The sold-out crowd at London’s Eventim Apollo saw Godsmack in a state of flux last week. With Will Hunt (Evanescence) filling in on drums and Sam Koltun (Dorothy, Faster Pussycat) handling lead guitar duties in place of Shannon Larkin and Tony Rombola, longtime fans had reason for skepticism. But from the moment they launched into “Surrender,” it was clear we weren’t getting some watered-down version of the band.
Sully Erna stalked the stage like a man with something to prove, carrying the same pissed-off intensity that’s been his trademark since their 1998 debut. Hunt and Merrill locked in immediately. During “1000hp,” Hunt’s thunderous attack had the floor section visibly rippling while never losing the groove. Cue the mosh pit and stage divers.
Koltun faced the night’s biggest challenge, stepping into shoes most guitarists wouldn’t touch. Smart enough to skip the carbon-copy approach, he found his own lane within Rombola’s framework. During “Voodoo,” lit in violent reds and purples, he leaned into the track’s hypnotic pulse, nailing the signature licks while adding flashes of his own style. Nothing showy. Just solid, confident playing with the right amount of bite. The kid can play. He threaded his own personality through those familiar riffs without losing what made them work in the first place. By the second chorus, nobody was missing Rombola anymore.
Critics have dismissed Godsmack as Metallica-meets-Alice in Chains since day one. So what? From my perch in the balcony, beer in hand, I couldn’t care less about originality scorecards. Sometimes familiar ingredients, mixed right, just hit the spot. What I heard was a band that took those influences and hammered them into something that dominated rock radio for decades. Judging by the crowd’s reaction, it still matters.
After “Voodoo” came the drum spectacle. The stage split open, a second kit appeared, and Erna jumped behind it to face off with Hunt. The shocker? Erna can actually hang. They traded increasingly complex patterns that nodded to “Moby Dick” and “Tom Sawyer” before crashing into “Whatever.” No backing tracks. No bullshit. Just two guys trying to blow each other off the stage.
When “Speak” kicked in, the diehards around me lost their minds. “Straight Out of Line” had the casual fans suddenly remembering why they showed up. “Under Your Scars” gave everyone a minute to breathe before they unleashed “Bulletproof” and closed with “I Stand Alone,” leaving a crowd of sweaty, middle-aged rockers grinning like teenagers.
With Larkin and Rombola now officially retired from touring, this night felt like both an ending and a beginning. Erna’s vocals still carry that distinctive Staley-esque darkness that’s always been the band’s calling card. But with the new blood, there’s something rekindled here too.
From my balcony view, sipping overpriced beer, I was transported back to when rock and metal ruled the airwaves. Maybe I was too cool for Godsmack in 2003, dismissing them as commercial radio-rock. Twenty years later, watching forty-somethings completely losing their shit on the floor below, I wondered if I’d missed something. This time around, I got it. Sometimes you just need riffs that punch you in the chest and choruses that demand to be shouted back at the stage.
Opening the night were two very familiar names from the nu metal era: Dallas’s own Drowning Pool and Southern California’s P.O.D.
I forgot how many fucking hits P.O.D. had. Honestly, they probably could’ve headlined the gig themselves. It was basically a greatest hits set with a few new ones from last year’s Veritas, which hosted a number of killer collaborations. They were fucking great, to be honest. Another one of those bands I wrote off at the time, probably because they were too popular.
I used to live in Dallas and was there when Drowning Pool absolutely blew up with “Bodies.” Their set was solid. Tons of energy. Tons of metal. And of course they closed with “Bodies,” which seems to be getting a second wind thanks to recent TV licensing. It still hits.
It was a triple bill that would’ve filled stadiums in the 2000s, and something I miss terribly when it comes to live music. Stacked concert bills like this used to be the norm. Now they’re rare. We need more of this.
P.O.D.
DROWNING POOL
