ROBBIE MERRILL Says GODSMACK Doesn't Waste A Lot Of Time In Studio

March 1, 2015

In a recent interview with NQ Music Press, GODSMACK bassist Robbie Merrill spoke about the songwriting process for the band's sixth album, "1000hp", which came out last year.

"We wrote for the album individually, but all got together after that to hash everything out," he explained. "It's a good little thing that we do. It's more about trying to compare and trying to get a bunch of stuff prepared, so we're not wasting a lot of time in the studio trying to find stuff. I mean, there's always one or two songs that get written right there in the studio too, but it's all about doing your homework, preparing, and getting in the room together and hashing out everything. It goes pretty smooth that way. You don't get so much writer's block, because you haven't prepared. If you are stuck on one thing, you can move on and go and work on another song pretty quickly."

Robbie also talked about the recording sessions for "1000hp", which were once again helmed by producer Dave Fortman (SLIPKNOT, EVANESCENCE) at the band's new 4,000-square-foot headquarters just 30 minutes from the heart of Boston, Massachusetts.

"We do a lot of pre-production," he explained, "but we also have sort of a system we have found. What we would do back in the day was we always did drum stuff first and then the bass and then the guitar and then Sully [Erna, vocalist] would be stuck in the studio by himself doing all his parts and singing, so now we do a song a day. So we will do drums for one song, then lay down the guitar and we'll lay down the scratch track and I'll play my bass stuff. That way everyone is in the room together and going through stuff and hashing it out and analyzing it right there giving ideas. There's a little bit of pressure doing it that way, but because you're recording, that pressure is there anyway. Because you have four guys that have their own opinions, it can get pretty crazy, but at the end of the day, it's not that bad, and because of pre-production, you are already familiar with the songs. I only need an hour in the studio, so if you give me that time, you will have a pretty cool bass track. It works, because after a week, you have five songs laid down that you can listen to, which is pretty cool."

"1000hp" sold approximately 58,000 copies in its first week of release to land at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 album chart. The disc, which arrived on August 5, 2014, followed up 2011's "The Oracle", which topped the chart with sales of 117,000 copies in its debut week.

Erna described the sound of the "1000hp" album to The Pulse Of Radio as "a little bit more raw, a little bit more open. The writing was a little freer. The production is really kind of raw and in your face, and the songs, man — I'm really, really excited about these songs. And I have to tell you honestly, I wasn't that excited about writing this record at first."

godsmack1000hpcdbigger

Find more on Godsmack
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).