Godsmack’s Sully Erna on Why Their New Album Is Their Last
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The post Godsmack’s Sully Erna on Why Their New Album Is Their Last appeared first on Consequence.
It’s not always easy to know when to let things go. That’s not said in a bad way, either — not everything that once was needs to keep being. It seems as though Godsmack have reached that point, at least as far as their recording career goes. The Massachusetts rock act’s newly released Lighting Up the Sky is the band’s eighth album over their near 30-year career, and from all indications, their last. But for frontman Sully Erna, bassist Robbie Merrill, drummer Shannon Larkin, and guitarist Tony Rombola, it was a decision that came with deep thought on how their musical aspirations affect their personal lives.
For Godsmack, it’s time.
Over the years, they’ve given us a string of memorable rock hits. But even though music has been a big part of the band’s collective lives since 1995, it’s not the only part of their lives. Sometimes as a fan, it’s easy to forget that the musicians and artists we idolize are really just people at the end of the day. They’ve got families, birthdays, anniversaries — things that as regular folks we have the advantage of celebrating without the confines of public pressure. It’s only fair that at some point, these musicians and artists want to do that, too. Erna ruminates over this in an interview with Heavy Consequence, showing a different and perhaps more openly tender side to a band who’s been hard and heavy for decades.
Read the conversation below, and pick up tickets to Godsmack’s recently announced spring US tour via Ticketmaster or Stubhub.
You’ve mentioned that this is likely the last Godsmack album and I’m wondering… why?
Sully Erna: Isn’t everyone? Funny. Well, we’ve come to this realization that it’s time because — and I say this as humbly as I can — we’re coming up on almost 30 years of the band being together. We have 26 Top 10 singles and 12 number ones. I mean, God, this record we’re feeling is probably the best work we’ve ever done. At what point do we start honoring the career and the music and putting together our greatest hits show? Who wants to go see Aerosmith and not hear “Dream On” and “Same Old Song and Dance,” and all the greatest songs that have been the soundtrack to our lives? I would have to assume after three decades of being out there and working as much as we have creating this catalog, that we would want to be able to honor that, so when fans come on the show, they don’t have to sit through the whole new record and the stuff that they’re just waiting to hear.
We’ve missed a lot of years with our children and our families and friends. It’s actually a very emotional time right now, for us to be thinking we’re going to close this chapter, but we’re gonna open a new chapter. We’re not announcing a breakup. We’re not announcing the farewell tour. At this point, we just want to get out there and have fun with our career and have fun with the fans and be able to put our time into the live shows, but also be able to just take some time to ourselves when this is over and not have to feel the pressure of a timeline.
I definitely felt like I could tell that maybe the chapter was closing in the emotionality of your voice, but do you think this is the end of you making music in general? Or do you think you’ll still kind of dabble in playing some as a side project or jamming with people? Anything like that?
SE: I highly doubt I’ll never write and record music again because it’s in my blood — it’s in my family’s blood. I’ve been a musician since I was born, pretty much. My dad’s a musician, my great uncle [Emanuele Carta] was a famous composer — there’s no way I’m getting out of it. This is me forever… in this lifetime, anyways. It’s the Godsmack part of it that’s really consumed three decades of our lives, in a great way. I never want people to misunderstand and think this is something we’re complaining about. It’s just time for a new part of our lives. The record is emotional. There were several tears shed in the studio over this one because this is a big decision for us to make. We don’t want to be one of those bands that announces something like this and then comes back with another record. This isn’t about trying to draw attention to the album. It’s about feeling that things feel complete right now.
Some people want a house with a white picket fence and the dog and a car. Then they get it and then they want two cars and another kid or they want three dogs and a bigger house. They never arrive. I’d like to think that we set a goal for ourselves, which was to make this a career be successful, and we’ve done that. And we’ve done it over and over again, and we’re proud of it. But we have to know that we’ve arrived, and now we can’t keep looking for the next bigger thing. You were talking a minute ago about the emotion on this record, and you’re right on the money. I like when songs connect a certain way and take you on a journey. And as I put the record together, I started to realize that there was really a story here, and it was the story of one man’s journey through his life, his career, and all the different obstacles that he went through. You’ll hear little hints of the first record coming in, and so this record ends with the first one begins. I don’t even know how we would top that if we wanted to.
Right? I noticed with the last three tracks, how “Best of Times” flows into “Growing Old” and then flows into “Lighting Up the Sky,” it very much kind of felt almost like a rock opera. I’m hearing a crescendo that finally comes to its peace, even though it ends with that little cacophony of jamming. And then it’s just… over. It’s almost like a literal light in the sky that bursts, like an exploding star or something. I could tell that was done with intention.
SE: Exactly. When I was writing the song I didn’t necessarily have that intention in mind, but as the song wrote itself, as all the songs wrote themselves, as all this stuff just came together. The whole record tells a story of a journey, from the time you fall in love to the time you find the challenges in the relationship through a breakup or a betrayal, through being re-inspired by meeting someone new or realizing you’re supposed to be where you are, and paying homage to the people that have been in your life. Lighting Up the Sky is a reflection of that whole story. I’m getting emotional just thinking about it. They’re good emotions. It’s a proud moment in our lives. It’s been a long journey. I’m not embarrassed to to feel that way, but, ah, you’re killing me!
That’s making me emotional, too. From fan’s perspective, you were one of the first heavy bands I got into, that have been there my entire life. It’s interesting to think about the fact that this is the last album, but I was also wondering if you think any part of everything in society and in the world lately helped put things in perspective as to why this should be the last album?
SE: I don’t know if that came into play more in the pandemic because it allowed us the luxury of time, to not be in a rush, not have a due date from the label. I didn’t care if it took two weeks or five years — this was going to be the final chapter. I wanted every song on this record to be a potential single. We had the luxury of time and that was a blessing because it gave us the time to really look at every song, throw away the ones we didn’t feel were strong enough, and really put quality music on this record.
Which track would you say was the hardest for you personally to write, and why?
SE: “Truth.” That’s an easy answer. During this album, I went through a breakup, a breakup that was because of a betrayal. It was a devastating moment in my life. And it happened right in the middle of creating this record. I knew I needed to get it out while it was raw and affecting me, because I knew that would be when I had the most true feelings. I’m really glad I did, but it was a tough one to write, and it was certainly the toughest one I’ve ever had in a vocal booth. I had to stop three different times because I was just too emotional to sing certain lines.
Oh my, that breaks my heart. When it comes to performing that, how do you feel about having to do that live night after night?
SE: Well, you’ll have to ask me that question afterwards since I haven’t yet. I have a hard time even listening to it right now, let alone playing it. It was a big pivotal point in my life. It changed the whole dynamic of everything that I was working for and living for. I don’t know how that will translate live. I’ll always try to keep myself in check and perform as best I can, but it’s a real situation with real feelings attached. Being human, I can’t guarantee anything.
Of course. On a more positive note, I suppose. I know that “Truth” was the hardest one to write, but which one are you most excited to play live?
SE: “Soul on Fire.” It’s my favorite song on the record, just straight up hard traditional rock ‘n’ roll. There are no peaks and valleys. You just turn it on, and it goes from front to back. Super high energy, so I can’t wait to play that one live. I’m really excited about it.
Our thanks to Sully Erna for taking the time to speak with us. Stream Lighting Up the Sky in its entirety via Apple Music or Spotify player below.
Godsmack’s Sully Erna on Why Their New Album Is Their Last
Cervanté Pope
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