Godsmack - The Other Side (2004) [SACD]

Godsmack are very successful rockers and their audience is extremely devoted, so this album may come as surprise to the faithful. The seven-track unplugged EP titled The Other Side was a wake up call for me to their awesome talents. To make it a musical experience that will be ringing in my ears for the next few weeks-I got the SACD version, which is fantastic!

My first thought was how clear and concise this recording is, which is not always a given, but for the most part it is in this format. The vocals of Sully Erna reminded me of Metallica so much, and then I heard a Led Zeppelin like riff here and there, which made it easier for me to find a common ground based on my own past listening experiences. Believe me, my ears perked up more than once while listening to this music…the more I listened, the more I enjoyed it. These guys rock even when they do their songs acoustically.

This band obviously is top-notch right out of the gate and they are all fine musicians with the knack of making their music very catchy and hard to resist. Taking hard rocking tracks and making them into melodic rhythmic voyages is not always the easiest thing in the world to do with conviction, this band pulls it off in spades. The rhythm and melody is superb on every track while maintaining the alternative rock edge and attitude that people would expect straight on through with a Godsmack album. This may not please the hard core head bangers but anyone that can appreciate great musicianship and totally loves this band no matter what they record, will simply love this.