Godsmack played Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena on Oct. 23, on its Rise of Rock Tour with a new lineup. The band also wants to write a new album, and fresh music should arrive by next summer, according to Shore Local Newsmagazine.
Sully Erna still handles lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Robbie Merrill plays bass. Sam “Bam” Koltun joins on guitar, and Mike Mangini sits behind the drums. Koltun and Mangini joined after the band was created.
To capture the last live show of its “classic” lineup, the band recorded a live album and concert film, Live at Mohegan Sun. It came out May 1.
Erna once hinted that the 2023 album Lighting Up the Sky would be the band’s last full-length record. Lately, however, Erna said the band feels renewed. “We have a whole new burst of energy, so we’re going to go hit it just as hard as we always do and take the thing to another level and just see what we can do,” he revealed in a Loudwire interview from earlier this year.
He talked about new music in that same interview. “We’re onto a new chapter. So there will definitely be new music coming at some point. It just won’t be with the original members,” Erna said. He is curious to hear where the new songs take the band.
Godsmack started about three decades ago in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The first members were Erna, Merrill, guitarist Lee Richards, and drummer Tommy Stewart. The band put out its debut album, All Wound Up, on its own in 1997. A year later it signed with Universal/Republic, and the label rereleased the project as the band’s self-titled major-label debut.
The band still has a few shows left this year. All dates are listed on their official website.
