Godsmack-Biography

Godsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band comprises founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin. Since its formation, Godsmack has released four studio albums, one EP, four DVDs, and one greatest hits collection.

Godsmack have sold over 8.6 million records in the United States according to the RIAA, and over 4 million worldwide with debut album that has sold over four million copies since its release. The band has had two consecutive #1 albums (Faceless and IV) on the Billboard 200, and currently working on their fifth studio album which is expected be released in the first quarter of 2010.

The band released their latest single "Whiskey Hangover" in mid-June which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, scoring their 5th #1 single on that chart. The single also reigns as a record-breaking 17th Top 10 single for the Godsmack, extending their ownership of the most Top 10 hits in active rock history. The band also has parked a ratified 14 songs in the Top Five more than bands such as Linkin Park and Metallica.

Since its inception, Godsmack has toured on Ozzfest on more than one occasion, and have toured with many other large tours and festivals, including supporting its albums with its own arena tours. The band was also a part Crue Fest 2 which kicked off on July 19 in Camden, New Jersey

Formation and early works (1995?1996)
Godsmack Logo.

In February 1995, Sully Erna decided to start a new band as the lead singer after playing the drums for more than 23 years, including over two years in the now-defunct band Strip Mind. His new band The Scam formed with Erna on vocals, Robbie Merrill on bass, local guitarist and friend Lee Richards on guitar, and Tommy Stewart on drums. The Scam quickly changed its name to Godsmack, after recording one demo. The newly formed band started playing small bars in their hometowns of Lawrence, Massachusetts, and Salem, New Hampshire. Godsmack started out doing covers of bands like Alice in Chains to build their fan-base, but they quickly moved on to write their own music. Locally popular songs such as "Keep Away" and "Whatever" soon brought them to the top of the hit charts in the Boston/New England area.

The band's name, according to Merrill in the Smack This! DVD, was taken from the Alice in Chains' song "God Smack". However, Erna stated in a 1999 interview that "I was making fun of somebody who had a cold sore on his lip and the next day I had one myself and somebody said, 'It's a godsmack.' The name stuck. We were aware of the Alice in Chains song but didn't really think much about it. It's a cool song and the name had meaning for us".

In 1996, Tony Rombola and Joe D'arco joined Godsmack as the guitarist and drummer, after Richards left after finding out he had a six-year-old child and Stewart left due to personal differences. In the same year the band entered the studio for the first time, recording its first CD titled All Wound Up. The CD was recorded in just three days for $2,600.

For the next two years, the band played throughout the Boston area. Eventually Godsmack's CD landed in the hands of Rocko, the night-time DJ for Boston radio station WAAF (FM). The radio station put "Keep Away" into heavy rotation and the song rose to the number one spot at the station very quickly. Newbury Comics, a New England record store chain, agreed to sell the CD on consignment. Shortly after the success of "Keep Away", Godsmack went back into the studio and recorded a single titled "Whatever", which became the new local favorite on WAAF (FM).

In an interview Sully Erna stated, "we had been selling maybe 50 copies a month at the time WAAF picked up the album. All of a sudden we started moving over a thousand records a week. It was insane. Even crazier, I was doing all this from my bedroom. After years of grinding away, things finally started taking off".