In February 1995, Sully Ema decided to start a band with Lee Richards on guitar, Robbie Merrill on bass and Tommy Stewart on drums, which they initially called The Scam. The name didn’t stick long, as they changed the name to Godsmack after they recorded their first demo. In 1996 Richards and Stewart left the band and were replaced by Tony Rombola and Joe D’Arco. For a few years the band would tour up and down the east coast, until in 1998 they signed with Universal/Republic Records.
In a mere six weeks later, the replaced D’Arco with former drummer Tommy Stewart and released their eponymous album; this was then followed by a series of shows and tours around America and Europe. The album was met with success, reaching certified gold by 2011. In 2000 they returned to the studio to record “Awake” which was later released in October. “Awake” reached four-times platinum, and the single “Vampire” garnered a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 2002.
In 2003, Stewart once again left the band, due to personal reasons, and was replaced by Shannon Larkin. The following record “Faceless” went on to sell over a million copies along with a massive sold out tour with Metallica. In 2007 the band celebrated their being a band for ten years with the release of “Good Times, Bad Times...Ten Years of Godsmack,” that included a DVD of their live acoustic performance at the House of Blues, Las Vegas.
After taking about a yearlong hiatus, the band reunited to record and release “The Oracle” in 2010. The band headlined the Mayhem Festival, an annual heavy metal festival that travels throughout the United States, followed by a tour with Staind. In 2014 Ema announced that the band was working on new material, and in August they released “1000hp.”
Godsmack: Hard hitting yet hypnotic Many casual listeners/concert goers would chalk this amazing band up to an Alice in Chains clone, but nothing could be further from the truth. True that the sludgy grunge infused sound is reminiscent of such, but Godsmack took it one step further toward the end of the '90's, updating the sound and putting an industrial/nu metal spin on it all their own. One could call it looking back while looking ahead simultaneously; namely transitional as there are turbulent and sludge passages with a modern sound fused with a trippy, hypnotic undercurrent. From Pantera to Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, and almost everyone in between, Godsmack's list of influences runs nearly the full gamut as evidenced both in concert and on the record. A true highlight of many performances of theirs I have seen and heard entails a dueling drumming interlude between skins man Shannon Larking and multi-instrumental front man Sully Erna, the latter of whose main instrument was once drums as well. Guitarist Tony Rombola and bassist Robbie Merrill bring heaviness and hard hitting riffs of their own to the table as well which make for a mix of both raucousness and meditativeness, sometimes in separate instances, and other times simultaneously combining them! For me also, the crowning touch the last concert we attended in 2012 was winning our way in to the show complete with a catered lunch and a chance to meet the group with a photo op and signing all included. They were very kind to us and as always were firing on all cylinders once they hit the stage. Kudos to them all the way!
renee-mirsky
Dorothy rocked the stage, she was absolutely amazing and flawless. If you love rock then Dorothy is the show to go to. Can't wait for her to come back to town.
I was in complete awe of her. Her vocals are phenomenal and she is so beautiful. The Band kept the energy up and the banter between band members between songs was pretty fun too.
Great great great show.
K8_S
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