The Other Side

The Other Side is Godsmack's first acoustic offering. Totaling seven songs, it's not quite a full album. But fans will note its mixture old and new material, as well as the departure from Sully Erna and co.'s normal metallurgical sonic signature. The primary influence here is Alice in Chains. New track "Running Blind" is dominated by the high-low harmony sound that's become Alice in Chains' legacy, as is "Re-Align," which otherwise doesn't drift very far from Faceless' electrified version. The guitars -- and guitar solos -- are acoustic throughout Other Side, and the percussion is lighter and more refined than the normal 'Smack pummel. As for the rest of the new material, "Voices" suggests the more subdued work of the band's peers (Seether, Staind, etc.), while "Touché" crosses threads of the Allman Brothers with the usual post-grunge throttle. It's also a little free advertising for Erna's vanity imprint and its new signing, Dropbox, whose Lee Richards and John Kosco guest. In a way, The Other Side feels like a vanity project for Godsmack itself, the sort of thing a band releases in between official studio records, or just because it can. But that doesn't mean it's a bad trip for fans, who will no doubt get a kick out of this more jangly side of a band that's made a tidy career out of going for the jugular.