IV

Japanese pressing of their 2006 album features one bonus track, 'Safe And Sound'. Universal.

Six albums into its career, Godsmack finds itself faced with the challenge of moving forward without betraying its roots. Although the veteran act manages to offer up a handful of convincing tunes on this hour-long affair, IV fails to hang together as a cohesive and convincing album. The opening "Living In Sin" and its follow-up "Speak" rock with conviction although neither breaks new ground; "The Enemy"––a reasonably good approximation of a latter-day Metallica tune––proves persuasive while "Shine Down" and "No Rest For The Wicked" are radio-ready distractions. As good as those and a number of the other songs are IV never locks into any particular groove and ultimately amounts to little more than a batch of songs placed end-to-end on a disc that's roughly 20 minutes too long. By the record's final moments––the passionate but decidedly dated angst-filled dirge "Mama," the meandering "One Rainy Day"––the listener grows weary of treading down an all-too-familiar path with a band that still has a promising future if only it could let go of its unyielding grip on its own past.--Jedd Beaudoin

Six albums into their career, Godsmack find themselves faced with the challenge of moving forward without betraying their roots. Although the veteran act manages to offer up a handful of convincing tunes on this hour-long affair, IV fails to hang together as a cohesive and convincing album. The opening "Living In Sin" and its follow-up "Speak" rock with conviction, although neither breaks new ground; "The Enemy"--a reasonably good approximation of a latter-day Metallica tune--proves persuasive, while "Shine Down" and "No Rest For The Wicked" are radio-ready distractions. As good as those and a number of the other songs are, IV never locks into any particular groove and ultimately amounts to little more than a batch of songs placed end-to-end on a disc that's roughly 20 minutes too long. By the record's final moments--the passionate but decidedly dated angst-filled dirge "Mama" and the meandering "One Rainy Day"--the listener grows weary of treading down an all-too-familiar path with a band that still has a promising future if only it could let go of its unyielding grip on its own past. --Jedd Beaudoin