GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna will perform the national anthem January 1, 2006 prior to the New England Patriots' home game against the Miami Dolphins in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The NFL contest is scheduled to air on CBS at 1 p.m. ET. Erna previously sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the Windham, N.H., Baseball-Softball League's Fest-a-Ball event last May.

As previously reported, GODSMACK have entered a studio to begin recording the follow-up to 2003's "Faceless" album. "The band began writing while on the road in 2004 and reconvened after the Rockin' the Corps show in California on April Fool's Day," reads a posting on the group's web site. "They chose to finish writing at home, much unlike their 2002 move to Miami, by setting up a rehearsal space in the Boston area. Days were spent at the studio and nights were spent at home, the perfect balance that most of us take for granted. Things are definitely moving forward and on schedule but they still have a long way to go. Therefore a release date has not been established, but a ballpark of early-to-mid-2006 is the target."