Modern metal is a very wide-ranging term for music. Dance-influenced death metal, math metal, djent and all kinds of weird death- or metalcore could be meant by modern metal ... or a mix of everything existing. But mostly, modern metal is associated with relatively young musicians. On the other hand, there are bands such as Godsmack within this genre. Basically, Godsmack is a horde of middle-aged guys playing hard rock since 1995 and having pretty much success with their music. And there's a good reason for that.
It's always nice to see that there are bands that still seem to have plenty of ideas and love what they're doing even after nearly twenty years, but stay loyal to their style and don't start playing completely different music just because the trends have changed. Godsmack kept their heavy rocking riffs and the vocals sound as powerful as always. I'm hearing some little changes, though. The vocal lines are more melodic and prominent, but the rest has been kept really classic, which, nowadays, is a refreshing change, looking at all the new-coming, crazy-going bands. And still, the album is full of variety and every song is different in a certain way. "Something Different" convinces with a slightly melancholic feeling and the addition of violin melodies and acoustic guitars, while "I Don't Belong" is one of the heavier songs of the album.
Although Godsmack didn't necessarily create something new with "1000hp", they deliver quality and that's what counts in the end. Sometimes, we only need a constant in this world full of variables and a band that doesn't care about trends and what the kids want to hear in year 2014 - the guys from Godsmack certainly care about what they want to do, look back to their roots, but try to put some modern elements into their songs in order to play kick-ass music yet after a good bunch of years. "1000hp" therefore is an enjoyable and succeeded record.
