Born in Chicago, Illinois, Shannon Larkin grew up in Baltimore, the Washington area.



Influenced by artists like The Beatles ("Abby Road"), The Who, Sex Pistols, Black Flag, William S. Burroughs, Clive Barker, Henry Miller, Henry Rollins, Charles BuKowski, Douglas Adams, Terry Bozzio, Joey Ramone, Perry Farrell, and others, Larkin played his first gig at age thirteen.



Raised on Keith Moon, John Bonham, and his favorite, Neil Peart, Shannon also plays bass and sings. He describes his playing as ‘concussive’. "Drumming is all about freedom of expression."



Previously Larkin played with Amen, with whom he toured in the U.S., Europe, and Canada for more than six months in support of their album “We Have Come For Your Parents” (2000). A week long tour in Japan followed before heading back to Europe for the summer festivals (Ozzfest, Dynamo, Rock Amring, etc.) that year. After leaving Amen, Blake Plonsky was added to the band.



Shannon Larkin also spent time with Wrathchild America (also simply known as Wrathchild. He left school at age sixteen to join them on tour, then joined Ugly Kid Joe after their heyday for a couple amazing records. He hass also worked with Vanilla Ice and Glen Tipton of Judas Priest.



Nowadays Shannon Larkin plays drums in Godsmack where he replaced initial drummer Tommy Steward in 2003. He also has a side project called M.F. Pitbulls, in which he does not drum but sings. They completed their first record in 2003.



2004 saw Shannon Larkin getting replaced by Joe Letz in Amen.