Godsmack - Awake

Godsmack play their ghoulish hard rock with such a straight face, they make Metallica look like the Insane Clown Posse. For proof, look no further than heavily pierced frontman Sully Erna, who is not only a practicing Wiccan but the author of melodramatic declarations such as "Can't you see what this pain has fucking done to me." It's too bad the follow-up to the Boston band's triple-platinum self-titled debut rarely delivers with the desired intensity. Instead, the disc offers anodyne takes on the same old themes of aggression ("Sick of Life"), alienation ("Bad Magick"), and hocus-pocus ("Vampires"), with the all-too-familiar buzzsaw of nu-metal guitars and elastic bass grooves tearing throughout. --Aidin Vaziri Amazon.com

Godsmack Awaken

As far as second albums go, rarely do they ever come as strong as Godsmack's "Awake." Dodging the somewhat formulaic approach of the first album, the guys truly stepped into their own on this album, evolving into a more respectable, more diverse hard-rock band and shedding the Metallica and Alice In Chains comparisons. True, Godsmack never were the most original band, but "Awake" is definitely a testament to the fact that Godsmack really, really know how to rock.

Sounds Like: Godsmack coming into their own.

The Good:
- Frontman Sully Erna does his best to shed the "go away" theme of the debut.
- The production and the sound mix are much stronger than on the debut.
- The riffs are fresher than ever.

The Bad:
- Erna still steps into cheeseball lyrical situations, "Greed" being a prime example.
- The album loses a bit of momentum after the first half.

Hits: "Vampires" is still one of my favorite Godsmack songs, and it doesn't even feature any vocals! "Bad Magick," "Awake," "Goin' Down," "Mistakes" and "Sick Of Life" are excellent as well.

Misses: I find "Greed" to be a little to cornball to take seriously (and the music video was worse!)

Personally: I wasn't a huge Godsmack fan in the beginning, but "Awake" gets my respect. It's a shame it didn't get the airplay it's predecessor did, as it's simply a better album. For these guys, though, it's always hit or miss. They'll never please everyone, but those seeking some good solid heavy rock should try out "Awake."

Best Listened To When: You need a quick hard-rock fix. October 24, 2006

great band

awesome rock band, the guitar and bass player sounds amazing on this album
buy it now with your eyes closes.. July 20, 2005

Awesome CD, Great Guitar.

This album blows me away. The first CD is better, but that doesn't make this one [is bad]. I just got the 3rd album, Faceless.
It's really good, about the same as this one. The best songs are Awake, Greed, and Vampires. They all have the best guitars. Tony Rombola, the guitarist, is awesome. He plays that guitar better than Metallica's Kirk Hammet. Sully Erna, front man, is a powerful vocalist with an incredible voice for metal. This band is a mix of Metallica and Alice in Chains. Listen to it. July 11, 2003

Great but not Awsome

This is deffinatley a good album. But it's not what I expected for a second album. I was blown away by the first and maybe my expectations were too high for this one. I love a couple tracks. Sick of life, Greed and Vampire have the metal grind and chop I have come to expect from them. I find myself barley listening to rest of the CD usally fast forwarding and eventually popping GODSMACK in after those three songs. I would buy it because there is deffinatly more than one good song. Here's hoping they have more good songs and fewer bland ones on the next. December 8, 2001

I was Awake!!!!!

This is the best CD I've ever had! Either smack me or this CD. If you don't like it, smack yourself upside the head!! Anyways, get this CD!! Sully is great with these songs. Much better than the 1st album! Get this CD today,you'll love it!! Favorite song: Vampires December 2, 2001

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