Frontman Sully Erna's vocals are often very intense and confrontational, which sets them apart from their influences. Many of the songs seem to express anger toward someone, possibly an ex-girlfriend, with the resolution often being telling them to "go away". They do this in many of their songs, which might annoy some people, but I personally find it to be stress relieving. Tony's innovative guitar work (he actually can play lead, which many popular rock bands nowadays are not capable of doing) and the well oiled rhythm machine compliment the vocals and awesome songwriting perfectly. The best songs on the album (good to crank up when you're in a bad mood) are "Whatever", "Keep Away", "Time Bomb", "Bad Religion", and "Get Up, Get Out". Highly recommended if you are tired of all the trendy rock that permeates the airwaves.


A Powerful Debut Empowered By Sully Erna's Unique Voice   April 8, 2003
 20 out of 22 found this review helpful

Godsmack's self-titled debut album from 1998 packs an aggressive set of one dozen emotionally dark songs, whose mournful lyrics sung by the groups powerful vocalist Sully Erna are very expressive. Reminiscent of heavy metal favorite Metallica and grunge bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden and 'Alice in Chains', Godsmack has combined several styles to produce a very unique sound of their own. Formed in 1995 in Boston, Sully Erna (who is a practicing Wiccan) along with with guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill and drummer Tommy Stewart first received notice when people began listening to Godsmack's single "Whatever". Popularity grew with songs such as "Keep Away" and "Voodoo". My ratings for each song (out of 5 stars) are listed below:

1. "Moon Baby" (5+). Starts softly, but suddenly awakens to powerful guitar and bass, as well as Sully's dark vocals. Guitar aggressiveness later grows, as well as harmonized vocals.
2. "Whatever" (5+). Fast-paced, very aggresive guitar and potent percussion mix with powerful & melodic vocals.
3. "Keep Away" (5). Intense guitar takes center stage with the lyrics about wanting an exlover to stay away and features a guitar solo.
4. "Time Bomb" (5). Aggressive vocals backed by aggressive guitar and percussion take center stage in this song which also features occassional silent or near-silent breaks.
5. "Bad Religion" (4.5). Grungy song marked by aggressively plucked guitar & bass, as well as strong pitch changes.
6. "Immune" (4). Slower song that begins with a spoken sample before being swallowed by Sully's very grungy voice. Aggressive guitar comes through in the middle followed by a brief instrumental interlude. Good guitar riffs towards the latter part of the song.
7. "Someone in London" (3.5). Slow, but very dark instrumental marked by strong bass and base drum. Sound effects include lightly heard screams before leading into the next song.
8. "Get Up, Get Out!" (4). Faster tempo and aggressively riffed guitar back Sully's aggressive vocals. Somewhat repetivite.
9. "Now or Never" (3). Song begins softly but quickly crescendos instrumentally with aggressive guitar and percussion before the dark vocals begin. Not a particularly engaging song as it is somewhat long and monotonic.
10. "Stress" (4). Faster and less dark song than the previous track. More engaging guitar and lyrics including a lengthy scream from Sully.
11. "Situation" (4.5). Song begins with sounds reminiscent of a squeaky wheel, but is quickly taken over by aggressive guitar and bass with Sully's wailful vocals. Good guitar riffs and solo.
12. "Voodoo" (5+). One of the best songs on the album, starting with Sully's funereal melodic vocals followed by strong percussion and bass with guitar in the background. Though the song itself is 4:40 minutes long, the track continues for another 4+ minutes of silence and lightly played percussion.

Overall, I rate Godsmack's self-titled debut album with 4 out of 5 stars. It's powerfully dark music can be listened to repeatedly without becoming tiresome. I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys grunge or dark rock.


Alice In Chains they ain't   April 3, 2005
 18 out of 37 found this review helpful

2.5 Stars

Godsmack, while not a bad band, is one of the more overrated bands to come down the pike in the last few years. I'll say right off-the-bat that they are totally unoriginal. They sound like a million other late 90s, early 00s bands. The Boston quartet is a complete rip-off of Alice In Chains and "Bad Motor Finger" era Soundgarden. And while Stone Temple Pilots first album "Core" was not the most original album, I still consider that a classic, because it had killer, killer songs. Godsmack's music, however, really isn't all that good. It's pretty generic and redundant. And while Alice In Chains, STP, Soundgarden, etc., were heavy, their music was also melodic. Godsmack has very little melody in their music. It's all growling vocals and dull riffs, dull solos, dull everything. If you're not going to be original, at least have some memorable, catchy songs. But Godsmack can't even do that. There isn't much exciting about this music at all.

Despite all this criticism, it's not really a bad album, it's listenable. It's not down there with "St. Anger" or "Results May Vary."

Godsmack's debut is probably their best collection of songs. The band didn't really evolve or get in their own groove with later releases. It's all more of the same. If your going to buy a Godsmack album, this is the one to buy.

However, I'd stick "Bad Motor Finger," "Dirt," or "Core" and leave this album behind.


one of the best CD's i've heard since sevendust's debut   March 4, 2000
 17 out of 21 found this review helpful

I had high hopes for this band and I wasn't disappointed. Tracks like Moon Baby, Whatever, Keep Away, Time Bomb and Get Up Get Out show their heavy side, while stuff like Voodoo show they have a soft side. It's got some great tracks (like the ones I just mentioned), and other's that are still good, but don't compare to the rest, like Immune or Now Or Never.

Moon Baby: A really great opener. One of the best on here, but I prefer the first half of it. 5/5.

Whatever: A fun song to listen to with a cool riff. A lot of people like this the best. 5/5.

Keep Away: My personal favorite. The riff is very exceptional. At this point in the CD I am completely hooked. 5/5.

Time Bomb: Another awesome song with some cool guitar effects in the intro part. Now I think this CD is too good to be true. 5/5.

Bad Religion: This is when the CD starts to fall a little bit. A good song but lacks some depth, and they could have expanded the riff a bit. 4/5.

Immune: One of the weaker on here. 3/5.

Someone In London: A little instrumental track falling just above two above two minutes. Fun to listen too, though. 3/5.

Get Up, Get Off: The song that "upped" the second half of the CD. Great song. 5/5.

Now Or Never: Another weak one, but still good. 3/5.

Stress: The other song that made the second half almost as good as the first. The intro is the best. 5/5.

Situation: An okay track, but nothing really special. 3/5.

Voodoo: The slow song on here, but still great, it's got a really good harmony. 5/5.

Overall, an excellent CD (with only a couple tracks lacking something) and I can't wait for the next.


Have you been smacked yet?   July 13, 2000
 15 out of 16 found this review helpful

Yes it's true that Godsmack's influence spectrum is vast, but this foursome probably listened to these influential greats (Metallica, Alice in chains etc.) and created their own bigger and better sound to become gods of their own rage-energetic realm. This sound is alive. Not even to talk about Sully's well balanced voice seamlessly integrating with Tony's aggressive and rhythm-hungry six stringer. Their lyrics adds a further spark to the already rock solid sound. This CD has attitude written all over it. Sully, Robbie, Tony and Tommy...we salute you.