Have you ever listened to an album and thought it would make for an incredible book? The songs’ characters, the themes, the plot—sometimes, they just lend themselves to a page-turning story. But most of the time, the stories told in the songs are confined to music and lyrics, never advancing to print. It’s a shame, as fans who want a tangible piece of music will never be satisfied…unless the perfect opportunity comes along.
Sumerian Comics recently announced the graphic novel version of Godsmack’s Awake. The album celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, so what better way to honor this landmark record than with its own full-color book?
In October, Godsmack: Awake will be released as a 96-page hardcover inspired by the lyrics, themes, and overall atmosphere of the band’s album. It will touch on memory, guilt, and violence, and how the three prompt our main character to break free from the darkness. Readers will follow Sevrin, a lost man who wakes up among isolated sand dunes with no idea of how he got there. He travels around, plagued by visions of violent deaths from different eras. Each vision is tied to greed, rage, and the lives destroyed by the same mistakes he constantly makes with himself. New scars appear on him with each vision, obfuscating the line between past and present, reality and fiction, life and death. Will Sevrin finally wake up and change his ways or is he doomed to relive these past lives forever?
Godsmack: Awake was a huge collaborative effort amongst writer Jonathan Hedrick, illustrator Giusi Lo Piccolo, artist Simone D’Angelo, and designer Toni Sardina. Together, they created a visual world from Awake, determined to do the graphic novel and the album justice.
There are five different pre-order bundles available for Godsmack: Awake. Each tier increases in price. They are as follows:
- Tier 1: Features the hardcover graphic novel.
- Tier 2: Features the hardcover graphic novel with slipcase, postcard set, and digital access card.
- Tier 3: Features the hardcover graphic novel with slipcase, postcard set, digital access card, and t-shirt.
- Tier 4: Limited to 250 copies. Features the hardcover graphic novel with slipcase, postcard set, digital access card, t-shirt, oracle license plate, shot glass set, Bad Magick Saloon matchbook, and numbered bookplate.
- Tier 5: Limited to 50 copies. Features the hardcover graphic novel with slipcase, postcard set, digital access card, t-shirt, oracle license plate, shot glass set, Bad Magick Saloon matchbook, and Sully Erna signed bookplate.
You can pre-order your copy of Godsmack: Awake from any of the tiers here. The graphic novel is due for release in October.
Godsmack is a multi-platinum Boston-bred rock band who have been dominating the music scene for more than two decades. Across their eight studio albums, they have had 11 singles reach number one on mainstream rock radio and ten singles in the top 20 charts—the latter of which is the most of any artist at the format since 1999. They have sold over 20M records worldwide, and their latest offering is Live at Mohegan Sun, which was released in May. This live album captures the power and evolution of the band’s sound, featuring career-spanning hits and deep cuts.
Currently, Godsmack is on the Rise Of The Rock World Tour with special guests Stone Temple Pilots and Dorothy. You can find tickets and the list of dates here.
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