Godsmack: 1000hp

Artist: Godsmack
Title: 1000hp
Format Reviewed: MP3
Format Released: 1st September 2014
Reviewed By: Millie Manders

Godsmack formed in 1995 and have since accumulated twenty top ten rock radio hits, played arena tours and sold 20 million (yeah… MILLION) records in less than a decade.  Needless to say when the opportunity to review their latest album dropped into my email account I nearly fell off my chair. These guys have fans in the multiples of millions!

1000hp crashes through my headphones opening with the title track and first single from the album.

Godsmack are a traditionally hard rock band. Opening with a loud, revving engine could be seen as a little cheesy, but as veterans of their genre and with consideration to the track attached to it, cheese can be forgiven. It is, after all called 1000hp:  “Time to rewind, back to 1995 when we were nothing”.

This is about their journey. About playing to no-one and keeping it going 'til their road is leading them to arenas, packed out with fans. It's great to hear a song about hard work paying off. They realised their dreams through hard graft. Go do a little research and you'll see what I mean.

As you would expect from a band this well loved, their sixth studio album is high quality in every respect. Variation in lyrical content (there is nothing worse than when a band gets tired and lazy because they know they can sell shit to the masses), well thought out pacing so the listener is brought up and then crashing back down, and the musicianship is impeccable with instrumentation varied to accentuate perfectly where needed the conveyed emotive direction.

Something Different is definitely one of my favourite tracks on the album. I particularly love the drums: the fills are just beautiful. There are touches of strings in there too and while it's infinitely danceable, there is this underlying melancholy that breaks your soul a little bit as you listen.

I went on a little research frenzy for this review. I was a huge fan of Pantera in my college days and I was surprised when this name wasn't bandied about as a band that might be an associated listening suggestion. Instead I found Ugly Kid Joe (fair), Snot (totally get it), Black Sabbath (obviously) and Vanilla Ice. Wait… WHAT??

It's very much my own opinion here but I was a little bit disgusted: Godsmack kick any Vanilla Ice track out of the park! That's like comparing Miley Cyrus to Aretha Franklin… Speechless.

Irrelevant information out of the way I shall get back on track. Apologies. Had to be shared.

Locked and Loaded brings it right back to the old school hard rock sound.  Traditional, singing guitar solos, over-drive, distorted vocals and bad-ass bass. Grow your hair long, get your air guitar ready and head bang like a mentalist.

The whole album in nostalgic and fresh in equal measure.  It's good to see a band that can not only hold onto their roots but also produce newness worthy of their acclaim. Side note: the vocal harmonies on I Don’t Belong are glorious.

If trad hard rock is your thing go get this. If you like Godsmack, their new album is awesome. Go get it. If you don't know Godsmack and you like this, go check out their back catalogue. You won't regret it.