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Godsmack

IV

Written by: PP on 02/05/2006 19:09:53

So Godsmack is up to their fourth album which is 'creatively' titled "IV", and they're still up to recycling riffs from their nearly-classic 2000 sophomore album "Awake". What happened to the band that possessed so much post-grunge/nu-metal potential with songs like "I Stand Alone" and "Snake Bite"?

"Mama" and "No Rest For The Wicked" both share way too much resemblance to "I Stand Alone", while "Voodoo Too" is an obvious remake of "Snake Bite". Throughout the album, you just have the feeling that the band has long gone run out of ideas and is just trying to remake another "Awake" by recycling riffs from that album, but this won't pass by even by the most fanatic following of the band today.

"IV" leans more towards nu-metal than it does towars the post-grunge side that was present on the earlier material, which in my opinion is a bad choice. I don't know if Godsmack have been living under a rock in the recent times or not, but the previously so popular nu-metal movement has been increasingly overtaken by the far more technically proficient (and thus more convincing and interesting) emo and metalcore bands. The occasional solos present on "IV" are mediocre, but aren't striking enough to make a difference.

According to many critics and fans alike, Godsmack has been on a decline ever since their sophomore album, and based on this album, nothing seems to be changing. The nu-metal movement is dead and irrelevant, which is why a band like Godsmack will be heavily ignored in today's music industry. And when amazon.com groups your 'Godsmack' searches with Dixie Chicks, you can't be going in the right direction.

Download: Mama
For the fans of: Puddle Of Mudd, Disturbed, Saliva
Listen: Myspace

Release date 25.04.2006
Republic