Like many people, the members of Massachusetts-based rock band Godsmack [ tickets ] were obviously touched by the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

After the terror attacks, Godsmack donated 100 percent of its merchandise sales and portions of each venue's ticket sales to The Solidarity Foundation, an organization that benefits the widows and orphans of New York City firefighters and policemen.

Godsmack has also done its part to support their fans in the armed forces. During its headlining tour earlier this year, it offered substantial discounts on ticket prices to members of the military.

And, of course, for the last couple years, the Godsmack song "Awake" has been the soundtrack to U.S. Navy recruiting ads.

For bassist Robbie Merrill, the cause hits a little closer to home.

"I'm proud; I'm an American," Merrill said. "I have a couple relatives over there in Iraq. I'm pro-American. I'm hoping they come back safe. I just wish we'd pull our s--- together and have world peace."

The Grammy Award-winning Godsmack is currently touring in support of two albums: 2003's "Faceless" and its recently released acoustic EP, "The Other Side."

Merrill talked to liveDaily about "The Other Side," "Faceless" and working with a noteworthy producer.

liveDaily: Why was now the right time for an acoustic Godsmack album?

Robbie Merrill: We always wanted to do something like that. We didn't want to put a roof over our head [and be known for] just heavy music. We want fans to know we can play other stuff. It's kind of like a learning curve. I think we set them up [for an acoustic album] with "Voodoo" and "Serenity" and "Spiral." We had a little softer side on each record. We put something in there to let them know we can do other things. This made sense to do. So we did it and we had a lot of fun doing it.

Was it hard to choose the songs that appear on "The Other Side"?

Not really. We just played a bunch of them. The ones that worked well acoustically just stuck out. There could have been a couple more, but we only wanted to put seven or eight songs on there. We didn't want it to be a full-blown album. We just wanted to test the fans. Maybe someday we'll do it again.

Why didn't you want to record a complete album?

We wanted to keep the price down. That had a lot to do with it.

That's kind of sad that you had to put a limit on creativity for financial reasons.

Well, we're still pushing the "Faceless" CD, too. ... There were a lot of factors involved. We just wanted to do it as a tester and go from there.

Speaking of "Faceless," did you record it any differently than your previous albums?

Yeah, we got a producer, David Bottrill (Tool, Peter Gabriel), and we basically went down to Miami. We lived down there for three months. We wrote and practiced in a rehearsal room. Once we got all the songs, we went in the studio in that area and spent another six-to-eight weeks there and that was about it. With "Awake," we did it all at home. We wrote all the stuff on the road. We went into our little studio, brought in all the equipment, and did it there.

Which way do you prefer?

["Faceless"] was more expensive. Now you're paying top dollar for the producer, the studio. But we put out a product that we're real happy with. The next step is to learn from that and hopefully do it cheaper next time.

Was it the first time you worked with a producer?

Yeah, a top-notch guy like that. We basically did it all on our own [before]. We had Mudrock (Andrew Murdock). He was our guy who did the first two, and mostly it was Sully. Now we wanted to have sonically a bigger CD. We wanted to grow. So we thought it best to bring in someone like him. He was really good with drum sounds and that kind of thing, so we brought him in.

Was it challenging to work with a producer like Mudrock?

Yeah, he worked us pretty hard. We just wanted to duplicate the sound that we have. That's hard too. We wanted this kick-ass drum sound. He's done Tool and some other bands like that, so he's really good in taking the sound that you have and putting it on tape.

How did you chose him?

We did "I Stand Alone" with him and it worked out well. He brought Sully to another level when it comes to his vocal range, and trying different ideas that we wouldn't have tried in the past. We wanted to give him a chance and it worked out well.