While not very uplifting, “Situation” honestly and inoffensively explores psychological turmoil. One line on the otherwise tormented “Moon Baby” declares, “I sit around wishing you well.” A final, hidden track is just a lyricless bongo solo.
Venting an awful lot of anger, lead singer Sully Erna growls his way through “Whatever” (“I don’t like you anyway . . . you’re pathetic . . . I don’t mind if you go blind”).He threatens women on “Get Up, Get Out!” (“I’m gonna slap you again and again and again”) and “Stress” (“Take back what you said and I’ll spare you pain”). The latter also includes the disturbingly cryptic line, “I’ve been sleeping with the dead.” “Now or Never” contains sexual imagery. On the brink of insanity, a man assaults a quivering victim (“Bad Religion”). Theologically, Godsmack rejects God and faith (“Time Bomb”) while embracing the occult (“Voodoo”). Even though this disc contains no parental advisory sticker, the f-word gets tossed around like a frisbee on Labor Day.
Musically, this band is cut from the same cloth as Metallica or Rob Zombie. Dark. Brooding. One reason may be that Erna claims to be a practicing warlock who worships the power of the earth. The emptiness of that spiritual counterfeit permeates his bitter, gloomy lyrics. Keep teens away from Godsmack‘s obscenity-strewn despair.
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