With "Straight Out of Line" infecting rock radio, Godsmack seem to have everything in order six weeks before their third album, Faceless, drops.

The Boston quartet recently filmed a video for the pummeling first single from Faceless, due April 8, with director Dean Karr (Dave Matthews Band, Queens of the Stone Age) in Los Angeles. The members of Godsmack pride themselves on their live performances, so they shirked the idea of a concept clip in favor of a forum that allows them to shine as a group. Because, as their singer is quick to point out, "This isn't the Sully Erna project."

"The song has got good aggression, and the visuals, when the band plays it, look really good," Erna explained. "Sometimes it's really hard to shove a story within a four-minute video, unless you're a solo artist like Eminem or wherever, because all you have to do is cut back to him once in a while. When there are four guys in a band and you have to try to cover all of them and get a story in, sometimes you don't quite get the story in and it becomes irrelevant."

Erna was pleased with the way Karr handled the clip for "Voodoo," off Godsmack's 1997 self-titled LP, so they decided to let him have another go at visualizing their song. The result is expected to surface Tuesday (February 25).

"He's got a good eye for the camera," Erna said. "He's a good visual person, and brings a lot of life to the camera. He's done an amazing job with the stuff I've seen him do."

Since it bowed at radio earlier this month, "Straight Out of Line" has been among the most requested songs on the airwaves, and it sits in the top 10 with a bullet on both the rock and active rock charts. With that kind of exposure, the targets of the tune -- namely, former pals who seem to harbor an ill-conceived perception of the working-class rockers as divas — might be reconsidering their take on the band (see [article id="1459495"]"Godsmack's Visions Of Spinal Tap, Dio, Worse Prompt A Change"[/article]).

"There are some people who we were really good friends with in the past that didn't accept [our fame] very well," Erna said. "They're basically the people that don't understand that you have to tour, and there's a lot of work involved. So we're not able to call them every weekend and hang out anymore.

"They don't realize how much work is actually involved in a 12-hour day," he continued. "It takes a lot of time because you want it to be right for the fans. You're onstage for an hour or two, and there are a lot of ideas that you have to get across so that it runs smooth, whether it's video or pyro or just making sure the band is tight as a unit among the photo shoots, interviews and traveling here and there ... There's a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that people don't understand."

Fans can see for themselves how Godsmack hold it all together to deliver the best show possible when the band kicks off a headlining tour, expected to start in late April.