Former Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin recently broke his silence about his departure from the band. He shared his perspective on the exit and the future of Godsmack in a video posted on Shannon Larkin’s Inside Skinny Productions.
Larkin addressed his decision to leave the band after decades of touring. He emphasized that his departure was amicable and based on personal reasons rather than typical band conflicts.
“With the Godsmack thing, I tell you, people, it ended beautifully, and there was no hard feelings. And Godsmack 2.0 is coming, with Wade Murff on the drums and Sam Koltun on guitar. And it’s gonna be badass, ’cause I know [Godsmack frontman] Sully Erna, and he’s badass, and he’ll make a badass record. And Godsmack will persevere, 2.0. And no hard feelings on this side, because it’s all love,” Larkin said.
The drummer explained his decision was rooted in exhaustion from four decades of constant touring rather than personal conflicts within the band.
“For those who don’t know or may be watching me for the first time, the touring — I’ve been touring for 40 years. And I wanna again say to [Oasis’s] Noel Gallagher: I’m not that dude that’s sitting here whining [and] bitching about it. It was the greatest years of my life, the last 40 years in this music business, touring my ass off, and make a record, tour, make a record, tour, make a record, tour. Boom. Until it wasn’t… And so I stopped. And it was okay,” he continued.
Larkin emphasized his long-standing friendship with Godsmack frontman Sully Erna. This friendship predates their professional relationship by many years.
“And Sully understood, ’cause he knew me from the Wrathchild days, since 1986, [198]7, we met. That’s for real. There was no cell phones or Internet, people. We wrote our numbers down after having met one another, and stayed in touch for 17 years before I joined Godsmack. So, we were friends way before that, and so now we’re friends way beyond that. And that’s important, I think, especially in the moving on,” Larkin explained.
The drummer also addressed the typical reasons bands break up. He clarified that his departure was different from the usual causes of band splits.
“I always try to put my foot in the other shoe. And I would’ve been upset too at first. And there’s a bitterness that you feel when your homeboys leave your band. But you understand the reason. And it’s not any of the usual reasons that break bands up, which is sex, drugs. And when I say ‘sex’, it’s some dude in a band hits on the other guy’s wife or worse,” he said.
Larkin’s departure marks the end of a significant era for Godsmack. His tenure with the band spanned over two decades of the group’s most successful period.
Wikipedia reported that Larkin joined Godsmack in June 2002 and became the band’s longest-serving drummer at the time of his departure in late 2024. During his time with the band, he played on six studio albums. He contributed to some of Godsmack’s most commercially successful releases.
Both parties involved have confirmed the amicable nature of the split. Blabbermouth noted that lead singer Sully Erna emphasized in a recent interview that there was “no bad blood” between the departing members and the band.
Erna confirmed that Larkin and guitarist Tony Rombola, who also left the band, “gave me the best years in this band” and are “truly like brothers” who “always will be.” This sentiment reflects the deep personal bonds formed during their extensive collaboration.
Loudwire revealed that both Larkin and Rombola quit the band last year because they “didn’t want to tour anymore.” This highlights the physical and emotional toll that decades of constant touring can take on musicians. The departure of these longtime members represents a significant transition for Godsmack as they move forward with new personnel while maintaining their musical legacy.
