Listening to: God Smack
Feeling: alive
Biography: Godsmack
The Boston-based alternative metal group Godsmack originally comprised vocalist Sully Erna (a devout Wiccan), guitarist Tony Rambola, bassist Robbie Merrill and drummer Tommy Stewart. After debuting in 1997 with All Wound Up, Godsmack signed with Universal, who in 1998 reissued the LP as a self-titled effort with a handful of new tracks; at that point Stewart -- who'd left the group in mid-1997 and was replaced by drummer Joe D'Arco -- returned to the lineup on a permanent basis. The band's audience built slowly but surely, and Godsmack was certified gold in 1999, the same year the group was invited to join the Ozzfest tour; by the next year, it had sold over three million copies, thanks to hit singles like "Whatever" and "Keep Away." In 2000, the group again played Ozzfest, and released their second proper album, Awake, that fall. In January 2002, Awake earned the band a Grammy nomination for "Best Rock Instrumental Performance" for the song "Vampires," and by March, it had sold two million copies. Hot on the heels of their continuing success, their explosive single "I Stand Alone" propelled the hype of the movie The Scorpion King a month later. In 2003, fans readied for the band's follow up to Awake. Faceless, which appeared in April, stuck with Godsmack's frenzied punk-inspired metal sound, but with a hunger that was a bit overshadowed on their previous efforts. ~ Jason Ankeny...
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