Over on the Active Rock radio charts, the new Metallica song “Lux Æterna” has been going head to head with (and even falling a little behind) the new Godsmack song “Surrender.”
During a recent conversation with the 2020’d podcast, Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin talked about his band going up against Metallica on the charts. Larkin shares (all quotes transcribed by Blabbermouth):
“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.'”
Speaking to his band’s single “Surrender,” the drummer says:
“This is the first single, ‘Surrender’, that I’ve ever said, ‘This is a No. 1 hit at rock radio. We’ve got it.'”
He then goes back to talking about the new Metallica song, sharing how he feels the band is able to get away with playing to such a heavy and catchy style on the radio:
“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? 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.”
Larkin adds:
“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.”
What do you make of Larkin’s points about the new Metallica track? During that same conversation, the Godsmack drummer also confirmed the rumor that band frontman Sully Erna and popstar Lady Gaga used to be a couple.
Bad Romance: Godsmack's Sully Erna and Lady Gaga Once Dated
