Customer Reviews

Awake (Clean)

5 star:		(107)
4 star:		(54)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(24)

 

 

Godsmack's new album kicks like the first one. It's definitely going to be in my player for a while, but one thing bugs me: it's not much different than the first, self-titled album. To some people, that is a good thing, but I personally like to see bands progress and try new things. To each his own I guess, but a little more originality would score this album a 5.

If you liked the first album, you'll like this one. If you didn't like the first, you won't like this one. It's basically a continuation (this is actually said by the band on the Enhanced CD) of "Godsmack". "Awake" is an incredible song, similar to the way "Keep Away" dominated "Godsmack." For you late Godsmack fans who picked up on them after hearing "Voodoo", you'll be happy to hear "Spiral", another eerie, slower song.

What I was very pleased to hear was an instrumental track; it's very well done. It has audio clips occasionally, reminiscent to "Moon Baby".

If you're at this item page, chances are you've heard a Godsmack song and enjoyed it and are interested in more. Godsmack isn't a two-faced band who writes hits and then slacks on the rest of the songs. If you heard "Awake" on the radio and liked it, you'll enjoy the rest of the album.

I really, really, really like Godsmack. Even though this album wasn't as popular as their first, self-entitled one, I like this disc more.
The Smack is borderline metal, many of these songs, especially on the beginning few tracks, boom boom boom. Hard guitars, drums and a strong (snarling might be a little overboard) voice.
I pretty much like every aspect of this band: a good, strong, manly voice and a guitarist that is among the top ten for modern bands, are the main points. "Vampires", "Mistakes", and "Sick of Life" are the best instrument performance. "Vampires" is just great, it won an award for best instruments.
I also like the lyrics. They are dark and may be ghoulish, be still good. "Mistakes" and "Vampires" have a recorded voice on the song, which is smart. Godsmack's lyrics are primarily concerned with witchcraft and suicide, but that's okay, that's just the way they are. Sully was born in Boston, in a witch family, so that was the way he was raised, explaining the witch parts of the lyrics.
This album is one that is almost perfect, granted- the first one was a little more diverse. The lyrics are kind of repetitive-not saying #'s 1-11 have the same lyrics but some songs repeat themselves.
But, I like every song on this C.D. with an exeption of "The Journey", a song which is less than a minute and may be an interlude or a lead in to the last song, "The Spiral."
Sully says something along the lines of "You won't hear any techno or rap, just good loud music" on godsmack.com, which is definately the truth. But, similar sounds are very rare on this disc.
This is not only good-'n-loud, but also very musical. Look at "The Spiral", it has rattles on it. Man, this is good stuff.
These guys rock, I can't wait for their third album.

Godsmack sold millions of copies of their debut album and became big names in the rock industry. Now, can they defeat what some rock groups have encountered: the sophomore slump, even jinx? Well, to some degree, AWAKE has many moments to enjoy, but it's virtually Godsmack doing what's best for them: rocking hard and enjoying every minute.

"Sick of Life" seems a tad jaded, but it's also very aggressive and piles into the driving and chunky title track, which has some power over its predecessor. "Vampires" is the most atmospheric track, with movie bits thrown in for good measure to add to the melancholy of the track. "Bad Magick" and "Greed" both feature assaulting guitars and crushing rhythms, and Sully's vocals are still fully intact. The lyrics on this album are not as strong as on the self-titled or on FACELESS, but "Goin' Down", despite the minimal lyrical content, still rocks very much. Perhaps one of the best tracks is the six minute atmospheric rock of "Mistakes". Here Sully contemplates that he's "made too many mistakes" and his conviction matches the music. The short "The Journey" flows right into the closing finale "The Spiral", which leaves the door open as to where Godsmack will go next.

Consequently, this would be the last Godsmack album to feature Tommy Stewart on drums, but Godsmack would show no signs of letting up despite that loss. Despite some of the repetitive moments on the album, AWAKE still is a solid affair.

I don't know why the negative ratings in here for this album. I think AWAKE is really great, probably one of the best rock albums of the year. Godsmack have created its own style, although it's not too original, a style that sounds really great. The band didn't change too much after the first self-titled album, which is a good thing, considering that most bands today have this tendency of becoming more and more commercial. AWAKE is a tough album, again with no ballads, only strong powerfull metal. Sully sings great, he has a very good voice, which blends perfectly with the other instruments. Most songs on this album are really great, and the fact that they are alike is a big ... .

Of course there are some bad parts too: the lyrics aren't too great, and i didn't like the fact that the final track on Awake is very similar to the final track of the first album, Voodoo.

But everything else is great, check out BAD MAGICK, SICK OF LIFE and VAMPIRES, definetely the best songs on the CD.

I'd rate this 4.5 out of 5 stars, but since that's not possible, let's make it a 5/5.

This is no doubt one of the most boring CDs ever. The CD sounds exactly the same as the first one, which wasn't so great either, and it has no strong points. There are also several reasons as to why it was rushed.

1) There are only 11 songs on the CD, less than their debut. Bands make either longer songs or more songs, but that's not the case here. The CD is shorter and has less tracks than the first.

2) Goin' Down is from the M:I-2 soundtrack. That immeadiately narrows this CD to 10 songs.

3) There's one song on here, I think it's Vampires, that has no music on it. It's all radio voiceovers about what sounds like scientists talking about the habits of vampire bats. That narrows it to a mere 9 tracks.

4) There's a song on here called The Journey that is only 39 seconds. I like a good 1-2 minute song here or there, depending on how much there is in it, but this is just a continuation of Vampires. Now there are only 8 tracks.

5) The lyric writing is a little more advanced, but still, basically the same. Sully can compare with the lead singer of Linkin Park and Fred Durst...very simple lyrics with no meaning or feeling, just words for filler.

But I do have to say one thing, I do like the song Greed. Awake was okay for a while, but now it's old. I don't listen to Greed either. Basically, what I am saying is that Godsmack really isn't that good. If you want to get anything from them, pick up their self-titled debut and leave this alone.

This album is one of the best hard-rock albums I've ever heard. Their previous CD was really good, but this one is much better. The songs on the album are all of the same hard-rocking style throughout, yet the melodies are different enough to make the songs not all sound alike. My other favorite element of this album is their whole attitude that comes out in their songs - they have this "Get off my back" and "Go away" attitude that I really share with them. This album is a must-have for any hard-rock fan out there!

This is a totally rocking album. I loved the first Godsmack album but this one really rocks your body. The editing is well done and I had no qualms about buying this CD for my preteen sons. Godsmack is heavy-metal rock, with a definite attitude! Our local radio station calls it "testosterone-drenched rock and roll" and we love it!

I don't get the Alice in Chains thing at all, personally. I haven't heard one AIC album that sounds as heavy as "Awake." Sully is about 3 miles away from sounding like Layne Staley or Jerry Cantrell. I will admit: This is the only Godsmack album I own, but I have heard their debut a few times and their current radio singles. This has some really really strong songs on it, and it's a damn shame they played only the title track from it on their last tour. "Sick of Life" slams with its sludgy down tuned-open chord riff. This song is probably the heaviest tune I've heard from these guys and it was an essential choice to open with. The lead single, "Awake," is one of the best songs Godsmack has ever written. What drives it, and all of Godsmack's best songs, are the pounding drums and the crash cymbals. The riffs aren't fast, the guitar solos aren't very notey. Without a good rhythm section, admittedly, Godsmack probably wouldn't have gotten to the level they're at. The break down with its open E chugging riff is strictly for metal-heads to head-bang and mosh to and is a very very welcome addition to the song. "Greed" is a catchy song, lyrically and musically. The chorus of the song makes it for me. "Bad Magick" might be the worst song on the album, but it isn't a bad song. I think it's better than a lot of stuff other "Nu-Metal" bands have written. "Goin' Down" is a welcome change-of-pace and, quite frankly, doesn't really fit with the rest of the record. It's a killer song all right, but its overall feel is much more that of straight-forward hard rock and less heavy metal. It works however and it sounds phenomenal. "Mistakes" was my favorite song for a long time from the album. Catchy main riff, great drum beat, some moody singing from Sully, and a Tool-esque bridge section all create a great dark sound that Godsmack pulls off so well. In fact, while it isn't much, this song is probably the most progressive song I've heard from these guys. The song ends with a creepy fade-in to "Trippin'" which is overall relatively standard Godsmack fare except for the...well...trippy bridge section followed by one of Tony Rambola's best guitar solos. "Forgive Me" is another catchy-ass song on an album chock-full of them. Its outro riff is really quite awesome and unlike anything else on the disc simply because it actually has some palm-muting in it. "Vampires" follows, and it is immediately clear why their fans love the song so much. Its heavy as Hell and is, once again, freakin' CATCHY! The album is ended by "The Journey/Spiral," which, sad to say, I do not see greatness in. I take back what I said earlier, this song is the worst on the disc. Despite a poor conclusion, "Awake" does not leave the listener with a sour taste whatsoever. I was quite frankly amazed when I first heard this disc how awesome it was because, again, Godsmack is a "Nu-metal" band, and I don't like a lot of the bands w/ that label. Not everyone will like Godsmack, but I recommend giving them a shot. You might be pleasantly surprised.

This album blows me away. The first CD is better, but that doesn't make this one [is bad]. I just got the 3rd album, Faceless.
It's really good, about the same as this one. The best songs are Awake, Greed, and Vampires. They all have the best guitars. Tony Rombola, the guitarist, is awesome. He plays that guitar better than Metallica's Kirk Hammet. Sully Erna, front man, is a powerful vocalist with an incredible voice for metal. This band is a mix of Metallica and Alice in Chains. Listen to it.

I have listened to godsmack sence they came out and, have not stopped sence i think there 2nd was just as good as the frist!Everything about it was great the lyrics, the riffs, bass and drums.i have loved this band and will love this band to then end if there is such a thing for and band like this?(BTW) to all the people who think they know how to judge music peep's like godsmack and others and put them down r nutting but a$$ holes!!!!!!!!!! Unless your can literally get up there and do better and make better riffs solos and play drums as good or better the get up there and do it then email me and i will personly write you and apology but if you cant then dont ever say that they ...