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You know what they say: when the cat’s away, the mice will play. But in the case of Boston-based alterna-metal outfit Godsmack, the mice don’t just play. They also write — something they don’t get much of a chance to do while the cat is still in the picture.
The cat in this equation, of course, is Godsmack frontman (and devout Wiccan) Sully Erna, who was sidelined by struggles with relationships and addiction while his bandmates were prepping their latest album, the Zeppelin-esque — in both title and sound — IV.
As drummer Shannon Larkin explains, Erna’s absence gave the rest of the band a chance to play more of an active role in the creation of the new record.
“He (Erna) wasn’t around a lot for the writing process ... but me and the others were in a room five or six days a week, just writing constantly,” Larkin tells the Sun. “It really was awesome for us. I mean, he’s our leader, make no bones about it, and we all respect him. But when he’s not in the room, it gives us more of an opportunity to express ourselves.”
Like the rest of Godsmack’s albums, the latest charts their growth as a band, retaining their trademark heft while at the same time broadening their sonic palette.
It also marks the first time Erna has claimed sole producer credit, a task he’s pretty much handled on his own in the past, but for some reason or another has always shared in the liner notes, Larkin says.
“On this one, we were just like, ‘You take full engineering credit,’” he says. “We thought it was a waste of money (to enlist someone else), since Sully always takes control of the whole production.”
And if it sounds like Erna is something of a control-freak, Larkin says that’s partially true, but insists he and the rest of the band (guitarist Tony Rombola and bassist Robbie Merrill) wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Creatively, it is limiting, but I like to compare it to a sports team,” he says. “You need a leader, on the field and off, to look after everyone and take care of their best interests.”
Plus, Erna has given Larkin and the others free reign to express themselves in their side project, Another Animal, which is due to release its first album this September.
“It basically is just a whole other animal,” Larkin says of the band, which also includes singer Whit Crane, a friend from Larkin’s days with Ugly Kid Joe. “When we were writing IV, there was a string of like four or five songs that he (Erna) didn’t think fit. He said, ‘This is great stuff, but it sounds like a completely other band than Godsmack.’”
Despite not having played live for a year and a half, Larkin says he and his bandmates got off to a great start with their first tour date in Montreal.
“It was truly amazing,” he says, the sincerity evident in his voice. “The crowd was singing the songs before we even came on stage. And when we did come on stage, you could feel the energy in the room right away.”
Godsmack play the Convention Centre tonight with hand-picked local opening act X-Engine-X. Tickets cost $35 at Ticketmaster.