Godsmack‘s European/UK tour with P.O.D. and Drowning Pool commenced last night, March 22nd, in Sofia, Bulgaria. That trek found the multi-platinum hard rock outfit down two members however, with guitarist Tony Rombola and drummer Shannon Larkin both absent. In their place respectively were Sam Bam Koltun (Dorothy, Faster Pussycat, etc.) and Will Hunt (Evanescence). It is unclear if the latter pair will be taking part in the rest of the tour or not.
03/24 Bucharest, ROM – Laminor Arena
03/26 Budapest, HUN – Barba Negra
03/27 Gliwice, POL – Prezero Arena Gliwive
03/29 Wien, AUT – Gasometer
03/30 Zagreb, CRO – Zrinjevac
04/01 Leipzig, GER – Haus Auensee
04/03 Munich, GER – Zenith
04/04 Berlin, GER – Columbiahalle
04/05 Aschaffenburg, GER – Stadthalle
04/07 London, UK – Eventim Apollo
04/09 Bruxelles, BEL – Forest National
04/11 Hamburg, GER – Inselparkhalle
04/12 Oberhausen, GER – Turbinenhalle
Update: March 23rd, 2025 12:44pm:
Vocalist/guitarist Sully Erna has since commented on the lineup changes, telling Z Rock [via Blabbermouth.net]:
“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.”
He latter stated:
“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.] 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 pressed for further info regarding the absence of Rombola and Larkin, Erna stated:
“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.”
