Godsmack 2.0? Sully Erna Confirms New Music Despite Lineup Shifts

When Godsmack frontman Sully Erna appeared on SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” on April 23, he was questioned about the band’s declaration that their most recent album, “Lighting Up The Sky” from 2023, will probably be their last release of new music, as per Blabbermouth.

I think some press misunderstood that. What I had said was, if I remember correctly — I don’t know; maybe I was a little foggy at the time — but I just said that I was pretty sure that this would be the last full body of work from Godsmack, from the original members, that we wouldn’t be able to do this anymore because these guys [guitarist Tony Rombola and drummer Shannon Larkin] were gonna kind of take their final curtain call and bow out. And I knew that this was most likely gonna be the last full body of work from the original members. But now here we are. Me and [bassist] Robbie [Merrill] had a long talk. We were, like, ‘Well.’ We had a decision to make, and we said, ‘Well, we’ve still got some gas in the tank here. I don’t really wanna hang it up yet.’ And he’s, like, ‘Let’s go around.’ And so we brought in these new guys, and it’s sounding great. So we’re, like, yeah, there’s probably gonna be some new music coming. I mean, it may not hit the streets till early ’27, but we’re gonna do something, for sure. But it just won’t be with all the original members anymore.

Sully agreed after “Trunk Nation” pointed out that Erna, being the songwriter he is, will always want to continue creating new songs, whether it’s for Godsmack or a solo project.

Yeah, for sure, I mean, I’ll always write music. Even if I don’t tour anymore, even if I never made another record again, I am always gonna write music. I may write and produce and arrange for other artists. I might just do stuff for solo, collabs, things like that. Music’s in my blood. I’m not giving up music. But there’ll be a time and place where I’ll just be, like, ‘Well, maybe it’s…’ And we’ll see how this goes. Listen, me and Robbie even said, hey, if we go out there and this just isn’t feeling good anymore because it’s not our brothers and it’s a bit foreign feeling, then… We made a decision, just like we did when we started this band, to say, ‘Hey, you know what?! We had a good run.’ Give each other a big hug. Neil Peart himself told me ‘nothing great lasts forever’. And that’s kind of how I feel. And so when that day comes, we’ll give each other a big hug and we’ll call it a good run and we’ll step away from it. But right now I don’t think that’s happening. This band sounds better than ever. We have two new guys that are breathing some new life into the energy in this band, and for sure some new music’s gonna come eventually. We’re gonna be doing a bunch of touring, and then we’ll see how it goes, how it feels.

Erna also discussed the newest members of Godsmack, including drummer Wade Murff and guitarist Sam Koltun, who previously toured Europe with the group in early 2025.

Sam’s on board now full-time, and he’s gonna be the new player from this point forward. And the drummer that we chose, his name is Wade Murff. He’s worked with Daughtry and some other acts. A fairly under-the-radar kind of guy. A strong player. A great dude. Really good with attention to details, as Sam is. I have complete confidence in this, although we start rehearsals next week. I’m just really confident that this is gonna be just as good, if not better than ever, because these guys came in with the right attitude. They honored the catalog, they honored the playing. They didn’t try to reinvent it. And as you know, a guitar can sound like a guitar, a drum can sound like a drum. Until you replace the vocalist, that’s when the sound reallychanges. So I really feel that the fans will be able to come and enjoy the music as they have always known it, because it won’t sound foreign to them, like there’s a new singer singing Godsmack stuff. And plus their showmanship even elevates it a little bit more. I mean, Shannon’s hard to replace. He’s the GOAT [Greatest Of All Time]. If you see that dude play, he’s a tough cookie to replicate or replace live visually. But this guy, Wade, he’s strong. He’s got some great chops, and he’s really playing the stuff solid. I’m very happy to take them on tour and introduce them. And this is gonna start the next chapter in our life here, Godsmack 2.0.

GODSMACK — THE RISE OF ROCK WORLD TOUR 2026 DATES

• Thu May 7 – Daytona Beach, FL – Welcome to Rockville*†
• Sat May 9 – Camden, NJ – MMRBQ Festival – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
• Sun May 10 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
• Tue May 12 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
• Thu May 14 – Charlotte, NC – Truliant Amphitheater
• Sat May 16 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
• Sun May 17 – Columbus, OH – Sonic Temple*†
• Tue May 19 – Franklin, TN – FirstBank Amphitheater
• Thu May 21 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
• Sat May 23 – Huntsville, AL – Orion Amphitheater
• Sun May 24 – Orange Beach, AL – The Wharf Amphitheater
• Wed May 27 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
• Fri May 29 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
• Sat May 30 – Houston, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Sponsored by Huntsman
• Fri Jun 12 – Kansas City, MO – Morton Amphitheater
• Sun Jun 14 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater
• Tue Jun 16 – Grand Rapids, MI – Acrisure Amphitheater
• Thu Jun 18 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
• Sat Jun 20 – Tinley Park, IL – Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
• Sun Jun 21 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
• Tue Jun 23 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
• Wed Jun 24 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre
• Sat Jun 27 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
• Sun Jun 28 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
• Tue Jun 30 – Syracuse, NY – Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview
• Thu Jul 2 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
• Fri Jul 3 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater

Godsmack European Festival leg:

• Thu Jul 23 – Athens, Greece – Lycabettus Hill+*
• Sat Jul 25 – Plovid, Belgium – Hills of Rock Festival+*
• Sun Jul 26 – Belgrade, Serbia – Novi Hangar Luka Beograd+*
• Tue Jul 28 – Ghimbav, Romania – Rockstadt Extreme Fest+*
• Sat Aug 1 – Põhja-Tallinn, Estonia – Tallinn Rock Festival+*
• Thu Aug 6 – Villena, Spain – Leyendas del Rock+*
• Sat Aug 8 – Relvinha, Portugal – Vagos Metal Fest+*
• Sun Aug 9 – Madrid, Spain – Sala Riviera+*
• Tue Aug 11 – Barcelona, Spain – Razzmatazz+*
• Thu Aug 13 – Carhaix-Plouguer, France – Motocultor Festival+*
• TBA Aug – Sulingen, Germany – Reload Festival+*
• Sun Aug 16 – Eindhoven, Netherlands – Dynamo Meta Fest+*

U.S. 

• Sat Sep 4 – Pryor, OK – Rocklahoma*
• Sun Sep 6 – El Paso, TX – Speaking Rock Casino**†
• Mon Sep 7 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheater
• Wed Sep 9 – Denver, CO – JUNKYARD
• Fri Sep 11 – Las Vegas, NV – Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino**†
• Sat Sep 12 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre – KUPD UFest*
• Tue Sep 15 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
• Thu Sep 17 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center
• Sat Sep 19 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
• Sun Sep 20 – Corning, CA – Rolling Hills Casino and Resort**†
• Tue Sep 22 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater
• Thu Sep 24 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
• Sat Sep 26 – Nampa, ID – Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater – KQXR XFest*

* Festival Performance

** Dorothy Only

+ European Tour