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Godsmack is an American rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is currently composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna, bassist Robbie Merrill, and lead guitarist Sam Koltun. Since its formation, Godsmack has released nine studio albums, one EP (The Other Side), four DVDs, one compilation album (Good Times, Bad Times... Ten Years of Godsmack), and two live albums. Their most recent album, Lighting Up the Sky, was released in 2023.

Since its inception, Godsmack has toured with Ozzfest on more than one occasion and has toured with many other large tours and festivals, including supporting its albums with its own arena tours. They released three consecutive number-one albums (Faceless, IV and The Oracle) on the Billboard 200, and have had 25 top-ten rock radio hits and 12 at number one. In honor of the band's success and the release of their sixth studio album, 1000hp, Mayor Marty Walsh declared August 6 as "Godsmack Day" in the city of Boston.

History

Formation and All Wound Up... (1995–1997)

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 more than 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 hometown of Boston. 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 does not derive from the Alice in Chains song of the same name; according to Erna, the name instead came from an incident where he developed a cold sore shortly after a former bandmate did:"I was making fun of [our drummer at the time] who had a cold sore on his lip and the next day I had one myself and somebody said, 'It's a god smack.' The name stuck. We were aware of the Alice In Chains song but didn't really think much about it." In 1996, Tony Rombola joined as the guitarist after Richards left upon learning he had a six-year-old child and Stewart left due to personal differences. In the same year, the band entered New Alliance Studio in Boston to record its debut album, All Wound Up.... The CD was recorded in just three days for $2,600 and was self-released in February 1997 through the band's own record label, E. K. Records Company. In May 1997, Joe D'Arco joined to replace Stewart on drums.

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. (...) I was doing all this from my bedroom. After years of grinding away, things finally started taking off." In April 1998, D'Arco was dismissed from the band. He was replaced by former drummer Tommy Stewart, who returned after expressing a desire to be in the band again.

Godsmack (1998–1999)

In June 1998, Universal/Republic Records signed the band to their label. The band's first album All Wound Up... was slightly edited to remove unlicensed samples, fully re-mastered and given a new artwork and layout; the finished self-titled album Godsmack was released to the public six weeks later on August 25, 1998. This led to the band's first headlining tour, "The Godsmack Tour" with Jim Rose Circus as the opening act. After the album's release the band went on the road playing club shows as well as playing at Ozzfest and Woodstock '99. This was followed by a tour in Europe supporting Black Sabbath. Roxanne Blanford from Allmusic gave the album three out of five stars, stating, "Godsmack confidently brought metal into the technological age". The album entered the Billboard 200 at number twenty-two, and was certified 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2024 after being initially certified gold in 1999.