IV (Godsmack album)

2006 studio album by Godsmack

Studio album by

Godsmack

Released| April 25, 2006
Recorded| 2005
Studio| Spiral Recording Studios (Hollywood, California)
Genre|

* Alternative metal[1]
* hard rock[2]

Length| 61:55
Label| Universal Republic
Producer|

* Sully Erna
* Andy Johns

Godsmack chronology
| The Other Side
(2004)  | IV
(2006)  | Good Times, Bad Times... Ten Years of Godsmack
(2007)

|
|

Singles from  IV

1. "Speak"
Released: April 4, 2006
2. "Shine Down"
Released: June 13, 2006
3. "The Enemy"
Released: October 31, 2006

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
Allmusic| [1]
Sputnikmusic| [3]
Rolling Stone| [4]
Ultimate Guitar| [5]
411mania| [6]

IV is the fifth studio album by American rock band Godsmack, released on April 25, 2006. This is Godsmack's only studio album produced by Andy Johns.

## Recording and lyrical themes

[edit]

According to Sully Erna: "This is the first time I've been totally honest, speaking the truth about real situations," he says. "In the past I was always pointing a finger, whether at myself or someone else, but I've come clean with myself and the people I can now love and care about.

This record is about the light at the end of the tunnel, coming out of that funk, recognizing the dark parts of our lives, but committing to finding a way out of them."[7]

With acclaimed engineer Andy Johns, who worked on such Led Zeppelin classics as "Stairway to Heaven" and "When the Levee Breaks", as well as albums by the Rolling Stones and Van Halen, Godsmack transitions from their metal roots to full-fledged classic blues-rockers.[8]

Recorded at Spiral Recording Studio in Los Angeles, Godsmack had the luxury, for the first time, of writing and recording IV without being on the road or having to rush to meet a deadline. They wrote 35 tracks, recorded 17, and picked the best of them to go on the disc.[7]

"There were a lot of things that happened on this record that were different than the way we worked in the past," explains Erna. "And one of those was me letting go of the steering wheel a bit, allowing the band control over the writing and me stepping away to an outside point of view and coming up with lyrics for what I viewed as another group entirely," he says.[7]

The lyrical themes, about speaking the truth and coming clean, are echoed in "Livin' in Sin", a song that inspired Erna to reveal to his girlfriend his infidelities, a theme he also explores in "The Enemy". "I was blocked for months," he says. "Writing that song opened up the floodgates and made me realize what this record was about."[7]

"Shine Down" was another example of the band wrenching light from dark. "That one's not just a song of hope, but of realistic expectations," explains Erna. "It's about being human and having problems. About not being able to lift your head off the pillow, but knowing there's somebody out there that watches over us and a universe that protects us. I knew this new year would be rocking for us. It's not religious, but spiritual."[7]

"Voodoo Too" is a sequel to their prior single "Voodoo", and features a bit of the ending of "Voodoo" in the beginning in the song.[citation needed]

With a runtime of over 61 minutes, it is the band's longest studio album.

## Title

[edit]

The album's minimalist name "IV" derives not only from its being the band's fourth studio album, but also from a running piece of backstage humor, as related by Larkin and Erna:

> We have this security guy, a big, tough guy named J.C. He's another Boston guy. And in Boston, it's "fou." They don't really have the "R." It's not "four," it's "fou." He'd be hanging around backstage and chicks would walk by and he would rate them from 1 to 10. But if it wasn't a 10, there was no 1, 2, 3, or 5. It was always you were a "ten" or a "fou." He just pulled the funniest things. Sometimes, he'd just hold up four fingers and wouldn't have to say it anymore, and we'd all just burst out laughing. And then the funniest one, this guy walked by with a chick on each arm, and he goes, "Hey, bub, two fous don't make an eight!" So when it came up, it's our fourth full-length record, everybody was like, "Fou!" And we were like, "That's it, Man." We're not trying to break any records for originality here. I know there's Black Sabbath Vol. 4, Foreigner 4, Led Zeppelin IV, a million IVs. We just thought it's fitting.[9][10]

## Commercial performance

[edit]

IV sold 211,000 copies in the U.S. in its first week of release, debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart.[11] This figure is a bit less than the 267,000 units sold by Godsmack's third studio album, Faceless,[12] back in April 2003, and the 256,000 first-week tally achieved by 2000's Awake.[13] IV also debuted at number four on the Top Canadian Albums and number one on the Top Internet Albums.

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Sully Erna, except where noted.

No.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "Livin' in Sin"| Erna, Tony Rombola, Robbie Merrill, Shannon Larkin| 4:40
2.| "Speak" (dialogue by John Kosco of Dropbox)| Erna, Rombola| 3:58
3.| "The Enemy"|  | 4:08
4.| "Shine Down"|  | 5:02
5.| "Hollow" (featuring Lisa Guyer)| Erna, Rombola| 4:33
6.| "No Rest for the Wicked"|  | 4:38
7.| "Bleeding Me"|  | 3:38
8.| "Voodoo Too"| Erna, Rombola, Merrill, Larkin| 5:27
9.| "Temptation"|  | 4:07
10.| "Mama"|  | 5:15
11.| "One Rainy Day" (is 7:21 in length and includes the hidden track "Safe and Sound", which begins at 12:21)| Erna, Rombola, Merrill, Larkin| 16:40
Total length:| 61:55

iTunes bonus trackNo.| Title| Length

|
|

12.| "I Stand Alone" (Live)| 3:48
Total length:| 65:42

Best Buy bonus trackNo.| Title| Length

|
|

12.| "Safe and Sound"| 4:20
Total length:| 66:15

Target bonus trackNo.| Title| Length

|
|

12.| "I Thought"| 4:15
Total length:| 66:09

Special editionNo.| Title| Length

|
|

12.| "Safe and Sound"| 4:20
13.| "I Thought"| 4:14
Total length:| 70:29

## Personnel

[edit]

Godsmack

* Sully Erna – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica, production, talk box on "No Rest for the Wicked" and "Safe and Sound"
* Tony Rombola – lead guitar, backing vocals
* Robbie Merrill – bass
* Shannon Larkin – drums, percussion

Additional

* P. R. Brown – package design
* Kent Hertz – engineering, digital editing
* Andy Johns – production, engineering, mixing
* Clay Patrick McBride – photography
* Dave Schultz – mastering
* Kevin Sheehy – personal assistant
* Doug Strub – engineering

## Charts

[edit]

### Weekly charts

[edit]

| Chart (2006)  | Peak
position

|

Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[14] | 65
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[15] | 4
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] | 56
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] | 100
US Billboard 200[18] | 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[19] | 1
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[20] | 2

### Year-end charts

[edit]

| Chart (2006)  | Position

|

US Billboard 200[21] | 88
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[22] | 19

### Singles

[edit]

Year  | Song  | Chart  | Peak
position

|
|
|

2006  | "Speak"  | Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1
Alternative Songs[23] | 10
Pop 100  | 93
The Billboard Hot 100[24] | 85
"Shine Down"  | Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks  | 4
Alternative Songs[23] | 31
2007  | "The Enemy"  | Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks  | 4

## Certifications

[edit]

Region  | Certification | Certified units/sales

|
|

United States (RIAA)[25] | Gold  | 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "IV - Godsmack". Allmusic.
2. ^ McLennan, Scott (September 3, 2006). "Godsmack wrestles with the iPod future". Telegram & Gazette. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
3. ^ "Godsmack IV". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
4. ^ Evan Serpick; Christian Hoard (April 18, 2006). "Godsmack: IV : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 13, 2007. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
5. ^ "GODSMACK IV". Ultimate Guitar. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
6. ^ "Godsmack – IV Review". 411mania. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
7. ^ a b c d e "Universal Public Community - Biography". Universal Public Community. Archived from the original on February 19, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2008.
8. ^ Fuoco, Christina (June 23, 2006). "Interview: Shannon Larkin of Godsmack". Entertainment News. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved November 10, 2007.
9. ^ "'Livin in Sin' with Godsmack's Shannon Larkin". Live-Metal.net. May 6, 2006. Archived from the original on June 27, 2006. Retrieved November 10, 2007.
10. ^ Jenny, Feniak. "The music and magic of Godsmack". Edmonton Sun. Archived from the original on December 6, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2007.
11. ^ "Godsmack's "IV" Debuts At #1 On Billboard 200". MetalUnderground.com. May 3, 2006. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
12. ^ "Godsmack: 'Faceless' Debut At #1". Blabbermouth.net. April 16, 2003. Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
13. ^ "Godsmack Is 'Awake' At #5". Yahoo! Music. November 9, 2000. Archived from the original on August 15, 2007. Retrieved December 10, 2008.
14. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Godsmack – IV" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
15. ^ "Godsmack Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Godsmack – IV" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
17. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Godsmack – IV". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
18. ^ "Godsmack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
19. ^ "Godsmack Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
20. ^ "Godsmack Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
21. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
22. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
23. ^ a b "Godsmack Alternative Songs Chart History". Billboard.
24. ^ "Godsmack Hot 100 Chart History". Billboard.
25. ^ "American album certifications – Godsmack – IV". Recording Industry Association of America.

* v
* t
* e

Godsmack

* Sully Erna
* Robbie Merrill

* Lee Richards
* Joe D'Arco
* Tony Rombola
* Tommy Stewart
* Shannon Larkin

Studio albums|

* All Wound Up... (1997)
* Godsmack (1998)
* Awake (2000)
* Faceless (2003)
* IV (2006)
* The Oracle (2010)
* 1000hp (2014)
* When Legends Rise (2018)
* Lighting Up the Sky (2023)

Extended plays|

* The Other Side (2004)

Live albums|

* Live & Inspired (2012)

Compilations|

* Good Times, Bad Times... Ten Years of Godsmack (2007)

Videos|

* Live (2001)
* Smack This! (2002)
* Changes (2004)

Singles|

* "Whatever"
* "Keep Away"
* "Voodoo"
* "Bad Religion"
* "Awake"
* "Bad Magick"
* "Greed"
* "I Stand Alone"
* "Straight Out of Line"
* "Serenity"
* "Re-Align"
* "Running Blind"
* "Touché"
* "Speak"
* "Shine Down"
* "The Enemy"
* "Good Times Bad Times"
* "Whiskey Hangover"
* "Cryin' Like a Bitch"
* "Love-Hate-Sex-Pain"
* "Saints and Sinners"
* "1000hp"
* "Something Different"
* "Inside Yourself"
* "Come Together"
* "Bulletproof"
* "When Legends Rise"
* "Under Your Scars"
* "Unforgettable"
* "Surrender"

Other songs|

* "Vampires"
* "Sick of Life"
* "Releasing the Demons"

Related articles|

* Discography
* Avalon
* Sinner's Prayer
* Another Animal
* The Apocalypse Blues Revival
* Rockin' the Corps

* Category:Godsmack

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

*[No.]: Number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template