GODSMACK Drummer Explains Why METALLICA's 'Lux Æterna' 'Might Not Even Make The Top 40' If It Had Been Released By A New Band

During an appearance on the "2020'd" podcast, GODSMACK drummer Shannon Larkin spoke about what it was like to see his band's "Surrender" single battling it out with METALLICA's "Lux Æterna" for the top spot on the Active Rock radio charts. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "In the real world, [METALLICA] are the rightful heirs to the No. 1 slot in hard rock. They deserve to be No. 1. I listened to the song… I was, like, 'Wow.' It's kind of an earworm. I get it. And it sounds like MOTÖRHEAD… James [Hetfield] sang pretty high in that chorus. I was, like, 'Wow.' … I think it sounds fantastic. I heard it on the radio. I was, like, 'Wow.'"

Larkin went on to say that he was always very confident about "Surrender"'s ability to reach the top position on the radio charts.

"This is the first single, 'Surrender', that I've ever said, 'This is a No. 1 hit at rock radio. We've got it.'"

Circling back to "Surrender" going up against "Lux Æterna", Shannon said: "The METALLICA song is pretty… It's heavy. It's old-school METALLICA. And our song is more like radio rock — it's a high-energy radio rock song. … I didn't write either song, so I can sit back… I'm in the band — GODSMACK — but I can look at it objectively, and I think 'Surrender', it's more rock than metal, and the METALLICA song is metal.

"If that was some new band with the song 'Lux Æterna'. Here they are… SODA CAN, whatever the band is. And this is their new song, 'Lux Æterna'. That shit wouldn't be No. 2. It might not even make the Top 40. Who knows?" Larkin speculated. "Even if it's a great song. A great song, great hook, like I said. But since it's METALLICA, they can do that at radio and put out a song that sounds like MOTÖRHEAD, basically — double bass and all that. That's some '80s shit. They can do it 'cause they ruled in the '80s."

Clarifying that he wasn't criticizing METALLICA, Shannon continued: "Had they put out a song that was not 'Lux Æterna', which is super heavy — it sounds like it could be early METALLICA — they'd be at No. 1 right now. If they put 'Unforgiven' or something like that out, they would have beat us probably, because, like I said, they're rightful kings to No. 1."

Addressing the fact that "Surrender" is the first single from GODSMACK's upcoming album "Lighting Up The Sky", which will mark the band's final effort before Shannon and his bandmates ascend into the celebratory portion of their career, the drummer said: "We were happy to get a No. 1, because we got one on every record since I joined; from the third record on, we've had a No. 1. And so being our final record, we really wanted a No. 1. 'Cause we wanna go out on top. We don't wanna keep making records till we're not selling anymore."

"Lighting Up The Sky" will arrive on February 24 via BMG. The LP was co-produced by GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna and Andrew "Mudrock" Murdock (AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ALICE COOPER).

Released last September, "Surrender" 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 September 2021, GODSMACK's latest album, "When Legends Rise", was certified gold on by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for sales in excess of half a million copies. In addition, two more of the LP's singles (the title track and "Under Your Scars") were also officially certified gold by the RIAA. The album's first single "Bulletproof" earned a platinum digital single award in September 2020 and was previously certified gold in the U.S.

"When Legends Rise" was the seventh studio album from GODSMACK.