Search - Godsmack :: The Oracle

Godsmack's return to form

Greg | Houston, TX | 05/06/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's been 4 years since Godsmack's last album, IV, which I think put off a few people. I thought it was still a very solid album, it was just a bit more alternative than what we were used to hearing from the group. Well here on "The Oracle," the boys from Boston are here to SMACK you upside the head with the crunchy guitar riffs and angsty lyrics that we love about them. The album opens with Cryin' Like A B*tch, their latest single which has already gained a lot of momentum on radio. This is a decent tune, but I wasn't particularly impressed by it, perhaps I'm still put off by the title (it sounds like something Limp Bizkit would come up with). The next single is Love-Hate-Sex-Pain, which again I wasn't totally impressed by. It's alright but it seems kind of generic, like something from the last album. However, everything else on the album is a real joy! The first thing I noticed on my first couple listens of this album is how much it reminded me of their self-titled album from 1998. Songs like Saints & Sinners, Devil's Swing, and Shadow Of A Soul have a style that takes me back to a time when the group was brand new. While this album is much heavier than their last, I still think Awake remains their heaviest album. This one has kind of a classic metal sound to it, with lots of fancy drumming and guitar solos. I think the group is really distancing themselves from the nu-metal genre that some people lumped them into years ago. War & Peace and What If are some of my favorite tunes on here, but the title track has got to be one of the major highlights. It's an instrumental (with a few audio clips) where the band fades in and out of more melodic parts, and just plain goes nuts in others. I guess my only real complaint with this album is that 10 tracks seems kind of weak, but I think the record labels are doing this with a lot of bands because they feel like most people are only downloading the hits anyway, so why bother making an extensive album. It's almost as though the labels are purposely trying to phase out CDs so that everyone will just download the albums from iTunes, thereby saving them all kinds of production costs. I got suckered into buying the deluxe version of this album. It wasn't for the bonus DVD, I wanted the 2 extra songs (Whiskey Hangover and I Blame You), which didn't even come on the CD! They come as audio tracks that can be played on a DVD player, which is lame because I can't really listen to that when I'm on the road. If you want them bad enough, you can download them from iTunes. The DVD isn't very interesting, it's about 15 minutes of random clips from the album playing while we see the band in the recording studio. You'd probably be just as happy with the standard version of the album. So if you're any kind of Godsmack fan, this album certainly has as much reason to be in your collection as anything else they've done!"

Abou Friggin Time!!!

Kevin M. Vyvyan | Union Grove, WI USA | 05/10/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Okay; let's get this out of the way before we all pass judgement. Love them or hate them you got to give props to a hard rock band that's been around for twelve years and counting especially with some of the CRAP that's come out lately and for making it to a fifth album. I've followed the band since my high school days and they've been a mainstay in my music catalog. Definate influence in my musical tastes and playing. In the beginning we were treated to a self titled debut, followed by Awake, then Faceless, a bit of a left turn with The Other Side, back to with IV, the Good Times, Bad Times...Ten Years of Godsmack, and finally The Oracle. The first two were great...period. Faceless was good too, but started to incorporate some different sounds that kinda made the Smack Nation go, "Huh?!?" I could appreciate the need to broaden their horizons and do some different things The Other Side, however I'm not sure that really did much to satisfy our appetites. Now we're up to IV and while it had some decent songs to it, it lacked the sound we were expecting. Good Times, Bad Times had me worried. Anytime a greatest hits record you know what to think. Of course coupled with the formation of Another Animal and Sully's solo venture that brought about a big, "UH OH!" Thankfully the band was smart and took a few years off to recharge and re establish the Godsmack we've come know and love. I couldn't be happier with this record. Would have liked to see more songs, but I'll take what I can get. A sacrifice of quantity for quality is fine. The record is good throughout and makes me excited to see what the future holds for upcoming tours, etc. Even my nine month old son loves it, so you know they've delivered a quality record. Thank you Sully, Tony, Robby, and Shannon for doing what you do best and keeping the music going."