MOTLEY CRUE VS. GODSMACK; The Feud That Won’t Die

Some rock feuds eventually die.

Some get buried beneath decades of therapy, retirement announcements and increasingly expensive reunion tours.

And then there’s Godsmack vs. Mötley Crüe.

Nearly two decades after the two bands apparently couldn’t survive one tour without throwing verbal punches at each other, former Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin has dragged the feud back into the spotlight.

So What Started This Whole Thing?

The original bad blood goes back to 2009, when Godsmack joined Mötley Crüe’s “Crüe Fest 2” tour alongside Theory of a Deadman and Drowning Pool.

According to Larkin, the tension was basically “backstage ego bullshit”.

In a 2011 interview, Larkin said the problems involved Mötley Crüe’s security and how Godsmack’s guests were treated backstage. He said the situation eventually contributed to friction between Sully Erna and Nikki Sixx.

Larkin characterized the situation as a clash of egos and said the two rock stars essentially didn’t get along. Which, to be fair, sounds about as surprising as discovering that water is wet. Motley Crue are the poster children for “style over substance” in the bloated spectacle that was 80’s metal. Meanwhile Godsmack always saw themselves as regular guys who put everything into kicking ass live.

Larkin also made an important distinction: despite the drama, he considered the actual tour a fantastic experience. Apparently everyone ELSE had a great time. But alas, when one of your boys has beef… then you do too!

Then Godsmack Released “Cryin’ Like a Bitch”

This is where things got interesting.

Godsmack released “Cryin’ Like a Bitch” in 2010, and fans immediately began connecting the song to the band’s experience on Crüe Fest 2.

Sully Erna had previously talked about the “rock-star garbage” he felt Godsmack experienced during the tour, while the song’s lyrics certainly seemed tailor-made for somebody who had pissed off the wrong band.

Larkin later explained that the song’s original inspiration wasn’t actually Nikki Sixx. The initial idea reportedly came from NFL quarterback Philip Rivers, with Erna subsequently taking the song in a direction influenced by the Crüe Fest experience.

So was it about Nikki?

Was it about Philip Rivers?

Was it about everyone?

At this point, the song has become a weird rock equivalent of the Zapruder film.

Nikki Sixx Wasn’t Exactly Taking the High Road

Sixx responded to the continuing criticism over the years with his own collection of insults.

In 2014, he publicly mocked Godsmack after the band apparently sought an appearance on his Sixx Sense radio show.

Sixx claimed Godsmack had “begged” to appear on the program and threw in a reference to “Cryin’ Like a Bitch” for good measure.

Because apparently the best way to resolve a six-year-old argument is to make fun of someone’s promotional strategy on Twitter.

Then, in 2015, Sully Erna took things considerably further.

During an appearance on The Jasta Show, Erna unleashed a barrage of insults against Sixx, including calling him a “washed-up has-been” and challenging him to come find him.

Sixx’s eventual response?

“Poor baby.”

That’s it.

After years of rock-star trash talk, we had somehow arrived at the playground level of conflict resolution.

Fast Forward to 2026…

And here we are again.

Former Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin recently discussed the band’s approach to playing live and defended Godsmack’s philosophy of performing without click tracks or backing tracks.

That’s when Nikki Sixx’s name entered the conversation.

Larkin claimed that while watching Mötley Crüe perform, he noticed Sixx apparently wasn’t singing at certain moments even though his vocal could still be heard.

His conclusion?

It was a backing track.

Larkin specifically said he saw Sixx look away while the vocal remained audible and described it as a track playing underneath the performance. He contrasted that with Godsmack’s approach, saying the band uses no click tracks or backing tracks.

Nikki Sixx Fires Back

Sixx responded on X by calling Larkin a “hater” and accusing B- and C-level bands of spending more time talking about Mötley Crüe than writing memorable songs.

He also suggested the criticism could be motivated by jealousy, insecurity or slow ticket sales, which is a very Nikki Sixx way to handle the situation.

Apparently rock grudges have a shelf life somewhere between canned beans and nuclear waste.

But Are Mötley Crüe Actually Using Backing Tracks?

There has been a separate and much larger controversy surrounding Mötley Crüe’s use of prerecorded material during live performances.

Former guitarist Mick Mars made allegations during his legal battle with the band, claiming that significant portions of the group’s live performance were prerecorded, including allegations concerning Sixx’s bass, Vince Neil’s vocals and Tommy Lee’s drums.

The band has strongly disputed those claims.

So Larkin’s comments aren’t coming out of nowhere. There has been an ongoing public debate surrounding Mötley Crüe and live-performance technology.

While nothing has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, fans have posted videos that APPEAR to show Nikki Sixx not playing his bass while bass is playing on the amps among several examples that seem to show the elder members of The Crue faking their live performance.

It’s important to make it clear that, in our opinion, the Crue has ALWAYS sucked live. And that was before they were in elderly, so backing tracks could only help the final product!

Does Using Backing Tracks Make a Band “Fake”?

That’s the bigger question underneath all of this.

Modern rock shows can involve an enormous amount of technology.

Click tracks.

Backing vocals.

Additional guitars.

Synths.

Sound effects.

Samples.

Pre-recorded instruments.

Sometimes the technology is used because the production simply couldn’t happen otherwise.

Sometimes it can help a singer who has to perform dozens of shows on a massive tour.

Sometimes it makes a giant arena production sound more consistent.

And sometimes fans simply don’t give a damn.

Then there are musicians like Larkin who believe some of that technology removes the unpredictability that made live rock shows exciting in the first place. He described the effect as a “homogenization” of what used to be the dangerous feeling of a rock show.

That’s a legitimate debate.

The Godsmack vs. Mötley Crüe Scorecard

2009: Crüe Fest 2 happens.

2010: Godsmack releases “Cryin’ Like a Bitch.”

2011: Shannon Larkin explains that the feud largely involved backstage/security issues and clashing egos.

2014: Nikki Sixx publicly mocks Godsmack over an apparent request to appear on Sixx Sense.

2015: Sully Erna unloads on Sixx during The Jasta Show. Sixx responds with “Poor baby.”

2026: Shannon Larkin talks about backing tracks and uses Nikki Sixx as an example.

2026: Nikki Sixx calls Larkin a hater and accuses Godsmack of spending too much time talking about Mötley Crüe.

Since it’s obvious that Godsmack would crush Motley Crue in a fight, we have to assume that this will continue with bitchy comments until everyone’s dead. We suggest a tag-team boxing match where the loser leaves town!

Watch the Video

We break down the latest Shannon Larkin/Nikki Sixx exchange, the backing-track controversy and the surprisingly long history of bad blood between Godsmack and Mötley Crüe in the video below.

Watch it before somebody writes another diss track.

Want More Rock & Metal?

If you’re the kind of person who thinks spending your evening arguing about Mötley Crüe, Godsmack and backing tracks is a perfectly reasonable use of your time, we’ve got plenty more where that came from.

What do you think?

Is using backing tracks during a live rock show cheating?

Or is complaining about them just another way for aging rock stars and their former associates to yell at each other while the rest of us watch?

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