After seven albums, many number ones, and three Grammy nominations, Godsmack has released their eighth and final album, Lighting Up The Sky. While the band isn’t retiring completely yet, lead singer Sully Erna has said they are permanently leaving the studio to do things the members have wanted to do for a long time. With the band opting to finish out their career still playing live, but without the pressures of producing another album can create, Lighting Up The Sky is Godsmack’s last album of their impressive 28-year long career. Consisting of eleven songs, this new album really summarizes Godsmack's entire career by bringing together sounds from all their past albums. The album has both a new Godsmack sound and also brings back that sense of nostalgia sound.
This album tells the story of their career both “The Best of Times” and the bad times.
Godsmack started in 1995 with Sully Erna and bassist Robbie Merrill. After a couple line up changes throughout the years, the current members stand with Guitarist Tony Rombola who joined in 1996 and drummer Shannon Larkin who joined in 2002. In the span of their career, they've hit twenty-five top 10 rock radio hits, eighteen of which made it into the top five. So it’s no surprise that the debut single, "Surrender,” off the new album made it to No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in November 2022. "'Surrender' is a very cut and dry song," said Erna. "It’s simply about the exhaustion we can all feel in relationships at times from the redundancy of fighting with each other. At a certain point in our lives, we submit to putting aside who’s right or wrong, we just want it to STOP! So we wave the white flag."
“Truth” is the most impactful and emotional song on the album, in my opinion. I feel it’s about being in a relationship with somebody who keeps hurting you over and over again, but you still love them. You’re holding onto the memories of who that person used to be and you can’t comprehend who the person turned out to be even through all the lies and deceptions. “We had our second chance / / yet we fucked it up again.” I think it’s such a relatable song because most of us have gone through this or will go through this situation sometime in our life.
There's a few songs on the album that are straight to the point but also a couple that I feel are left up to interpretation for the listener like “Let’s Go.” I personally have two different takes on this song. It could either be letting go of a person that has held you back “I’d only change one thing // I’d recreate it // and leave you out of everything // erase you from my memories.” Or it also sounds like it could be the decision the band made to end writing music together because of the pressures it brings. “This road is winding down around my neck // I’m played out in so many ways // I paid all my dues so I’ll be ok.”
“The Best Of Times” is a thank you to everyone who’s been there throughout Godsmack's nearly three decade long career and to everyone that has changed Erna’s life along the way. It’s a really heartfelt thank you and even through it all, Erna says the best things are still to come giving this sense of hope for the future.
The last song of the album, "Lighting Up The Sky", gave me chills as the song ended like how a band would traditionally close out a concert. With lots of noise commotion trying to drag out the song a little bit longer so the show isn’t quite over yet. In those last couple seconds, they added vocal clips from “Moon Baby,” “Whatever,” “Get Up, Get Out!,” “Keep Away,” “Time Bomb,” and “Voodoo,” tying this final album together with their first album and officially closing their music writing career.
Godsmack has announced they will be going on tour in May with special guest I Prevail along with more artists to still be announced. They will also be co-headlining some of the country's largest rock festivals, Welcome to Rockville and Sonic Temple. I'm hoping to be able to make it out to at least a few of these Godsmack shows this year! Which show are you attending? Let us know down below!
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