SONG: "Voodoo"
ARTIST: Godsmack
ALBUM: "Live & Inspired"
YEAR: 2012
PLACE OF ORIGIN: Lawrence, Massachusetts
YEARS ACTIVE: 1995 - present
WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:
"Voodoo" was written by Godsmack vocalist Sully Erna after watching the movie "The Serpent And The Rainbow". The movie basically inspired the lyrics to "Voodoo". Some have thought the song was about heroin addiction but Erna himself denied that, saying he never did heroin so he wouldn't have a clue as to writing about it. I chose the live version of "Voodoo" for my song of the week. You can check out the original on Godsmack's 1998 self-titled debut.
GODSMACK DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):
1998 - Godsmack (Universal/Republic Records)
* peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200 on 5-29-99
* certified 4X platinum
2000 - Awake (Universal/Republic Records)
* peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 on 11-18-00
* certified 2X platinum
2003 - Faceless (Universal/Republic Records)
* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 4-26-03
* certified platinum
2006 - IV (Universal/Republic Records)
* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 5-13-06
* certified gold
2010 - The Oracle (Universal/Republic Records)
* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 5-22-10
* certified gold
2012 - Live & Inspired (Universal/Republic Records)
* peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200 on 6-2-12
2014 - 1000hp (Universal/Republic Records)
* peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 on 3-23-14
2018 - When Legends Rise (BMG Records)
* peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 on 5-12-18
MY THOUGHTS ON GODSMACK:
Godsmack formed as a band back in 1995, hailing from Lawrence, Massachusetts. For a very short time they were called The Scam before settling on the name Godsmack. They recorded a demo album in 1997 called "All Wound Up" which served as the basis for their proper debut album, 1998's "Godsmack". The band was pushed hard by local Boston radio station WAAF who put their songs "Keep Away" and "Whatever" in heavy rotation. Local buzz soon crept throughout the nation and Godsmack's debut album would eventually be certified 4X platinum! Their follow up, 2000's "Awake" was also a huge success for the band, certified 2X platinum. Godsmack's next three albums all reached #1 on the Billboard 200 charts. 2003's "Faceless" was a monster, featuring hit singles like "Straight Out Of Line", "I Stand Alone" and "Re-Align". The band dropped a nice acoustic EP called "The Other Side" in 2004. The band featured a heavy sound to begin with, but 2010's "The Oracle" was considered by the band to be their heaviest effort to date. 2014's "1000hp" ended the band's relationship with Universal/Republic and the band is now signed with BMG. Their most recent album was 2018's "When Legends Rise". Rumor has it that the band plans to have a new album released some time in 2022. Godsmack is a hard rock/metal band at heart. You can hear a grunge influence in their sound. Sully Erna has often been compared to James Hetfield of Metallica and Layne Staley of Alice In Chains vocally. Erna has kind of tried to veer away from those comparisons but they are pretty obvious when you hear their music. My first experience with Godsmack was the song "Whatever" off their debut album. I love this song. It's just got a real cool vibe to it. Excellent pit song!! I really like Godsmack's first three albums then I wasn't totally as in to them from "IV" on. I got all of their albums and still listen from time to time but I listen to those first three way more often. Not saying those newer albums aren't good, maybe I just grew out of them for some reason. I think there are a lot of hard rock bands that came out after those initial grunge bands of the 90's and there are many good ones, I just never thought any of them rose to the heights of those bands. Maybe that's a bad comparison because I'm not so sure I consider Godsmack a grunge band. They have grunge like tendencies with metal influences but then, you could say that Alice In Chains and Soundgarden were grunge but had metal influences as well. Who knows what the fuck I'm saying?!! Anyway, Godsmack is a cool band and in the end, I gotta give props to my Massachusetts homies!
SIMILAR ARTISTS:
Drowning Pool
Breaking Benjamin
Stone Sour
Staind
Seether
TEN GODSMACK SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:
1. Whatever
2. Awake
3. I Stand Alone
4. Re-Align
5. Running Blind
6. Bulletproof
7. Speak
8. Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh cover)
9. 1000hp
10. Whiskey Hangover
No comments:
Post a Comment