Godsmack revives plans for new music after drummer shakeup

A drummer change is what pulled Godsmack back from the edge of a farewell. After framing Lighting Up the Sky as a possible final album, the band is now talking about new music again, and the clearest sign of that reversal is the new rhythm section built around Wade Murff.

Godsmack’s own rollout for Lighting Up the Sky, released on February 24, 2023, treated the record as a closing statement. The band described it as a potential “final” album and called it a “stunning swan song.” That language looked definitive enough to close the book on one of hard rock’s biggest modern acts. Then the lineup changed in a way that made the old ending feel a lot less final.

On April 2, 2025, Godsmack confirmed that Shannon Larkin and Tony Rombola had left the band. The statement said both men had retired permanently on good terms to live a simpler, quieter life away from touring, and it added that their departure opened the door for “new and exciting possibilities.” The band quickly filled the gap with Wade Murff on drums and Sam Koltun on guitar for the 2026 touring era, and that move has now become more than a stopgap.

Sully Erna said on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation on April 23, 2026 that new Godsmack music is planned. He also made it clear the next chapter would not necessarily include all of the original members. For drumming fans, that is the real story: Murff is not just the player covering dates while the catalog keeps rolling. He may be part of how Godsmack sounds when the band starts writing again, which means the feel, the pocket, and even the live attack could shift with him.

That shift comes just as Godsmack is trying to close out the old era on its own terms. The band’s Live at Mohegan Sun release was recorded on October 26, 2024 in Uncasville, Connecticut, and the official store says it captured the final performance of the original lineup. Godsmack has also put its scale on the table, citing 20 million records sold, 25 Top 10 hits, and 6 platinum records. That kind of catalog can coast for years, but the band’s current messaging points somewhere else: not an ending, but a reset that could keep a major hard-rock act moving long after the original drum chair changed hands.