Godsmack's best album
Godsmack have been one of my favorite rock/metal bands ever since I first got into them when I was 17 years old (I'll be 25 in September). Their self-titled debut which was released back in 1998 has been one of my favorite rock cds I've listened to, and I still do enjoy listening to it every now and then. Their follow up albums "Awake" from 2000 and "Faceless" from 2003 are both great albums as well (I haven't gotten "IV" yet) but this album is the best that Godsmack had to offer. Godsmack are also one of the very few nu metal bands that I still listen to every now and then, but I really don't consider them a nu metal band. On this album, you won't find no rapping, no DJ, no turntables, no guest vocals, just pure straight forward heart pumping hard rock/heavy metal that fully loaded with tons of anger and energy. This album is also great to listen to especially when you're having a bad day, or if you just feel like rocking out. Sully Erna's vocals are simply powerful, intense, and amazing. He can let out some great screams and growls, but he also has a great melodic singing voice as well. Tony Rambola's intense guitar riffs will definately get your blood and heart pumping like nuts, and he also solos a bit as well. Robbie Merrill pounds away with some great basslines that will get your pulse pounding, and Tommy Stewert's drumming is just solid and booming with pure rocking energy. Every song on here is great, the opening track "Moon Baby" is definately one of my all time favorite songs on here that starts out with some dialog from the program "Mysterious Forces Beyond", and then it kicks into gear with slow, heavy, crunching riffs, and some great singing vocals from Sully, and later as the song progresses, it gets faster with faster pumping riffs and loud stomping drum beats and cymbal crashes that will have you moshing and jamming away like crazy. "Whatever" is one of the best songs on here as well as another one of my favorites as well that is very addicting with more great aggressive riffs, more great vocals from Sully, and a great chorus to boot. The third track "Keep Away" is another one of Godsmack's best known songs and my favorite song on here as well. The chorus is very addicting and great to sing along to, as well as the riffs, and the solo by Tony is great too. Other favorites includes "Bad Religion", "Time Bomb", "Stress", Get Up, Get Out!", "Now or Never", and of course the classic closer "Voodoo" which is a more slower middle eastern flavored song that is highlighted by a groovy percussion beat, along with groovy basslines and guitars, and great singing from Sully. This song is another one of Godsmack's best known songs and another favorite as well. Please read on for the song list and ratings.
Jeremy's song ratings:
1. Moon Baby (4:23) - 5/5
2. Whatever (3:25) - 5/5
3. Keep Away (4:50) - 5/5 My favorite song on here
4. Time Bomb (3:59) - 5/5
5. Bad Religion (3:13) - 5/5
6. Immune (4:49) - 5/5
7. Someone in London (2:03) - 4/5
8. Get Up, Get Out! (3:29) - 5/5
9. Now or Never (5:06) - 5/5
10. Stress (5:03) - 5/5
11. Situation (5:47) - 5/5
12. Voodoo (9:03) - 5/5 Keep in mind this song actually ends at 4:39 and there's a hidden track around 6:40 and it ends at 9:03.

If you're looking for some awesome, straight foward, in your face, heart pumping hard rock/heavy metal that makes rap/rock look like yesterday's news, then Godsmack's self-titled album is definately worthy to your hard rock/heavy metal collection. I also recommend "Awake" and "Faceless" as well. True, this may not be the most brutal, or the most original piece of work, but it's still great stuff. Enjoy!!

The potential for a great debut muddled down by repetition of unoriginality...
I'll say first and foremost that I like Godsmack as a band. I think that they are talented and no one can deny the fact that frontman Sully Erna has probably the greatest `rock' voice since Metalica's very own James Hetfield. That said, Godsmack has a problem with originality, in that they seem to regurgitate the same song over and over again without ever really creating something new or exciting. This problem is evident even on their debut disc, but it becomes increasingly more evident on their preceding releases.

The band got off to a brilliant start with the rock anthem `Whatever', a track that is immortalized in the rock world. Despite whatever you may think of Godsmack as a whole I don't think you can justify not relishing in the heavy-metal goodness that is `Whatever'. The track is strong, confident and brash; just the way we like it. In fact, there are a handful of tracks that resemble `Whatever' in intensity without crossing the line of blatant mimicry. The opening `Moon Baby' is one of them; a track that stands out on its own merits and becomes an instant highlight. I often refer to `Moon Baby' as a true rock love song. It's not fluffy and sweet and charming; it's dark and mysterious and strangely romantic.

`Time Bomb' is a perfect example of the direction this band could have gone. The track sounds nothing like anything else on the album and proves that the band could be diverse if they really tried. Sully's voice is perfection here; that growl is magic, literally (the man is a warlock; we all know that now). I love the lyrics to this song; they just pierce right through me. Another track that does it for me in a big way is `Immune'. The song is simple enough but that hook just grabs me and holds on tight, and I just love the way the song breaks down in the end. `Bad Religion' is a decent track as well, but it seems a little too generic for me to really appreciate it as much as some do.

I absolutely adore `Someone in London'. The track is pure bliss for me. Sure, it's simple but it's eerie (the children's laughter sends chills down my spine) and dark and mysterious and I just fall in love with it every time. I think I prefer `Vampires' off their sophomore album to this one, but both are prime examples of how instrumental tracks can still carry ample amounts of creative weight. `Voodoo' is a fan favorite and rightfully so. The track has such an eerie tribal vibe that permeates and adds layers to the albums direction. Sully sounds possessed in parts and that just works beautifully, especially during the verses.

`Keep Away' is one of the most entrancing songs on the album, a track that will grab you immediately and wrap you up in its mood; but I can't praise this track because it starts what I like to refer to as the `chain of mediocrity'. It is the strongest link in the chain, that is for sure (and I do really enjoy this song) but it's what starts the chain so it must be condemned. It appears at this point that Sully couldn't think of enough original or inspired lyrics and so he rested back on chanting phrases like `Stay Away' or `Keep Away' or `Get Away' over and over hoping no one would notice. Just listen to the mess that is `Get Up, Get Out' where he regurgitates `Go Away; Get Up; Get Out' over and over. `Stress' follows the same generic formula, muttering `Get Away' yet again.

I know that `Whatever' plays a part in this as well (`Better ______ go away') but I can't harp on the brilliance that is `Whatever'.

The problems I have with `Now or Never' and `Situation' as well as `Bad Religion' to a degree is that they just sound the same. All three are very uninspired and monotonous tracks that leave no impact whatsoever on the listener. I wish that they had some spark but they don't. It's sad because you can tell when listening to tracks like `Moon Baby' and `Time Bomb' that Godsmack has the abilities to create something memorable and engrossing, but they fail to keep that pace throughout the album.

If they had maybe ditched half the album, keeping `Moon Baby', `Whatever', Time Bomb', `Immune', `Someone in London', `Voodoo' and even `Keep Away' and then working to create another two or three strong tracks they could have served up a five star debut; but I can't give them any more than three stars for resorting to mediocrity in order to fill a longer track listing.

A strong dubut.
Godsmack is a good band that really doesn't break any new rock and roll ground.
A good band to listen to if your partying and don't want anything too heavy and nasty.
Good songs, good band, good album.
Horrible album cover.
What does she have to do with anything?
That minor complaint aside.
A worthy addition to your collection.

You're all direlects.
Ridiculous reviews flooding poor amazons bandwidth. Godsmack started out as an AIC cover band, that stated, you can all stop acting like you're too cool for Godsmack because you're stuck dry-humping Nirvana and STP's leg. The album is catchy, well written, and sounds blue-collar. The album was produced with very little money but came out sounding as good as any high budget recording session. The songs are very pacing, melodic, heavy, and apathetic. It's a great CD and if you're mad at someone or feel alienated, the lyrics could be quite soothing to you. Don't put down other music just to seem like you are just too cool to lower yourself to listen to this. They have some similarities with AIC but not enough to matter because this album's one of my favorites of all rock bands and AIC sucks perineum.

Essential Grunge/Hard Rock
Definitely an essential piece to any grunge/hard rock enthusiast. This album is the start to the godsmack legacy (now four albums long) and is an excellent thumbnail print of all succeeding efforts. One aspect to appreciate about this album is that besides vocals, Sully Erna also composed and recorded all drum tracks before Tommy Stewart came on board. These thumping/groovy tracks together with Merril's bass provide a solid foundation for Tony Rombolla's captivating guitar rythms. Sully's vocals are quite a highlight ranging from low melody to aggressive grunge vocals (This album features his most aggresive vocals in my opinion).
Album Highlights: Moon Baby, Keep Away, Time Bomb, Bad Religion, Situation, Voodoo (amazing percussion)
Personal Favs: the above, Stress and Immune.