''Awake'' is the second studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Godsmack Godsmack is an American Rock music, rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is currently composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna and bassist Robbie Merrill. Since its formation, Godsmack has released eig ...

, released on October 31, 2000. It features the song "Goin' Down", which first appeared on the band's first studio recording, '' All Wound Up''. It is the final Godsmack album to fully include drummer Tommy Stewart, who would be replaced by former drummer Shannon Larkin afterwards. During the 2000s, the songs " Sick of Life" and "

Awake Wakefulness is a daily recurring brain state and state of consciousness in which an individual is conscious and engages in coherent cognitive and behavioral responses to the external world. Being awake is the opposite of being asleep, in which ...

" were used for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

's "Accelerate Your Life" recruiting advertisements.

Recording

The band opted to convert a warehouse in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States census. Located o ...

into a makeshift studio, rather than use a more traditional studio setting. According to

Sully Erna Salvatore Paul Erna Jr. (born February 7, 1968) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter, best known as the vocalist and rhythm guitarist for rock band Godsmack. He is also a harmonica player, drummer, and percussionist, performing these ...

, the band just did not want to move into any luxurious studio, because they wanted to keep the edge on for writing and "not get too far away from what we're all about". So they just stayed in the slums rather than moving into luxury. Erna says the results show in the music's "tougher" sound; "however, it has a very raw edge to it. It's not very polished," he says. "But it still has a lot of good grooves, and it still has a lot of power." The band also kept in touch with its roots by working some older unreleased material. The album includes older songs that just missed being on the debut. "Goin' Down" is a track from the original ''Godsmack'' album that was dropped in favor of " Whatever" for the major-label release. The songs "

Bad Magick "Bad Magick" is a song by American rock band Godsmack, released in February 2001. It is featured on their second studio album, ''Awake'', and is the only single by the band that's not included in their compilation album '' Good Times, Bad Times ...

" and "

Vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

" also date back to the same period.

Release

''Awake'' debuted at number five on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 256,000 copies in its first week, and the album would go on to sell at least 2,000,000 copies in the United States. Since its release, the album's title track dominated rock radio and broke chart records throughout 2000 and 2001. The album's

spoken word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an oral tradition, ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetic ...

track "

" earned the band its first

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

nomination. In 2001, ''Awake'' won the Boston Music Award for Album of the Year. "

Greed Greed (or avarice, ) is an insatiable desire for material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions) or social value, such as status or power. Nature of greed The initial motivation for (or purpose of) greed and a ...

" earned the band Boston Music Awards nominations for single and video of the year.

Track listing

Personnel

Godsmack *

– vocals, rhythm guitar, drums *

Tony Rombola Tony Rombola (born November 24, 1964) is an American musician who had been the lead guitarist for the Boston-based rock band Godsmack from the mid-1990s until April 2025. He has been cited as "an extraodinaire" in the guitar world by ''Guitar Wo ...

– lead guitar, backing vocals *

Robbie Merrill Robbie Merrill (born June 13, 1963) is an American bassist, best known as a founding member of the rock bands Godsmack and Another Animal. He was featured in the '' Behind the Player'' interactive music video. Biography Born in Lawrence, Mass ...

– bass * Tommy Stewart – drums Additional performances *Katrina Chester – vocals on "The Journey" and "Spiral" Production *Produced by Sully Erna and Murdock *Engineered by Mudrock, except "Vampires", recorded by Cameron Webb *Additional engineering by Nate Dube *Mixed by Mudrock, except "Mistakes" and "Goin' Down" (mixed by Mudrock and

Jay Baumgardner Jay Baumgardner is an American record producer, engineer and mixer. He has worked on albums by The Regulators, Seether, Superheist, Ugly Kid Joe, Bush, Helmet, Sevendust, Papa Roach, Endwell, Coal Chamber, Drowning Pool, Godsmack, Three ...

), and "Vampires" and "Bad Magick" (mixed by Jay Baumgardner) *Mastered by

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Early life ...

*Photography by Clay Patrick McBride and Ian Barrett

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Singles

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Awake (Godsmack Album) 2000 albums Godsmack albums Republic Records albums