GODSMACK Is 'Talking About' Covering LED ZEPPELIN And PINK FLOYD On Upcoming 'Stripped-Down' U.S. Tour

Earlier today (Wednesday, October 25),GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna confirmed to "Chaz And AJ In The Morning" on the 99.1 PLR radio station in Connecticut that he and his bandmates will embark on a "stripped-down" U.S. tour in early 2024. But he was quick to point out (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Let me just make this clear — it's not strictly an acoustic tour, but it is the acoustic vibe. So we're going to do a 'vibes' tour; that's what I think we're even going to call it: the 'Vibes' tour. And what it is, is it's gonna be GODSMACK stripped down in theater settings. We're gonna bring a couple of additional musicians with us to fill it up — a keyboard player and an extra guitar player — and we're gonna not only play what we feel is the best of the GODSMACK songs that are translated well acoustically or like in a more vibey version — the 'Voodoo's, the 'Serenity's, 'Growing Old' off the new record, the ballad 'Truth', 'Under Your Scars', all those kinds of songs. But we're also gonna blend in some really cool covers. We're talking about doing things like 'No Quarter' by [LED] ZEPPELIN and doing some PINK FLOYD and really take people kind of on a musical journey and hybrid kind of what I did with the solo thing and with GODSMACK and just make it a really cool evening of music."

Sully said that the tour will be announced "soon." He explained: "This is gonna start ramping up by mid-February. We should make a pretty good dent in the States by mid-next year. And then we're talking about some plans to ramp up the big show again."

Regarding when he and his GODSMACK bandmates might be looking at taking some time off, Erna said: "Well, we're definitely gonna have '24 full. When it's time for a break, then we'll rethink things and figure out what we're gonna do and make that decision then."

Sully previously floated the possibility of a "stripped-down" tour last month in an interview with Jay Ramone of the Rock 100.5 The KATT radio station. At the time he said that GODSMACK's plans "could include 'An Evening With' theater, stripped down, vibey kind of show in the late January, February months."

After Ramone asked Erna if he meant that the tour would be "somewhat acoustic-based", Sully responded: "Not necessarily. Just a different vibe. We haven't done it since '04. So it's been a while. But it's a cool, different whole look at the band and what we do; it's a whole different thing."

When GODSMACK last embarked on "An Evening With" tour nearly 20 years ago, the stripped down acoustic-based performance was aimed at showing the group in a different light and offering it the opportunity to play its music with different arrangements. The show featured the GODSMACK members performing while seated on stools, a la "MTV Unplugged", and included some creative staging and lighting, dim candles and a few spooky props, Times Leader reported at the time.

GODSMACK kicked off its 2023 U.S. tour on May 4 at the 107.9 KBPI Birthday Bash at Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre in Denver, Colorado.

GODSMACK's eighth studio album, "Lighting Up The Sky" was released in February via BMG. The LP was co-produced by Erna and Andrew "Mudrock" Murdock (AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ALICE COOPER).

The first single from "Lighting Up The Sky", "Surrender", which arrived in September 2022, marked the first release from GODSMACK in four years, following their globally acclaimed and gold-certified 2018 album "When Legends Rise", which earned the Erna-fronted outfit a No. 1 spot across U.S. Hard Rock, Rock, and Alternative album charts.

In a recent interview with Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, GODSMACK drummer Shannon Larkin was asked which kind of show — arena or smaller theater — is more challenging, more rewarding, more fun. He responded: "Each one of us has a fave environment, and the different energies from, say, 50,000 people at a festival as opposed to 2,000 in a theater are two different highs, each bringing unique feelings to us individually, but both just as satisfying as a performer. I personally prefer amphitheaters; my fave venue ever is Red Rocks Amphitheater."

Photo credit: Chris Bradshaw