GODSMACK Cancels All Touring Plans For 2020

Sully Erna says that GODSMACK has decided against scheduling any tour dates this year while the world is trying to fight and emerge victorious against the deadly COVID-19.

"We were going out with THE PRETTY RECKLESS to do a major tour in July through September, but all that's gone now," the frontman told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation" in a new interview (hear audio below). "Because I don't see this thing resolving itself to the point where people are going to want to jump back into big crowds yet.

"I do think we're gonna eradicate this thing and I have high hopes that this is gonna end soon, but I do think there's gonna be a lag where people are gonna [say] (a) 'Maybe I'm not gonna go right to a concert yet or a sports event and be around a lot of people; there's lingering parts of this thing going on.' And (b),with people losing houses and their jobs and stuff like that, I think when it comes back, they're gonna be, like, 'All right. I'm glad it's over. Let's get back to work. But I probably should replenish my savings account before I start buying concert tickets.'"

Erna added: "We decided, 'You know what? Let's not try to jam ourselves into the fall.' We were at the tail end of this record anyway, so this gives us time to go work on a new album and also be first next year to be able to pick the venues we wanna go to, the tour buses that we want, the days that we wanna be at those venues, the markets we wanna be in, and let's just book out ahead of time and be first next year instead of trying to find our little piece of real estate this fall when every other band is probably gonna try to go out and tour."

There is little indication as to when we might get the coronavirus under control to the extent that public gatherings and normal business can resume. Even some of the more conservative estimates say certain areas may be locked down until the end of the summer and possibly into the fall.

Over the weekend, Dr. Ezekiel "Zeke" Emanuel, one of the key architects of the Affordable Care Act and a special adviser to the director general of the World Health Organization, told The New York Times that he doesn't anticipate it to be safe to return to concerts, sporting events and other mass public gatherings for another 18 months.

As previously reported, Erna will launch a new twice-weekly Internet show, called "Hometown Sessions", on Tuesday (April 14) at 6:00 p.m. via his YouTube channel.

According to Erna, the Tuesday edition of the show will feature "celebrity guests, musician friends" and music-related conversation, along with occasional performances, while Thursdays will be reserved for "real talk" about "real life," with experts discussing mental health, addiction, depression and other topics.

GODSMACK has been off the road since the coronavirus pandemic shut the touring industry down, but has been working on material for the follow-up to its last album, 2018's "When Legends Rise".