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Shannon Lakin (from left), Sully Erna, Robbie Merrill and Tony Rombola make up Godsmack. The play the DECC Arena at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
Godsmack knows no holidays, except for maybe Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
While millions of Americans relaxed during Memorial Day weekend, the four Massachusetts musicians found themselves smack in the middle of eight consecutive concerts that began May 20 in Utica, N.Y., and ended Tuesday in Toronto.
On Wednesday, Godsmack rested on a daylong drive from Toronto to Erie, Pa., before kicking off another stretch across the Midwest.
The alt-rock band hits the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center at 7:30 p.m. Monday before taking a three-day break, the band's first significant pause since launching its third full-length album, "Faceless," on April 8.
"When you're on tour, you don't even think of doing holidays," said Robbie Merrill, the band's bassist. "Our first two CDs, we toured a lot. Our first CD, we toured for almost two years."
The band's self-titled debut, released in 1997, took two years to hit gold status and sold more than 500,000 copies. "Awake," the band's 2000 compact disc that was initially panned by critics, sold more than 2 million copies and hit double platinum status in about two years.
"Faceless," which Merrill called the band's best effort to date, debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200 Album chart in April. It hit platinum five weeks later.
To date, Godsmack's three albums have sold more than 6 million copies.
LIVE SHOWS ARE GOAL
Godsmack is so confident in its current repertoire that it turned down offers to tour with Metallica, icons in the heavy metal and alt-rock world. It also turned down the annual Ozzfest, which helped launch the band in 1999.
Rather than sit back and enjoy its star status among alt-rock bands, Godsmack's members believed it was important to take a live show to as many markets as it could this summer.
"We're doing things like no one is doing right now," Merrill said. "We really wanted to back up our record with our own show ... We want to hit all the smaller markets, hit Europe and then come back in the fall and hit the bigger markets."
The live show is the end-goal for the band's music-making, Merrill said. Each step -- from band frontman Sully Erna bringing in new lyrics to studio work to recording a new album -- is really just the band's preparation for a concert, Merrill said.
Godsmack brought in designers to concoct an explosive light show centered on a video screen. At key points in the concert, two percussionists will share the stage with a gaggle of dancers. A shower of pyrotechnics will top off the band's thunderous music.
EMOTIONS AND MELODY
Godsmack formed in the early 1990s with Erna as songwriter, guitarist and vocalist, and Merrill on bass, Tony Rombola on guitar and Tommy Stewart on drums. Shannon Larkin is now the band's drummer.
Erna writes the lyrics and melodies that serve as the backbone for the band's industrial, alt-metal music. Each instrumentalist adds his own riffs and highlights until Erna thinks the song is complete.
"Faceless" shows more of Godsmack's emotional and melodic range than the first two albums, in part because the band hired David Bottrill to co-produce the album with Erna. Bottrill is known for his work with Mudvane and Tool.
It's an aggressive album with tunes such as "Straight Out of Line," the album's first song to hit the airwaves, and "I (Expletive) Hate You," which Erna wrote about a couple of contractors who cost too much and took too long to renovate his home.
"Faceless" is a more mellow album with some acoustic elements to move listeners into moods, Merrill said. One such song is "Serenity," which has just been released to radio stations.
The band's goal is to hit different demographics with its music, not just the headbangers, Merrill said.
Godsmack's single "I Stand Alone" was featured in the hit movie "Scorpion King" and introduced the band to people who might not normally listen to alt-metal.
"We like general admission, no seats or anything on the floor," said Merrill about the band's concerts. "I think people are realizing we're not a one-song band ... Once they show up, they start to have some fun and we take it from there."