Sully Erna has confirmed that Godsmack will record new music, saying it will happen “at some point next year”. Speaking on The Mistress Carrie Podcast, hosted by Carrie Sarao, the frontman admitted he doesn’t yet know which direction it will take: “I’m very curious myself where it’ll go.”
Erna clarified that ‘Lighting Up the Sky’ (2023) was intended as the last body of work from the original members, not the end of the band. “I’m under contract, and I owe another record anyways,” he said. In another interview, reported by Metal Injection, he was more specific about timing: “I mean, it may not hit the streets till early ’27, but we’re going to do something for sure, but it just won’t be with all the original members anymore.”
Erna said that when drummer Shannon Larkin and guitarist Tony Rombola chose to stop touring in late 2024, he and bassist Robbie Merrill had a decision to make. “Well, still got some gas in the tank here. I don’t really want to hang it up yet,” he recalled thinking. The pair brought in two new musicians, and Erna says “this band sounds better than ever. We have, you know, two new guys that are breathing some new life into the energy in this band.” He added that if the new chapter ever stops feeling right, they will part on good terms: “Neil Peart himself told me nothing great lasts forever.”
The current Godsmack line-up is completed by guitarist Sam Koltun, recommended by Extreme‘s Nuno Bettencourt, and drummer Mike Mangini, formerly of Dream Theater. Before Mangini, Wade Murff debuted as Larkin’s replacement on 8 May at Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach, Florida, and played more than a dozen shows up to 30 May in Houston before leaving abruptly with no public explanation. Mangini made his debut on 12 June at the Morton Amphitheater in Riverside, Missouri, on ‘The Rise of Rock’ tour with Stone Temple Pilots and Dorothy. “I can’t even express how grateful I am to Sully, Robbie, Sam and the entire organization for trusting me with no rehearsal,” he wrote at the time.
Mangini spent 13 years in Dream Theater, from late 2010 until October 2023, when the band announced Mike Portnoy‘s return. He had previously played with Extreme and Steve Vai, taught full-time at Berklee and released his debut solo album, ‘Invisible Signs’, in 2023.
Back in April, on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation, Erna had already introduced Koltun as a full-time member: “Sam’s on board now full-time, and he’s gonna be the new player from this point forward,” adding that it would “start the next chapter in our life here, GODSMACK 2.0”. This year the band also announced the live album ‘Live at Mohegan Sun’ for 1 May, and ‘The Rise of Rock’ ran to more than 30 dates between May and September, including festival slots at Sonic Temple and Welcome to Rockville.
Godsmack formed in 1995 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. ‘Faceless’ (2003), ‘IV’ (2006) and ‘The Oracle’ (2010) debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 in succession, and the band’s 1998 self-titled debut was certified five-times platinum in the US in 2024. The group have earned four Grammy nominations, two of them for ‘I Stand Alone’, and have scored 25 top 10 US rock radio hits, 12 of which reached number one.