Hey, now here's something completely new and different: a DVD about a rock band on the road. You know, one of those documentaries that brings us intimately close to the musicians, showing them backstage, at sound check, in hotel rooms, in taxis, and on the street, telling us all about their tattoos and their devotion to the fans in language liberally peppered with profanity…and all of this in addition to oodles of real concert footage! Ho-hum. Unless, of course, you happen to be a Godsmack fan, in which case this item will be sheer manna from Heaven (or maybe Hell, considering the content of most hard rock-headbanger music). To be fair, Godsmack is a perfectly good example of the genre, with lead singer Sully Erna prowling the stage and delivering his utterly humorless songs in a voice of doom while the band lays down thick slabs of sonic sludge behind him (in the words of one French Canadian follower, “le group sonne comme une tonne de briques”!). Godsmack doesn't seem to be as angry as Metallica (with whom the band has toured extensively), and they're not as nutso nihilistic as, say, Slayer; rather, they're simply good musicians (especially drummer Shannon Larkin, who together with briefly-drumming Erna serves up a percussion smackdown that is one of the high points) and decent guys (Erna's devotion to his young daughter is genuinely touching). What's more, the concert segments look and sound great (with DTS and stereo sound options), as the band serves up 13 songs (nearly half off their 2003 release Faceless). A strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (S. Graham)
Godsmack: Changes
(2004) 105 min. DVD: $19.98. Universal Music & Video (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. Volume 20, Issue 1
Godsmack: Changes
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