Raw and powerful, the Alice-in-Chains-inspired sound of Godsmack (who took their name from an Alice in Chains song), blasted onto the scene in the late-1990s with their explosive brand of pretense-free hard rock. It took them fewer than 18 months to build a massive following in their hometown of Boston and then explode onto the Billboard active rock charts. Their self-titled debut sold more than a million copies.

Their rapid success not only caught rock and roll fans off guard, but also surprised the band. Singer Sully Erna summed up the views of the band. "Sometimes the four of us look at each other in disbelief--all this stuff is almost too good to be true," he explained. "When we heard the album had gone platinum, we were in shock. Up until that point, we were still trying to comprehend the fact that it had gone gold."

Godsmack's song "Whatever" broke records. The track spent 32 weeks in the Top 10 of the Billboard Active Rock Chart and the group won the Boston Music Award for Debut Album of the year. Most impressive is the fact that this sparkling debut was put together in three days on a $2,500 budget.