GODSMACK Team Up With COUNT'S KUSTOMS For 'Speak' Video

GODSMACK have teamed up with Las Vegas-based Count's Kustoms for the music video for their new single, "Speak" (audio: Windows Media, Real Media). For the clip's visual landscape, the band and their production crew chose Count's Kustoms to "drive" their scorching new single as cameras rolled on March 7. It was the band’s production crew who found Count's Kustoms through a random search on the Internet. Sully Erna and the other members of GODSMACK were immediately attracted to the Count's Kustoms vibe, as the video will feature the Count's signature custom choppers and screaming hot rods from the shop's ghoulish flair.

"We are extremely honored to be a key visual part of this shoot," says The Count, owner and designer of Count's Kustoms. While much can be written about the ingenuity behind the chopper construction, their appearance will speak for itself when the video airs next month. The song's raw energy coupled with the machines should make an unforgettable experience.

Count's Kustoms has gained an excellent reputation in the custom bike world for their innovative fabrication techniques and retro-influenced style. Long front-ends and horror-inspired paint work grace the wheels and gas tank of almost every design that leaves the shop. "Having our bikes in GODSMACK's new music video was beyond our expectations. As a builder, I am very proud they'll be seen by a large audience," says lead fabricator Shannon Aikau, who also built a custom microphone stand for Sully in the music video. The 23,000 sq. ft. Vegas shop is filled with wicked bikes and tricked out cars. The décor itself is something not to be missed with gargoyles, purple velvet walls, leopard print seating areas, a clothing store and a billiard lounge area above the showroom called the "Vampire Loft."

The Count, known in the Las Vegas community as the infamous TV horror host the Vampire Count Cool Rider, has been building bikes "forever." The bikes have been featured in numerous magazines such as Street Chopper, Easy Riders and The Robb Report. The designs have attracted high-profile clients such as Matt Hughes, Michael Goddard and Ozzy Osbourne. The shop is no stranger to the music world. Most recently, Count's built choppers for MÖTLEY CRÜE, who are currently using the bikes as part of their stage show for the hugely successful "Carnival of Sins" tour.

"Speak" is the first single from GODSMACK's new album, "IV", due on April 25 via Republic/Universal.

In a recent interview with MTV.com, GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna had the following to say about the follow-up to 2003's "Faceless": "It's a killer record, and I'm really curious to see what the public's going to think of it. It's still GODSMACK — I don't think it's lost the integrity of what GODSMACK has built our career off. The toughness of the sound is still there. But we've expanded a little bit more. After 'Faceless', we started to spread our wings a bit and reintroduce guitar solos and stuff like that. The acoustic record [2004's 'The Other Side'] was a departure and it was very well received. It opened up a new audience for us — a lot more adults were coming to the shows, bringing their kids and having a glass of wine. That gave us a permission slip to take it to the next level.

"It will perk people's eyebrows up again," he added. "The first couple of records were kind of the same record, in a sense. They were sort of bordering that metal sound and then the third record had more rock mixed into it. ['The Other Side'] really softened up the sound. This one is more rock and roll, and some songs are very epic, in a TOOL [-ish] sense. Some songs are like old-school GODSMACK, like 'Bad Religion'. It's going to service the core fans and introduce some new music to those fans. It's also going to recruit a bigger and broader audience, because the songwriting has matured so much." Other songtitles expected to appear on the CD include "Livin' in Sin", "Shine Down" (which comes complete with "killer harmonica") and "Voodoo Too".