Godsmack launched their 2025 European tour on Saturday, March 22, at Arena 8888 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Stepping in for drummer Shannon Larkin and guitarist Tony Rombola at the show were Will Hunt (Evanescence) and Sam Bam Koltun (Dorothy, Faster Pussycat, Budderside), respectively.
A day before the concert, Godsmack frontman Sully Erna spoke with Elena Rozberg of Bulgaria’s Z-Rock radio station about the band’s current status. He responded (as transcribed by Blabbermouth):
“Well [laughs], [that’s] such a tricky question to answer right now at this stage. I can tell you that there has definitely been some changes that have happened in the last few months. They are changes that we’re not sure will be permanent or temporary, but everybody and everyone is in good health and in really good spirits. And the band is doing better than ever. We’re [playing to] the biggest audiences ever, and the shows are just becoming more and more valuable, because, as we get older, we still appreciate coming to places like Sofia that is so far away from where we started and being able to come here and sell out a 13,000-seat arena.”
“All I can tell you right now is that the band is in good health, we’re in good spirits, but there’s gonna be a little bit of a different visual for everybody [at the Sofia show],” he added. “Tony and Shannon have some personal things going on, and they’re not with us. So we have a couple of guest musicians playing with us that are phenomenal.”
When asked to clarify the reasons behind Shannon and Tony’s absence from the tour, Sully responded:
“Hmmmm… I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know if I feel safe enough talking about that yet, because I don’t wanna give people the wrong impression. Right now we’re still at a stage where we’re trying to figure out exactly what’s happening, but we’re also trying to respect their privacy. So whatever Tony and Shannon have going on in their personal life, we’re just trying to respect that and at the same time still come here and put on a really great show. I can tell you right now that we have a guest drummer playing with us, who’s Will from Evanescence. And he is such a good friend of ours and such a great musician, and we’ve been having so much fun with him. So that’s been a real surprise. And then we have a guitar player with us named Sam Koltun, who is somebody who — he’s played with several different bands and a really, really nice guy and great guitar player. So as far as the music goes and the sound, it sounds exactly like we’ve always sounded, which is even surprising to me.”
In a new video transcribed by Metal Injection, Shannon Larkin addressed the speculation surrounding his and Tony Rombola’s absence from Godsmack.
“There’s been lots of speculation about that. First of all, I just want to thank everyone for the outpouring of texts from all my family and friends. I’m okay, Tony‘s okay.”
“We did quit the band last year after lots of talking to Sully and Robbie, and they understood that we didn’t want to tour anymore. That’s the reason. We understood that they wanted to tour, and so we understood each other and in the end, Godsmack‘s out there touring and we are out here happily living our lives. Tony’s turning 60. I’m turning 58. It’s not a physical thing. We just want to be home with everything that we love. 40 years I’ve been touring, 28 years for Rombola. We’re getting a little older so we decided to quit.”
“It wasn’t a bad thing. I will talk more about it in the future, but it’s all love. We’re brothers for life with Sully and Robby, and we wish Will and Sam all the best. All the fans, keep going – they’re kicking a*s. Sully said at the very end, ‘all good things must come to an end.’ Godsmack didn’t come to an end, it’s just a new chapter for them, and it’s certainly a new chapter for Tony and I. We’re already making new music and everybody’s happy.”
So far, Godsmack has not issued an official statement regarding their departures.
Larkin became a member of Godsmack in 2002 after gaining experience with Wrathchild (later known as Wratchild America and Souls at Zero) before joining Ugly Kid Joe during their peak.
Tony has served as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for Godsmack since the mid-1990s, following Lee Richards‘ departure.
Godsmack‘s most recent album, Lighting Up The Sky, was released in February 2023 through BMG. The LP was co-produced by Sully Erna and Andrew “Mudrock” Murdock (Avenged Sevenfold, Alice Cooper).
You can watch Godsmack perform live in Sofia down below.
