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How does a band go from relative underground status to being chosen to lead the charge on the soundtrack to a movie starring the Rock? It's been a long, strange trip for Godsmack, but they've found themselves at the top of the rockin' world, having won Grammys and put a single, "I Stand Alone," on the soundtrack from The Scorpion King. Now they've released a second salvo with Faceless, the follow-up to their super-successful Awake. Has fame gone to their heads. Hardly, as we found out in this chat with bassist Robbie Merrill.

UGO: How are ya doing?

Robbie: Oh, just resting. Got a show tonight in Dallas.

UGO: Let's talk some music. Faceless, your new CD, reached the #1 spot for album sales in the entire country, and is now sitting at a respectable 13. What's going through your mind?

Robbie: I'm just happy to be up there. You know, we've worked really hard last summer and fall to get the CD out and we're really proud of it. We're all just happy to be in the limelight.

UGO: Where did the name Faceless come from?

Robbie: That was something that [singer] Sully and [drummer] Shannon had talked about. They had looked at the fact that "Faceless" is a word that would be around ten years from now and is something that should be still "in." It'll be one of those names that never goes away. It's one of the reasons that they liked that word, Faceless. Plus, with us being in the radar when it comes to MTV and Rolling Stone, things like that.

UGO: How long did it take to make the CD, from start to finish?

Robbie: We started last August, moved down to North Miami Beach, all living together, and we rehearsed for about two months. We started recording in November, and finished up the recordings around Christmas and they mixed it in January.

UGO: Wow, that's actually a pretty quick production process.

Robbie: Yeah, it was pretty quick.

UGO: What was the collaboration process like?

Robbie: We all get together in the room and start jammin' and riffin'; Sully would come up with the riffs and we would just work on that. After we have about three parts to the song, we would record it and try to go back and get words to the song. That's pretty much how we did all the songs. We would just get together and jam until the song found the right A and B sections that worked well together. Then the next step is lyrics. We wrote about 20 - 25 songs, maybe even more than that. Some songs didn't hit him [Sully], so we would brush them aside for a while.

UGO: What has your new drummer, Shannon Larkin, brought to the table so far?

Robbie: He's brought his uh... You know, you brought a smile to my face just hearing that name. He's just an awesome person. He wakes up in the morning with a smile on his face, nothing bothers him, always happy to be behind that drum kit. He gives it 100 percent even when he's just practicing, playing like he's in front of 10,000 people. He's brought energy to the band. Him and Sully have similar drumming styles so if you close your eyes, you don't know who's playing the drums, so that helps.

UGO: The song "Straight Out of Line"�What's it about, and how was it chosen as the single?

Robbie: The lyrics are about us going home and having people look at us differently. They're thinking that we changed, when in actuality, everybody has changed around us. So they are thinking that we are in some area that we aren't in. We are the same people that we were five years ago, still wanting to go to the bars and drink some beer, and now they are hesitant. That's basically what the lyrics are about. What's the second question again?

UGO: How was it chosen as the single?

Robbie: We had that one and "Faceless" at the time and we, as a band, really didn't know which one to do. We voted, and then management and the label came in and picked "Straight Out of Line" as the one.

UGO: Two great songs, I can see how it would be a hard choice. Musically, how does the album Faceless compare to your two previous albums?

Robbie: Well, we have a different producer on this one, David Bottrill, and he brought something really big to the table. So I think it's symphonically bigger; it's matured in the lyrics and melody lines but it's just as heavy when it comes to the music itself. All in all, I think we just matured a bit.

UGO: Is there a bit more experimentation on any of the tracks?

Robbie: Yeah, this record here, we have lots of leads going on with a lot of guitars. On the first two records, we were more jammed on it, that type of stuff. We put in what's called for for the songs; we think it needs something, that's why we do it. We don't just do it just to do it.

UGO: I'll say one thing about the CD: It's as hard as anything you've done. What's it like being this oasis of hard rock in a sea of neo-punk and rap-rock bands?

Robbie: You know, we do what we do. We have a chemistry in the band and I just feel lucky that we are able to do this. There's nothing on our CD that we don't like. If there was something that we didn't like, we wouldn't be putting it on our CD. That has a lot to do with where we're coming from. We are just one of the lucky bands, and we're now a little older. A lot of our idols -- from Led Zeppelin to Aerosmith to Black Sabbath -- so we're in that vein. We're also able to reach the younger people too.

UGO: You've got a lengthy tour coming up. Do you enjoy the touring?

Robbie: I enjoy the whole process from start to finish: The writing to the recording, then the artwork and the press and more press. Then you have to get ready for the tour. Rehearsals, dress rehearsals but then you tour. It's like the victory lap. It's really fun, you get to go out and see how the people are going to react to it live.

UGO: You guys decided not to go along with a huge traveling music festival. Can you talk about that?

Robbie: We wanted to bring out our own show and we probably have the biggest production in rock this summer. We have ideas of what we want in a rock show and we wouldn't be able to do it if we had the festivals, I think. The other thing is that we are going to Europe in the summer time for all the festivals and hit that market. We just thought it's best to bring out our own show in spring, hit Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand in the summer time and come back in the fall to hit the States again.

UGO: Do you have any of the festivals set so far, as to what bands that you might be playing with?

Robbie: No, I really don't. We are going to go to Europe a couple times, once after this tour for about ten days in July, hit some smaller venues. It's then off to Japan and do the Fuji Festival, whoever's playing that or where it's going to be. Then we come back to Europe again. It's all tentative; could be from Ozzfest to, I really don't know. I know we're going there, just don't know who we're playing with yet.

UGO: Do you feel that the concert prices are starting to get out of hand?

Robbie: Yes.

UGO: You do?

Robbie: Yeah, it's crazy! (laughs) That's why, I think, that a lot of the tours this year are weakened and sales are down, because parents and kids can't afford it. You go to one show, it's $200 by the time it's all said and done. You have three or four tours coming around, so it's just wacky.

UGO: Actually, I've seen you guys three times so far, with the most recent one at the free Headbanger's Ball concert with Anthrax in Cleveland on May 1st. How did you guys get set up to do that concert?

Robbie: We were asked to do it, and management presented it to us. We thought it was a good idea because we wanted to get into the MTV market and get known better. We actually did six shows in a row and we went ten hours just to go do that show.

UGO: Wow, I only went six hours to go see that concert!

Robbie: (laughs) Well, that's still a lot. I think we were in Knoxville the night before Cleveland.

UGO: Geez, busy schedule. Who's going to be opening up for you on the U.S. tour?

Robbie: We have Breaking Benjamin backing us up for pretty much the whole tour. Then we have a couple of spots for the second slot. Cold and I think Head P.E. will be with us. It's going to be a little of this, a little of that.

UGO: What size venues do you enjoy the most?

Robbie: Umm... shit! I like them all! First, when we played in Cleveland for Headbanger's Ball, it was about 2,000 people or so, but then the next day or so in Atlanta, it was about 70,000 people to play for. It's crazy.

UGO: Whew, wow. I know for the smaller venue in Cleveland that you didn't have any pyro or much of a set. What kind of a set or pyrotechnics do you have for the rest of the tour?

Robbie: Yeah, we have pyro going, lots of FIRE. We brought out our tribal fun again and that shoots out fire. We have this massive percussion thing going on. We have a couple percussionists with us, we have some belly dancers (laughs), all kinds of good stuff.

UGO: Will we be seeing another Godsmack DVD coming out?

Robbie: That's something that hasn't been talked about. I'm sure someday, but right now, we're just concentrating on the tour.

UGO: Why do some people compare you guys to Alice In Chains? You guys are both great bands, but I don't think you sound anything like each other.

Robbie: Yeah, I've heard that they do. To me, Sully's been a big fan of Layne [Staley], but when it comes to the music, it's totally different. There's really no comparison at all. But you know, you have that name Godsmack and it was a song from Alice in Chains, and that's where everybody thinks that we got the name from. That's why they think we sound like Alice in Chains; we're an Alice in Chains clone band. To me, we're nothing like them, and you can hear it too, right?

UGO: Right, completely different. Your song "Awake" was used in a television commercial for the US Navy. How did that come about?

Robbie: The Navy was looking for a song for the commercial. They came to our management, and then our management presented it to us. We thought it was a good idea and we are supportive of armed services. We said, go ahead, and that's basically how we got the relationship going.

UGO: So with that new relationship, I understand you guys recently visited a Navy base and hung out with the sailors. What was that like?

Robbie: That was a lot of fun. They are all from different parts of the country, and then all put in the same area. We didn't know it at that time, but the base was right near that area. Somebody presented it to us and said to go there and do some signing and supporting them. We liked the idea and said, "No problem." We just went in there and it was a lot of fun.

UGO: Lastly, if you could have super powers, what would they be and why?

Robbie: Super powers....

UGO: Yeah, super powers.

Robbie: I don't have anything right now, can't really think about that.

UGO: Well, thanks for the interview Robbie, great of you to take the time to talk with me.

Robbie: I appreciate it.

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