Ever since Boston hard-rock quintet Godsmack announced that they’d be putting out a live album bundled with a covers EP, the internet has been abuzz with people speculating just which songs the band would choose to give the cover treatment.

The upcoming live album, the first of its kind for Godsmack, is called “Live and Inspired” and will be released on May 15. The record will feature the band’s Detroit performance from last year’s Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival in its entirety as well as four cover songs.

The nature of the covers became slightly less shrouded in mystery today, as the band officially released the first of the four tracks, a powerful cover of Joe Walsh’s classic, “Rocky Mountain Way”. While I don’t think many had thought of Walsh when considering acts that Godsmack may have been choosing to cover, the influence and inspiration of Walsh isn’t hard to find in Godsmack’s music so it certainly makes sense.

The 4:01 track comes in with an enormous boom and it is clear from the get-go that this isn’t some exact replica of a tried and true song – it’s a balls-to-the-walls, heavy, Godsmack-laden interpretation of a classic. The song maintains its edge throughout all the while staying true to the feeling of the original. The instrumentals are tight and well mixed and vocalist Sully Erna demonstrates just how soulful he can sound when given the right inspiration. The band really lets it rip and has a lot of fun with the bridge and solo, making the song infectiously fun to listen to and very memorable.

If you’re not familiar with the original, or you just want to give it a listen, check it out below.

Now follow this link to hear Godsmack’s version!

After you’ve had the chance to give it a listen, tell us what you think! 

Keep it locked to www.tri-staterock.com, "like" us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more on Godsmack & all other things ROCK!