1000 hp, stylized as 1000HP, is the sixth studio album by American rock band Godsmack. It is a follow-up to the band's 2010 gold-selling album The Oracle and was released on August 5, 2014.
Making of the record
On November 6, 2013, it was reported that Godsmack had begun writing for the new yet to be titled album. On February 5, 2014 frontman Sully Erna tweeted that the band has made massive headway in the songwriting process for album. On April 20, Erna revealed on his personal Facebook page that the band has completed working on album, stating:
Two days later, the band made an official announcement on its official website that they have finished the album recording and that they have recorded 15 songs, 10 of which have made it on the album. The full track list was revealed on July 10.
Writing
In an interview with Billboard, Erna revealed that the writing process for 1000hp was collaborative, stating: "When it was time to start writing again, the guys brought in a batch of songs and I had a batch of songs I'd been working on and we laid them all on the table and started carving through them and seeing which ones we were gonna tighten up and which ones were not gonna make the cut." The result, according to Erna, is a characteristically hard-hitting affair that ranges from the blazing, autobiographical title track and first single to more experimental and stretched-out fare such as "Generation Day" and "Nothing Comes Easy."
Prior to the interview, and during a live Facebook Q&A chat, the band was asked whether every member contributed to the album. Erna was the one to answer that question, insisting that, "[E]very one contributed to this album and brought something [t]o the table."
Recording
1000hp was recorded in Godsmack's newly built 4,000-square-foot headquarters in Boston. "We just built it this year," explained bassist Robbie Merrill. "We have been looking to have one big place for a long time. All our equipment has been stored in four or five different places and we wanted to get everything in one room. So we leased out a warehouse for at least five years. We went in there and put up some walls and made a studio and a lounger. We basically have all our stuff in storage at one end and at the other end we have the rehearsal space and we have our studio all set to record, as well as the lounge and a kitchen."
"It was also great to do this album in our hometown," concluded Merrill. "We are all born and raised in the Boston area and it was good for all of us to just soak up the atmosphere of the town and let it influence our music."
"We have everything there and we don't really need to go anywhere else now to either rehearse for tours or to record new music," said Erna who, in the first webisode of "The Making of 1000hp", took viewers on a guided tour of the band's new headquarters, showing how it looked when the band first leased it and how they transformed it into a recording, rehearsal and storage complex.
Production
1000hp was mixed and produced by Dave Fortman, who had worked with Godsmack on their previous studio album, The Oracle, as well as with other bands such as Superjoint Ritual, Mudvayne, Otep, Slipknot and Simple Plan, and on both of Evanescence's multi-platinum selling albums, The Open Door and Fallen. "I love the studio," said Fortman. "I came back to get that unique sound for this new Godsmack record and we really nailed it and had a great time." "It was great," said guitarist Tony Rombola in response to Guitar Worlds question regarding how it was like working with Fortman. "He has a lot of ideas and was a lot of fun to work with. He's also a guitar player and plays drums, so he was able to give us input and bounce ideas off of us." The album was co-produced by Sully Erna.
Album cover
On July 1, Godsmack debuted the album cover for 1000hp online. The album cover plays off the theme of the album's title as it features the signature Godsmack sun logo and a burst of flames from which a classic car emerges.