What started as a routine conversation about live timing and backing tracks turned into an ugly little rock-n-roll flare-up, and Shannon Larkin is now trying to put the fire out. The former Godsmack drummer apologized to Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx after remarks he made in a June 19 livestream were taken as a direct shot at Crüe’s live setup. In that stream, Larkin said Godsmack does “no click tracks, no backing tracks,” then used Sixx as an example while criticizing modern bands that rely on pre-recorded parts onstage.
Larkin’s original comments were blunt enough to predict backlash. He argued that backing tracks “homogenize” the dangerous feel of a rock show and said that when you see Sixx at the mic, “he’s not really singing, he looks away, but you still hear his voice.” That line did the damage. Sixx fired back on X, calling Larkin a “hater,” accusing “B- and C-level bands” of spending too much time talking about Mötley Crüe, and suggesting the whole thing smelled like jealousy, insecurity, or slow ticket sales. He capped it off with, “Maybe he needs to take a nap before he does more press.”
By June 29, Larkin was on Facebook Live saying he had “made a mistake” and was “not starting shit” by using Sixx as an example. He said the clip had been taken out of context, explained that he was really talking about the broader backing-track debate, and stressed that he had “nothing but respect” for Sixx. Larkin even invoked Mötley Crüe’s first album, said he had owned it on Leathür Records, and called Sixx “a legend” who “deserve[s] all the accolades” and gold and platinum records he has earned.
His apology went further than simple damage control. Larkin said, “I didn’t mean to use you as an example,” admitted he “shouldn’t have done that,” and repeatedly insisted he was not anti-track in general, only anti-track for his own stage philosophy. He said he doesn’t like “beefs,” that he never wanted publicity from the exchange, and that plenty of his friends are in bands that use tracks without him saying anything publicly. That makes the whole dust-up look less like a deep personal feud and more like an old-school authenticity argument getting blown up by the internet.
Still, the controversy has enough history behind it to keep fans arguing. Blabbermouth notes that the disagreement sits on top of a longer trail of hard-rock ego clashes, including the old Godsmack vs. Mötley Crüe friction from the Crüe Fest 2 era. The outlet also points out that Larkin’s comments arrived only after he had been talking about Godsmack’s own drumming lineup changes, which makes the whole thing feel like a war over principles that suddenly turned into a very public personality clash.
