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Godsmack’s journey isn’t ending – it’s entering a bold new chapter. After decades of roaring success in the U.S., they’re not slowing down; they’re aiming even higher. Sully Erna and his band are turning their focus back to Europe, ready to reconnect with old fans, win over new ones, and conquer bigger stages than ever before. It’s not just a return – it’s a resurgence. A promise to everyone that, no matter how uncertain the future may seem, they will be back – louder, stronger, and more determined than ever.
In this raw, deeply personal interview, frontman Sully Erna opens up about his rough and violent childhood, the power of music that saved him, his non-profit foundation, and the unshakable drive that built one of rock’s most enduring bands. It’s a story of resilience, grit, and the relentless pursuit of something greater. Despite the departure of long-standing members Shannon Larkin and Tony Rombola, Godsmack is not just here to stay but to prove that when ashes fall, the legends rise.
Text: Kiss Daniella – Photo: Francesca Ludikar, Paris Visone
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What kind of struggles did you face growing up? Was there ever a time you felt music was your only escape?
„I grew up in Lawrence, Massachusetts, and had a really challenging childhood. My father was an immigrant from Sicily—strict, aggressive, and abusive—because that was the only way he knew how to teach. For a long time, we didn’t have a good relationship, so I barely knew his side of the family.When I turned 30, I saw my own behavior heading in the wrong direction and decided to rebuild that relationship. That’s when I discovered my musical bloodline ran deep. My dad was a trumpet player, but I eventually learned that I got my talent from my great-uncle—Emanuele Carta—a famous composer in Sicily with an 80-piece orchestra. That blew my mind. Suddenly it all made sense.
When I was little, my dad’s band used to rehearse in our basement. I watched them all the time, and I loved the drummer—I thought it was amazing. I’d fall asleep in guitar cases, then jump on the drums after they finished. I was obsessed. I begged my mom for drum lessons, but every store turned her away—they said I was too young. Finally, one teacher gave me a shot. After the second lesson, he told her, ‘He has a natural ability. Don’t stop him.’ I was only three and a half years old when I started playing and I never quit. By 11 or 12, my instructor said I had an incredible ear, but I wasn’t great with sheet music, so he told me to buy my favorite records and just play. That’s when I really got into rock—Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Sabbath, Rush, especially John Bonham. I studied Zeppelin’s music, playing the songs over and over. Around that same time, I smoked pot for the first time and started listening to Aerosmith. They ended up becoming my favorite band of all time.
That was really my introduction to rock music. But I think the kind of music I connected with had a lot to do with where I grew up too. Lawrence was rough—poor, full of gangs, violence, crime, drugs. Time magazine once called it the most violent city in America. So it’s no wonder I was drawn to aggressive music. I think there was just a lot of frustration that I needed to get out, and hard rock and metal did that for me. By 15 or 16, I was getting into bands like Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Priest, Maiden. But when I saw Joe Perry in leather pants with that blonde streak and hair in his face, I thought, ‘That’s what I wanna do, I wanna be a rockstar.’ I’d been a musician since I was 3, but that moment made me quit everything—school, friends—just to practice music. And thank God for that.
Music saved my life—so many times. While my friends were out doing fucked-up shit, I was home, lost in my drums. Some of those kids ended up dead, or beaten so bad they were crippled. It was chaos on the streets, and my home life was no better. We had no money. If you had problems, you dealt with them—usually by getting into trouble. But music gave me an outlet, a release, a way out. It was more than songs—it was therapy, a lifestyle. There were so many times I could have ended up dead or in jail for doing really bad shit, but instead, I just wanted to play music. I think I even pulled some of my friends with me—guys with no talent or direction, just getting into drugs and quitting school. I brought music into their lives, and some of them are still with me today, working on our crew.”
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How did you get your first break in music, and what was the moment you realized Godsmack could actually make it big?
„I went through band after band trying to make it. In ’93, I joined Strip Mind as a drummer—they had a Warner Brothers deal. I thought I’d made it, but me and the singer didn’t get along, and eventually he fired me. I was 25, and after dedicating my whole life to music, it was just taken away. I was broke, sleeping on my sister’s couch, while my friends had jobs, apartments, and cars. I felt like a loser, so I decided to quit music. I cut off all my hair and got a job at a collection agency. Then I fell in love with a girl who never knew me as a musician. I had all this talent, and I wanted to show her there was another side of me.
After a year, I really started to miss music. Then my sister introduced me to Robbie, who knew me as a good drummer. I told him I was putting together a new band, but this time I’d sing and play guitar. Robbie knew a guitarist named Lee Richards, so the first version of Godsmack was me, Robbie, and Lee. We’d write together, and I’d take the songs home and write lyrics. I had no idea what I was doing—I was really bad—but I just kept going. When we finally had enough songs, we went into the studio. I did the drums, they laid down the music, and then I stepped into the vocal booth for the first time ever. As soon as I started singing Robbie literally walked out and said, ‘You can’t sing, you’re fucking terrible.’ And I was. (laughs) I knew I had a big voice—I could scream—but had to learn how to control it, find the right key, and stay in pitch. Over time, I got better. Still, Robbie was ready to quit music, he was sick of it. So I said, ‘Give me three years. If we don’t get a record deal by the time I turn 30, I’ll quit music forever with you.’ He agreed, and we shook on it.
From that point on, we worked nonstop—writing new songs, fine-tuning our sound. We noticed people gravitated toward the heavier stuff, so we leaned into that. Gradually, became the band in Boston that people wanted to see. In the early days, we were still playing to almost nobody—just our friends, really—but we kept grinding. We made our own CDs, sold them out of the trunk of our car, and even printed T-shirts ourselves. I remember walking into a store called Newbury Comics and asking the woman there if she’d sell our CD. She said, ‘Yeah, give me five.’ I was like, ‘Can you take a hundred?’ She laughed and said, ‘No, bring me five, and if they sell, bring more.’ Around that time a radio station picked up one of our songs, and everything changed. As more people heard us, our shows got bigger, and CD sales exploded—five a month turned into a thousand a week. We were outselling Metallica at that store. It was wild.
Then Republic Records, which was part of Universal, called Newbury Comics to ask about their top seller band. When they heard it was Godsmack, Avery Lipman called the number on our demo. I thought it was a prank and hung up. (laughs) He called back and said he was with Republic Records and wanted to meet. That’s when I brought in Paul Geary—my friend and former drummer of Extreme — to manage us as I didn’t know anything about contracts.
Here’s the craziest part: Avery and his brother Monte Lipman were both up for a promotion—Avery was the GM of Republic, and Monte was the GM of Universal. Their bosses wanted to see how the next band they signed would do before making their decision. That band was Godsmack. We blew up, and they both got promoted—Avery became president of Republic, and Monty became president of Universal. Because of that, we’ve always had this family loyalty with them. And the absolute wildest part? That demo we made before our record deal for $2,600 over a weekend—we never rerecorded it, just remixed it, and it’s now sold over five million copies.”
When did the real turning point come that led to Godsmack’s major success after you got signed?
„Once we got signed and hit the road across America, it felt like starting over again. Outside of Boston—places like New York, Chicago, California—no one knew who we were. Nobody was coming to see us. But the real turning point came in 1999, about a year after our record deal, when our first single Whatever started doing well. It hit number one on the radio, and that’s when Sharon Osbourne called and said, ‘We want you guys on Ozzfest.’ We were on at 3:00 in the afternoon, but there were still thousands of people, and that gave us a huge push. After Ozzfest ’99, Sabbath kept touring through Europe and the U.S., and they brought us with them. We toured with them for a whole year, playing packed arenas every night. By the time we played at Ozzfest again in 2000, we were on much later in the day. That year, the last three bands were Godsmack, Pantera, and Ozzy. That was a killer lineup and really fun nights.
Around then, we released our second album, Awake and started our own tour. We were headlining arenas by 2001 — it happened that fast — but then 9/11 happened, and that stopped everything. Afterward, we worked on our third record, and I wrote I Stand AloneforThe Scorpion King. That track took off, and that’s when Metallica approached us and asked if we’d open for them on the St. Anger world tour. We started in Norway, went through Europe, then the U.S. and Canada, touring with them all of 2003 and into 2004. That was probably my favorite tour of all time. They were great guys, really good to us, and those were just awesome times. That whole stretch—from Ozzfest to touring with Metallica—was really the launch of Godsmack.”
The industry went through a huge change in the early 2000s. How did it impact the band, and how did you manage to get through it?
„Right after the Metallica tour in 2003–2004, the whole industry changed overnight. The internet was blowing up—Napster, MySpace, Facebook—and record labels were freaking out because they didn’t know how to sell records anymore. Everything was shifting to streaming, and nobody had a clue how to market albums in this new world. We had just dropped our third record, and I Stand Alone was huge. It went to number one and just stayed there—17 weeks straight. Korn, Limp Bizkit, Metallica, even Linkin Park, they’d all hit number two and then drop off, but we held the top spot for four months.
So we were crushing it on radio, but the weird thing was, even though we were playing arenas, we couldn’t sell them out. We didn’t get it. We kept wondering what we were doing wrong, but really, the industry was just broken at the time. Nobody was selling out shows. It was confusing and frustrating, but we hung in there. It was like living through a musical war — a depressing, exhausting war — but we kept pushing forward. We kept writing, putting out albums, staying on the road, and eventually, things started turning around. That’s when I learned that if you stick it out long enough and keep doing what you do, music comes back around —and when it does, you’re still standing.
Now we’re in a place where things are really strong again. Right now, we’re in an amazing place. The band’s still growing; 27 years in, and we’re bigger than ever. We’ve got 27 Top 10 singles, 13 #1 songs, and over 20 million albums sold worldwide. The momentum hasn’t stopped. We’re still selling out shows, even on this European tour, still meeting new fans and playing new places. It’s wild that after nearly three decades, instead of slowing down, we’re still climbing.”
Considering Godsmack’s ongoing growth and success, what made you and the band decide to make Lighting Up the Sky the last full-length album?
„While writing Lighting Up the Sky, we had this moment in the studio where we realized just how far we’ve come. We were halfway through the album, and we were like, ‘How many more hits can we even fit into a setlist?’ If we played 15 songs a night, we could do two shows in one city without repeating a single hit—let alone the deep cuts fans love. That’s when we started telling ourselves, ‘Maybe this is the last record. Maybe there won’t be any more full albums.’
I never said I wouldn’t write another Godsmack song. I might do singles, a collab, definitely more solo stuff. But I think this is the last full-length album from the original Godsmack lineup. What happens from here? I don’t know. Will there be new members? I have no idea. But right now, it feels right to end it here.”
You’ve done a lot of work with the Scars Foundation to help people struggling with mental health and addiction. What personal experiences made you feel called to focus on these issues and create this foundation?
„The Scars Foundation is something I started around 2018, after losing a lot of close friends to suicide and addiction over the years. One of the last was my friend John—an amazing artist, who designed our album covers, shirts, and backdrops. He was always happy, the life of the party. No one had any idea he was struggling until we got the call that he had hung himself. That’s when we found out he had severe depression and had been quietly rationing his medication. He never told anyone—not even his wife—because he was too proud to ask for help. When the medicine ran out, something spiraled out of control, and one day, it was too late. That broke me. I was tired of hearing these stories—people silently battling things and no one knowing. That’s when I had the idea. We all have imperfections—things that make us feel uncomfortable or ashamed. But instead of showing them, we hide them. That’s why depression is the silent killer, because people smile on the outside, never speak up, and then one day, they’re gone.
I always wanted to give back somehow, but I wasn’t personally affected by other honorable causes like cancer or AIDS. When we lost John and Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell—it hit me. These were artists we knew, admired, and I thought, ‘We need to give people a voice.’ That’s when I realized that The Scars Foundation needed to be about empowering others and sharing stories, so people know they’re not alone. Because the truth is we’re all messed up in some way. We want people to know that their imperfections are what make them perfect. That’s our motto: ‘We’re all imperfectly perfect.’ I truly believe that the things you see as flaws are actually what make you exactly who you’re meant to be. Whether you’ve got visible scars—like a soldier who lost a limb—or invisible ones from trauma or abuse, we all carry them. My whole message is instead of hiding them, wear them proudly. These battle wounds from life made you who you are. And when you share your story, others are inspired to do the same. That’s what The Scars Foundation stands for.
The foundation is doing amazing work. We’ve helped people get into rehab, we’ve saved lives, and now we’ve even launched a Youth Ambassador Program; young kids who’ve lost parents to suicide or addiction are stepping up and speaking to thousands of people about their pain and how they’re overcoming it. It’s powerful. It’s amazing. And it’s exactly where I’m supposed to be putting my time and effort.”
How did the struggles you went through growing up help shape the mission of The Scars Foundation?
„Growing up, I didn’t know these things created trauma. But looking back at everything I went through with my family, watching my father smash my mother’s face off the stove, the violence, gangs, drugs, and chaos, I realized this is exactly what I need to be doing. This is where all my expertise lies. I may not be a doctor or have a degree in psychology, but I’ve lived through what so many people are still trying to survive. I know how they feel in those environments; they’re scared, and they need to know it’s okay to talk about it, to fight through it, and become better. And when they do? It’s incredible. Because they go on to help others—young, angry kids on the verge of making bad choices—before it’s too late.
Everything I went through had a huge impact on me. We were poor, we needed government help just to eat. My mom had to raise me and my sister on her own, working three jobs. I used to hate my life and didn’t understand why we had to suffer while others seemed to be doing well. But all of that helped shape me into the person I am today. I care deeply about people. I have pride, integrity, and values—and maybe I wouldn’t have had those if I’d grown up with money and comfort. Maybe I had to go through the hard stuff to learn the lessons I needed, because back then, I didn’t care about anyone. I just wanted to survive and not get hurt. I had to be the tough guy, and that wasn’t a way to live. That’s why I care so much about this work because I’ve lived it, so I feel I can help others going through what I did.”
As one chapter closes, what do you see on the horizon for you personally and for Godsmack?
„After this European tour, we’re taking a full year off. I’ll probably start something new during that time—I just don’t know what yet. I usually work on Godsmack for a certain amount of time, and then when we take a break, I shift to solo stuff. I think I might do that again. This year is a bit of a mystery, but I’ve started getting some offers to focus on TV and film. I’m getting more and more involved in it, so I think I’m going to pursue that a little bit and see where it goes. I might end up writing music for movies or even acting again. I’ve done that before and I really enjoyed it, so I’d like to do more. I’m definitely exploring other things besides Godsmack to keep me occupied while we figure out what’s next for the band. Right now, I honestly don’t know.
What I do know is there’s been a resurgence of Godsmack. When we come out now, we’re playing to bigger and bigger audiences. We did Sofia, Bulgaria—sold out in two days, over 13,000 people. Romania was big and so was Poland. There’s this new interest in the band again, and we’re seeing a younger generation growing up listening to us. A lot of young kids are coming to our shows now, along with their parents. It’s wild. We’ve survived so much over the years, gone through tough times, and we’re still here. We’re still relevant and writing good music. People keep coming to the shows, the band hasn’t stopped growing, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s nice to just get back to playing again without any obligations. We’re not promoting a new record or anything right now. We’re just promoting the brand, the legacy. We’re doing these greatest hits shows and playing music simply because we love it. We’re back in control again—not the record labels, not the management company. Godsmack is back in control, and that, to me, is the greatest gift.”
