The Oracle is the fifth studio album by American rock band Godsmack, released in the United States on May 4, 2010.

It received generally favorable critical reviews and became the band's third consecutive album to reach number one on the Billboard 200.

As a result of that, Sully Erna stated in an interview with ArtisanNewsService on YouTube the band had to postpone the writing process until the tour was finished on September 5, 2009, "We were in the middle of writing the record, and we had kinda settle that process for a minute and postponed it.

"Whiskey Hangover" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks,[2] and became a live staple in Godsmack's shows during the summer festival.

February 8, 2010, Godsmack officially named its new album The Oracle, after initially calling it Saints & Sinners.

[3] February 26, 2010, it was announced on the band's official website The Oracle will be released May 4, 2010, with the final track listing being revealed the same day.

"Our goal is just to write the music that moves us, the best we can, and then assuming that there is gonna be other people out there would agree with us and enjoy it.

Like all four, we'll play a riff, I'll come in with the drums, and next thing you know were jamming, and then it sounds like a verse, or a chorus or breakdown part.

"[6] The Oracle was recorded and produced by Dave Fortman, who has worked with bands such as Superjoint Ritual, Mudvayne, Otep, Slipknot on their new fourth studio album titled All Hope Is Gone, and Simple Plan, as well as on both of Evanescence's multi-platinum selling albums, The Open Door and Fallen.

That dude is not only the funniest guy I’ve ever met, but he really knows how to produce and make suggestions that are relevant and important to the decision of the song.

"[6] With Dave Fortman producing The Oracle, The band took a different technical approach to recording their songs.

While working on The Oracle in the studio, the band opted for laying down one track at a time, as opposed to recording composite parts and then assembling them in a piecewise manner.

As Shannon Larkin told AwayTeam: "One of the cool things about this album is that we're recording it one track at a time.

"[8]He also explained the benefits of recording that way, "In the past, we've always done one instrument at a time and it takes twice as long, and half the members of the band are gone once their parts are done.

This way we all got to enjoy the entire process together and every two days we could hear a rough mix of what that specific track sounded like.

"[5] When interviewed by Away-Team.com, Larkin described the sound as a sort of return to the band's self-titled album, stating that: "It's going to be a monster.

The drums sound incredible, Sully Erna's voice is on fire… it's gonna be much more like the first record; much heavier, with simple, catchy guitar-driven riffs.

We're working with Dave Fortman who I was lucky enough to play with in Ugly Kid Joe and who has done production for Slipknot and Mudvayne, to name a few.

"[7] In an early March 2009 interview with Rockerrazzi.com, Sully Erna stated that "the album is gonna be really heavy.

[9] When asked about the difference between The Oracle and other albums Godsmack has released in the past ten years, Sully Erna stated that, "Our previous records always had various influences that we tried to have surface in the music.

"[10] Shannon Larkin explained how the band is able to walk the line between staying true to their roots and being able to satisfy themselves creatively, stating, "Usually the riffs decide how new songs come about, with one of us showing the others a riff, and then the rest of us just jamming along until a song starts to form.

Satisfying ourselves creatively is pretty easy, as we aren't trying to re-invent the wheel musically – we are a blue-collar hard rock band.

On January 15, 2010, the band joined forces with Rockpit.com to promote the album by creating a series of fifteen webisodes for Godsmack fans describing the process, rituals and methodology of making The Oracle.

Each webisode is filled with exclusive content, behind the scenes footage, interviews and sneak peeks at their newest songs.

During the sixty minute interview, "Love-Hate-Sex-Pain", "What If", "Good Day to Die", "Shadow of a Soul", and "Forever Shamed", were all premiered on the radio for the first time.

[15] On May 3, Godsmack made an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in which they performed "Cryin' Like a Bitch" live for the first time.

[27] Internationally, The Oracle was released in Sweden on May 3, in Austria, Germany, Netherlands and Switzerland on May 7, in Finland on May 12, and in the United Kingdom on May 24.

The Oracle has been praised by fans as well as critics as a comeback for Godsmack after their fourth studio album.