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Godsmack's secret is simple: Stay hungry and never be satisfied. Driven by that belief, the Boston hard-rock act has become a multiple-platinum juggernaut, selling 6 million copies of its first two albums and achieving the nation's No. 1 rock radio single last year with I Stand Alone.
And though this nuts-and-bolts success has been impressive, the members of Godsmack don't feel they have earned the respect they want. Their new album is called Faceless, a commentary on how they sometimes feel in the eyes of the media.
''We're still not a big part of the MTV culture or on the cover of Rolling Stone,'' says vocalist Sully Erna. ``So I think the band felt a bit faceless up to a point, but I think this record is going to change that. I think people are going to start recognizing that we are a long-term band, not a band that is just going to do a record, then be gone.''
Get ready for a media blitz. Godsmack recently appeared on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, and on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The group plays the Salute the Troops USO Show Friday sponsored by WZTA-FM (94.9). All of which marks a milestone for the band.
''It was unlike Godsmack to do TV in the past, but the band really wants to step up to a new level,'' says the group's manager, Paul Geary.
The new album is another storm of metallic energy, fortified by Erna's larynx-shredding vocals, Tony Rombolla's monster guitar riffs, and new drummer Shannon Larkin's rhythmic assaults.
It's also the band's most personal album, with several songs alluding to the alcohol problems that nearly derailed the group two years ago when professional counselors had to be called in.
''We got to the point where if we didn't bring someone in, we would have split up,'' Erna says. ``And alcohol was an issue. Trying to settle an argument or fighting with a hangover doesn't ever help. That only equals pain.''
That pain is underscored in Make Me Believe and I Am, told from the perspective of the alcohol itself: ``You can rely on me / Just consider me your friend.''
But by the end of the song, Erna wails, ``This isn't the life for me . . . I'm taking control again.''
Although plenty of anger found its way onto the album, there are more positive messages this time, befitting the band's growth and reflecting Erna's status as the father of a 15-month-old daughter with his girlfriend, Jen.
'I'm not going to lie and put on a rock-star act and say, `Oh, everything still sucks and I'm in a dark place.' I'm not. I've got a beautiful baby and my career is going really well,'' says Erna, who also just bought a new home in southern New Hampshire.
In fact, most of the anger on the album is aimed at unnamed contractors who worked on Erna's new home. (He has filed two suits against them -- he won the first -- because he claimed he was overcharged, then had to have repairs done.)
The hard-hitting record was made after Godsmack spent the winter in Miami, writing new songs and working with producer David Bottrill, who did I Stand Alone and worked with Tool.
''The band just got together and played every single day. And we weren't influenced by any other new music out there,'' Erna says. ``We just focused and isolated ourselves. And I think as a result of that, not only is the band tighter as individuals, our brotherhood is extremely strong right now.''
IF YOU GO
Godsmack plays the Zeta Salute the Troops USO Show Friday at Bicentennial Park, 1075 Biscayne Blvd., Miami. Also playing are: Saliva, 3 Doors Down, Endo, Powerman 5000, Stone Sour, Sether, Pacifier, Theory of a Dead Man and others. Showtime: 2 p.m. $24.94 at Ticketmaster (305-358-5885; 954-523-3309; 561-966-3309).