Godsmack has made it well known that their latest record Lighting Up The Sky would be their final studio album. Now in a new interview with Power Hour, Godsmack frontman Sully Erna notes that not having to write music means more time on the road.
Which I guess isn't a bad thing, but oversaturation is also a real concern among touring bands. Doubly so for Godsmack, who don't seem like they have the option of touring Europe without losing money, or making it down to South America without having to cancel due to low ticket sales.
"I want people to understand and be clear that we're not saying this is the end of the band," said Erna. "We just feel that we've arrived at a certain place in our life… I remember reading this quote a long time ago from Tom Hamilton when he said, 'Music is something I've always wanted to do with my life, but it's not everything I wanna do with my life.' And so I start thinking, we're just kind of closing one chapter right now and we're opening a new chapter, and that chapter is gonna be weightless for us. Because to not have that responsibility of always having to go back in and grind years of your life in studios making music… We wanna just be able to honor this greatest-hits show and create that.
"So I think these — we call 'em the 'sunset years' now — we wanna just go and enjoy all these things that we've earned for the last three decades and be able to have fun with it and not have that pressure of always having to deliver for the label and blah blah blah. So I think it's an exciting time, and people should be excited for us because they're gonna get more of us because the reward is really the live show.
"After all the tedious stuff you do in the studio — you guys don't care about that. I mean, it's cool — you get to see the behind-the-scenes once in a while for second, but, really, you're coming to the show to have a good time and have some drinks and listen to music and let loose. And now that's what we get to do for the rest of our lives, for as long as we wanna do it."
Godsmack will also hit the road with Staind and Nothing More starting next week. Get those dates below and get your tickets here.
Godsmack, Staind & Nothing More
7/18 St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
7/20 Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
7/21 Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
7/22 Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
7/25 Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater
7/26 Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
7/28 Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
7/29 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
7/30 Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
8/2 Scranton, PA – The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
8/3 Syracuse, NY – St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
8/5 Pittsburgh, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
8/6 Buffalo, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater
8/8 Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
8/9 Detroit, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
8/10 Chicago, IL – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
8/12 Indianapolis, IN – Ruoff Music Center
8/13 Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheater
8/24 Irvine, CA – FivePoint Amphitheatre
8/26 Las Vegas, NV – Bakkt Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino
8/27 San Diego, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
8/31 Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
