My Thoughts
In the last year or so, thanks to Sirius Satellite Radio, I have become aquainted with several new bands. Disturbed and Godsmack are the two that I have really taken a shine to. I purchased Godsmack's other three albums over the last year, and each one tickled me in different ways. The first, self-titled disc was hard, angry, and very entertaining. They combined Alice In Chains metal with a little voodoo and superstitious touches. Their second album, Awake, was a slight detour from the first, with a slightly harder edge, and less spooky stuff. The anger was the same, but the feel was a little different. The third studio disc, Faceless, was the most commercial, but the anger was still there. It wasn't quite as hard, it was catchier than the first two.
Now, the fourth studio disc, IV, came out this year. It is actually quite a departure from the sound of the first three discs. After doing an acoustic album a couple of years ago, IV has a softer, less angry edge to it. Maybe its because they're successful, maybe its an extension of the more commercial sound of Faceless, I don't know. The feel of the album is so different than the first three, and I was a little dissapointed. Its catchy, but a little too catchy, maybe. Its not a total loss, but its not nearly as good as their other albums. Like Rob Zombie, its getting a 3.
