Godsmack's Sully Erna wants rock musicians to demonstrate what they can play without backing tracks. Speaking to Get On The Bus, in comments transcribed by Blabbermouth, he challenged bands to switch off their playback. His examples included stacked guitar parts, backing vocals and prerecorded drums.
“Don't go up there and pretend you're a rock musician,” he said. He distinguished industrial music's electronics from the heavy playback he was criticizing, and declined to name the acts he meant.
That position also shapes his approach to recording. In September, Erna told Rock 100.5 The KATT FM that Godsmack wouldn't adopt backing tracks. He argued that arrangements requiring prerecorded layers onstage should be reconsidered during recording, or left out of the set. He understood the desire for a fuller sound but disagreed with that solution.
Former Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin has explained what that approach asks of the players. In a June 19 livestream, also transcribed by Blabbermouth, he said the band performed without backing tracks or a click track. He described the shared sense of timing he and Erna developed over more than two decades, with room for the tempo to move. Larkin argued that a fixed tempo every night removes some of the uncertainty that makes live rock exciting.
Erna offered a concrete example in September's conversation. The drum feature he built with Larkin combines recurring sections with space for improvisation. Playing those sections with Mike Mangini could produce an inspired fill one night and a stumble the next. Erna said the gaps were intentional, giving the musicians a chance to create in the moment.
