hometown Life (2016) as well as the films: Sully Erna Presents: The Journey to Avalon (2011) and Sully Erna: Avalon Live (2012)

Be sure to wish Lisa a Happy Birthday! She can be found on both Facebook and Twitter @Lisa GuyerMusic.

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Today in Godsmack History: “Voodoo”

Written by lead singer Sully Erna, is the third single by band Godsmack from their self-titled album. The song “Voodoo” was best known for its use in the MTV television program Fear. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA in the United States.

The video, directed by Dean Karr, shows witches performing a ritual with swords. The band is shown throughout the video playing in a corn field. A naked gorgon is shown dancing which is also part of the ritual. Zombies come out of a lake and wander through the woods. The video features Laurie Cabot and members of her coven at that time.

The idea of zombies came from the original inspiration of the song. At the House of Blues, vocalist Sully Erna stated that this inspiration was the film The Serpent and the Rainbow.

The song was also used by WWE wrestler Batista during his time as Leviathan in the former WWE developmental territory Ohio Valley (OVW) from 2000 to 2002.

“Voodoo” is the final track on the album. After roughly two minutes of silence, a hidden track (entitled “Witch Hunt”) closes the album. Although “Voodoo” itself is 4:40 in length, the actual length (including the aforementioned silence and the hidden track “Witch Hunt”) is 9:02.

Singles U.S. Billboard

Year - Chart - Position

1999 - Mainstream Rock Tracks - 5

1999 - Modern Rock Tracks - 6

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This month in Godsmack History: “Touché”

“Touché” is the second and last single from Godsmack’s acoustic EP The Other Side and was released some time in October of 2004. The song blends a mellow sound and harmonics and features singer John Kosco and original Godsmack guitarist Lee Richards of the band Dropbox. The song was used as a secondary theme song for World Wrestling Entertainment’s WrestleMania XX.

This is the first and only single released from Godsmack with a guest vocalist. Although Katrina Chester was present on Awake’s “The Journey” and “Spiral” as well as Lisa Guyer on IV’s “Hollow,” these songs were never released as singles.

A live acoustic performance was filmed for film “An Evening with Godmack” released as a DVD with the “Good Times, Bad Times… Ten Years of Godsmack” Greatest Hits collection. Both John Kosco and Lee Richards of Dropbox appear for the performance. It was performed and filmed on November 23, 2004 at the House of Blues Music Hall at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In 2004, “Touché” peaked at #7 and #33 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and Billboard Modern Rock Tracks respectively.

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Today in Godsmack History: Fan Safety at Uproar Fest Pittsburgh ‘12

This video was taken on August 31, 2012 and shows a rambunctious fan storm the stage during “Awake” and place a hat on Sully Erna’s head! Although somewhat annoyed Erna, like a true professional kept playing while the fan was dispatched by security.

Sully kept an eye on guards and fan and although it’s not visible in the video, Sully decided that whatever violence may be unfolding was excessive and intervened.

This is shows the devotion Sully and Godsmack themselves have to their fans and their safety. It is unknown by this blog whether the security is Godsmack personal detail or issued elsewhere. Sully is an amazing guy.

It is important to note that these guards are trying to do their job in maintaining the safety of not only the talent but the fan base as well. It is also important to know that they are not the enemy at rock shows. Far too many horror stories like the assassination of Dimebag Darrell, the incident in Prague involving Randy Blythe or the recent events of the Las Vegas shooting flood these men’s/women’s minds while on duty.

Remember to be respectful to both the talent and security detail at concerts so situations like these do not unfold in this manner. Sully may not always be there to save you!

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Today in Godsmack History: “Whatever” 

“Whatever” is the first single by the American rock band Godsmack. It was featured and released concurrently with the band's self-titled album on August 25, 1998. "Whatever" is one of Godsmack’s most famous songs and is a staple for live performances.

The song first appeared on a promotional bonus CD that came with some copies of All Wound Up.

“Whatever” was the longest-running song on the US Active Rock Top 10 chart, remaining there for 33 weeks. Godsmack received much exposure when a disc jockey at WAAF, a radio station in Massachusetts, started playing this song on his show.

Written by lead singer Sully Erna and guitarist Tony Rambola wrote the song, Rambola once explained the song’s meaning as:

“That’s Sully’s answer to his girlfriend when we were going through the whole struggle between rehearsing five nights a week, playing on the weekends and trying to keep a relationship going at the same time. We were really starting to take off, and it’s hard to go through a relationship with a girl and have a band take all your time, plus we worked regular jobs, so there was probably 10 minutes of the day for them. Singles U.S. Billboard

Year - Chart - Position

1998 - Mainstream Rock - 7

1998 - Modern Rock Tracks - 19

1998 - Bubbling Under Hot 100 - 16

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“In the 1998th Year, God Created Smack!” -Sully Erna 

Today in Godsmack History: “Godsmack”

Godsmack is the debut album by the band Godsmack. The album was initially paid for by the band and released as All Wound Up, before the band was signed to Universal Records andRepublic Records. It was mastered at Sterling Sound in New York City. It featured a new song called "Someone in London" while the song "Goin' Down" was removed, but later appeared on the band's second major album Awake. However, “Goin’ Down”, alongside a misspelled “Bad Magik” appear on the Japanese bonus tracks version are situated after Voodoo as tracks 12 and 13 respectively. Track 13 is a misspelling of "Bad Magick", later released on Awake.

After playing the Boston area over the following two years, local radio stations began playing the singles "Keep Away" and "Whatever", both of which helped the band to sell copies of their self-financed album All Wound Up. After the demand for their album became too high, Republic Records/Universal Records stepped in and signed the band to their label in 1998. The band replaced drummer Darco with Stewart and All Wound Up was remastered and released six weeks later as their self-titled debut album Godsmack.

On December 4, 2001, In the US the album was certified 4x Platinum by the RIAA. It was also certified Gold in Canada by Music Canada.

Year - Chart - Peak position 1999 - Heatseekers - 2 1999 - The Billboard 200 - 22 2000 - Catalog Albums Chart - 1

The album caused controversy due to its profane lyrics, and liner notes containing a Wiccan pentagram and reference to "Salem witches", minus a Parental Advisory warning label. After listening to his son's copy of the album, a father in the U.S. complained to Wal-Mart, who sold him the album, that the lyrics were offensive. Wal-Mart and Kmart took the album off the shelves. The band and its record label later added a Parental Advisory sticker to the album, and some stores ordered amended copies of the album. Erna commented on the situation to Rolling Stone magazine, stating, "Our record has been in the marketplace for more than a year now without a parental advisory sticker and this is the one and only complaint. Stickers and lyrics are by nature subjective. We have decided to put a sticker on the record." This controversy did not hurt album sales, but according to Erna, helped, stating, "It's almost taunting kids to go out and get the record to see what we're saying on it."

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Today in Godsmack History: “Bring it On” 

"Bring It On" is a rare single by Godsmack, which was released in 2005 as contribution to the Madden NFL 2006 football video game in August 8, 2005. The song is not featured on any known album or compilation and has become a rarity amongst fans and on the internet. Perhaps down the line Godsmack could release all their b-sides in a compilation not unlike “The Lost Children” from Disturbed!

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Today in Godsmack History: Godsmack Day

Back in 2014, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh declared August 6 as the official Godsmack Day! Our heroes have their own official day in the city that their career started back in 1995. After Nineteen years of kicking ass, Godsmack was forever immortalized in Boston History!

Let’s reflect on everything Godsmack has done and achieved over the years and not forget to get a daily dose of the ‘Smack! Make sure you call out sick for this awesome holiday. You deserve it!

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Today in Godsmack History: Woodstock ‘99

The Infamous Woodstock ‘99 was held between July 22 and 25, 1999 and was the second large-scale music festival (after Woodstock ‘94) that attempted to emulate the original Woodstock festival of 1969. Approximately 400,000 people attended the festival. Like the previous Woodstock festivals, it was held in upstate New York, this time in Rome (roughly 200 miles (320 km) from the site of the original event). Unlike the previous two incarnations of Woodstock, Woodstock '99 was portrayed by the media as being marred by violence, rape, and fires.

However, Godsmack had the pleasure of performing on July 25, 1999. One after their debut release, it’s one of the few existing live performances of purely original album content.

Although many atrocities were reported to have taken place at the festival itself, none have been reported during Godsmack’s setlist. If you’ve seen Godsmack perform lately, Sully is very adamant that all fans treat one another with respect and watch out for each other’s safety.

Setlist: 0:00:00 - Now Or Never 0:05:33 - Immune 0:10:58 - Time Bomb 0:15:25 - Stress 0:20:36 - Keep Away 0:27:50 - Get Up, Get Out 0:34:27 - Bad Religion 0:42:25 - Whatever

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Today in Godsmack History: “Love-Hate-Sex-Pain”

On July 12, 2010, Godsmack released “Love-Hate-Sex-Pain", the second single from the band’s fifth studio album, The Oracle. The single made its way to radio stations in the United States on July 12. On April 6, “Love-Hate-Sex-Pain” was released as the first song from The Oracle, giving the fans the opportunity to download it through iTunes.

Shannon Larkin mentioned that “Love-Hate-Sex-Pain” is one of his favorite songs from The Oracle, stating “Love-Hate-Sex-Pain is special to me because I feel it has a different sound for the band, and it was a song that Tony and I put together many years ago, and honestly never imagined it being picked for a Godsmack record. When Sully put the lyrics and melody to it, it was like seeing a child grow up.”

The song has received highly positive reviews. Chris Akin from PitRiff.com praised the song, stating “This song might be the closest thing to a "twist” that you get on The Oracle. A rare balladic number, this song showcases a much more musical direction than Godsmack has ever taken in the past. Sounding more like a mid-tempoed Alice In Chains song than what they’ve been known for", then he added, “Love-Hate-Sex-Pain could very well be the song that reaches the most people.” Reviewer Greg Maki from Live-Metal.Net described the song as “one of The Oracle’s bright spots.” Reviewer Aaron Titan from 411mania.com commented that “ This was one of the other songs that the band leaked out ahead of the album’s release and it’s kind of a different route for Godsmack.”, adding “Very introspective feel to it, and it kind of jams with these Alice in Chains-style melancholy guitar chords that reek of despair until it hits the pendulum chorus that has some of the most simple yet interesting guitar work we’ve gotten from Tony Rombola in quite a while.”

“Love-Hate-Sex-Pain” climbed the Billboard Alternative Songs, the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and the Billboard Rock Songs, peaking at twenty-four, two, and five respectively, making it the band’s 19th Top 10 hit at active rock radio. Recently, the single debuted on the Billboard Heatseekers Songs and peaked at number twenty-three.

With “Love-Hate-Sex-Pain” appearing on the Billboard Alternative Songs, Godsmack stood as the act with the most appearances on the chart without reaching the apex until 2011. The single is Godsmack’s 19th charted title at the format. The band has peaked as high as No. 6 with “Voodoo” in 2000. Korn would later break the record in 2011, and they have 21 appearances on the chart as of 2013, as compared to Godsmack’s 19 appearances.

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Today in Godsmack History: “Serenity”

"Serenity" is a second single from Godsmack’s third album Faceless released on June 24, 2003. A music video was released for this song, showing the band performing during their appearance on Pepsi Smash in 2003.

It reached #7 on the Mainstream Rock 2003 chart and #10 on the Modern Rock 2004 chart as well as #13 and #113 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles and Billboard Hot 100 respectively.

The song was written by Godsmack frontman Sully Erna in tribute to one of his childhood heroes, Rush drummer Neil Peart. He wrote the song after reading the book Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road, penned by Peart about his motorcycle trip along the Pan-American Highway that he took to cope with the deaths of his daughter and wife one year apart from another.

"The book is so amazing," Erna told MTV.com. "He jumped on his motorcycle and within 14 months, drove 55,000 miles across the world. His experience about healing himself on the road inspired me to write this dark, tribal song," Erna says.

Originally, Erna had hoped Peart would play on the track so he sent the drummer a demo version of the song along with his request. Peart sent a note back saying he was unable to appear on the record because of touring commitments, but he gave Godsmack his blessings and complimented the group on its song.

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Today in Godsmack History: “Shine Down” 

"Shine Down" is the second single from Godsmack’s fourth studio album, IV. The song was released as a single on June 13, 2006 and landed a spot on the Mainstream Rock Tracks at number four as well as number 31 on the Modern Rock Tracks. According to Shannon Larkin, the song was written by Sully Erna: "I played no role in Shine Down. Sully came in with that song. It is one of the ones on the album where he had it and brought it in. He simply said, 'Give me the "When the Levee Breaks" type drum beat.' Then he played the riff, and we had the song and it was rock. We didn't even know about the harmonica part." 

Sully Erna is heard playing the harmonica during the bridge of the song. In an interview with Shannon Larkin, he said that Sully Erna threw in the harmonica solo because he would sit around the studio and jam on his harmonica. Also, it might have been Andy Johns idea, he's the one who said, "You should put the harp in the song." 

 According to Shannon Larkin, the song is about the band's continued belief in a higher power. "The song is about knowing there's something out there, whatever God you believe in. But some kind of power that shines down on you and helps you face the next day or whatever." Shannon Larkin said. Later Sully Erna added that the song is not about the God that religions talk about. Godsmack performed the song on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on September 5, 2006.