The official SEVENDUST Thread (v. Truth Killer - out 7/28/23)

[Samsara]

Kind of surprised there's no thread devoted to Sevendust on here.

The band's new album, Truth Killer, is out today. I had high hopes for this record. I didn't like their previous offering, Blood & Stone, so I was hoping for a return to heaviness. They all got together in a country house and just jammed, and I assumed that meant a rawer, more aggressive record.

I was wrong.

Other than the first single (and closing track), "Fence," most of this record is mid-tempo and utilizes auto-tune for effect. The opening track is a slog. I'm really disappointed in this one. (See below.) Some tracks perked my ears on first listen other than "Fence," notably "Love and Hate," "Superficial Drug" and "No Revolution." The title track is pretty cool after a lame opening too. But I have to listen a bit more. But yeah, on first listen, I'm was pretty bummed and expected more aggression.

I'm a longtime OG fan of the band (truth be told, maybe not OG, but I did get into them with Home in 1999). My favorites from 7D are Animosity, Home, Alpha (this concept album flew over the heads of listeners, which is something 7D admitted - the 9-minute "Burn" is one of their best tracks), Seasons, and Kill the Flaw.

Sevendust's live show is always a blast though - these guys play with a ton of energy. And when they do their acoustic thing, it's equally as engaging for different reasons. Great band.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

They're one of my favorite bands, and probably my favorite that you can sometimes hear on mainstream rock radio.  Animosity in particular is a phenomenal album.  Lajon and Morgan especially are some of the best at what they do.  I'll definitely be checking out their latest, though to be honest most of their last few have "pretty good" rather than "great". 

[SoundscapeMN]

I always associate them with 2 things, and 1 more thing of late.

-I would see their name constantly in Metal Edge in the late 90's
-The Singer from the german Prog Metal band Superior I guess was a huge fan, and almost skipped 1 of their shows to see them

And then just within the last 9 months, I was introduced to the band A Kew's Tag who while aren't exactly like Sevendust, have that sort of heavy almost grunge/post-grunge sound with ACOUSTIC instrumentation. Sort of Acoustic Progressive Grunge in a way. A friend of mine on FB and Discord loves their last album,

That being said, Sevendust are a band I've never cared that much for, but it's probably been over 20 years since I heard any of their music.

[Samsara]

On my second listen, and I'm discovering some more good about it. But i'm not blown away by any of the tracks, which is sort the same reaction I had to Blood and Stone. I miss the days where I put it on and a track just floors me.

Maybe "really disappointed" was the wrong way to phrase it. "Let down" may be better. But it's their band and their music. It's not "bad" by any stretch (I could live without using autotune for effect - Lajon doesn't need it and neither does Clint). But I miss the aggressive, "let's shove this up your ass" attitude in the songs. It has been missing for a long time.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

That being said, Sevendust are a band I've never cared that much for, but it's probably been over 20 years since I heard any of their music.

They don't strike me as being your type of band, though some of their lighter material is worth a shot.  Perhaps give their acoustic reimaginings album Time Travelers & Bonfires album a listen, or at least the two acoustic tunes "Xmas Day" and "Angel's Son" from Animosity a try if you're up for it. 

[Samsara]

That being said, Sevendust are a band I've never cared that much for, but it's probably been over 20 years since I heard any of their music.

They don't strike me as being your type of band, though some of their lighter material is worth a shot.  Perhaps give their acoustic reimaginings album Time Travelers & Bonfires album a listen, or at least the two acoustic tunes "Xmas Day" and "Angel's Son" from Animosity a try if you're up for it.

I second all of this.

So, more reaction to Truth Killer - I am liking it more and more. I absolutely despise the very lame opening track and the liberal use of autotune for effect. The rest of the record is okay. It feels like a mix of Blood and Stone and Cold Day Memory with some moments from the other records. It's solid, but really not the direction I had hoped they'd go, honestly. But I'm alright with it.

[Anguyen92]

I like me some Sevendust.  I've heard their stuff since 2010 when I discovered (like most bands I know back then) that Enemy was a song used as a theme song for a WWE PPV.  I do enjoy the Time Travelers and Bonfires album and albums like Animosity and Seasons.  That said, their stuff in the 2010s onward can be hit or miss.  Still put on a solid energy show.  Saw them twice. Once in 2019 when they co-headlined with Skillet in LA and once in 2022 in Anaheim at the House of Blues when they played Animosity in full.  Can't wait seeing them a 3rd time when I go to Grand Rapids to see them and Alter Bridge (and I choose that city to see that bill only because I have an event I want to go to the next day in Chicago).

[nick_z]

Discovered Sevendust with Home too, back in the day. The obvious things that drew me in then were of course Lajon's vocals and Morgan's drumming - fantastic stuff.

Haven't checked out the new one yet. To be honest, I haven't truly followed them as much after, what is it, Alpha, I think? (I do have Black Out the Sun, though.) Not for any specific reason...I think I drifted away from the style a bit, and felt they weren't quite as exciting to me. I should probably revisit Alpha, though, in light of what you said.

First few records are pretty awesome. I think I've mentioned it before but, for some reason, my favorite and the one I tend to go back to the most is Seasons. It surely was a bit more radio-friendly but the melodies on it were fantastic. And the playing was top-notch too (those grooves!)

[LithoJazzoSphere]

First few records are pretty awesome. I think I've mentioned it before but, for some reason, my favorite and the one I tend to go back to the most is Seasons. It surely was a bit more radio-friendly but the melodies on it were fantastic. And the playing was top-notch too (those grooves!)

Seasons has a lot of great material, but for the people that want to dismiss them as "just another nu-metal band", "Enemy" is probably literally the most nu-metal song they've ever done, and while it's still pretty good, it doesn't capture a lot of their other facets so much. 

[Anguyen92]

I would think Bitch is the most nu-metal song they have ever done.  That or Waffle.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

I could see the argument for "Bitch".  The chorus is more post-grunge though.  I guess it depends upon what attributes are the most important for what you classify as "nu-metal", but "Waffle" doesn't really have so much of the rapping or hip-hop elements present, it's more adjacent to industrial metal.  If you're thinking of the heavily effected KoRn-esque clean guitars, I guess I could see that. 

[Samsara]

To hell with labels. Yes, they played what was popular for their first couple records. But Sevendust is just metal band with a heavy emphasis on melody.

"Bitch" is a great tune, no matter what the label people assign to it, ya know? That chorus is Godly. "Waffle" (or "Assdrop" as they initially intended) is a fun romp.

Sevendust quickly became an all-time favorite of mine. It's awesome that they now have four vocalists in the band, and they use them. When Clint left after Seasons, John really stepped up in the songwriting and vocal department.

My first time seeing Sevendust was November 26, 2002, at The Webster, in Hartford, CT. It was one of the first shows Sevendust played after Lajon's little brother was killed in a drive-by shooting. When the band began "Angel's Son," LJ broke down in tears, and without missing a beat, all of us sang the song the rest of the way through, as LJ went backstage. They took a few minutes after the song to go get him and when they came back on to continue the show, LJ was a complete (as you would expect) emotional wreck, but thanked us profusely. They got through the gig and played incredibly well.

It was also a Wednesday and the day before Thanksgiving. They finished up probably around midnight (I don't remember exactly - maybe 1130), and when I came out, there was four inches of snow on the ground already (there was nothing when I went into the venue around 630/7). So I had this tiny little Honda Civic I needed to drive home to Long Island in what would become a massive snowstorm. It was normally a 3.5 hour drive. I left around 1130, 1145, I didn't arrive home until 730 the next morning. I was stuck doing like 10 mph behind trucks trying to get home. 

Anyway, the show was emotional, it was a blast, and it was the first of 11 times (and counting - one more scheduled for August) I've seen Sevendust.

p.s. Truth Killer continues to grow on me...except for that horrendous opening track. I think when I put the record on my iPod, I'm leaving it off and just starting with the title track. 

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Wow, I'm not sure if I'd heard that story.  I know Morgan has talked in interviews about how Lajon normally never ever has an off night.  But that one would be completely understandable. 

[Samsara]

Wow, I'm not sure if I'd heard that story.  I know Morgan has talked in interviews about how Lajon normally never ever has an off night.  But that one would be completely understandable.

LJ cries at a lot of shows. He's just an emotional dude. But yeah, this was one of those first few shows back after his brother was killed, and he just broke down. Really proud of all of us in that audience for carrying the rest of the tune for him. Hard to believe that was 21 years ago. Crazy.

[Anguyen92]

I think when Lajon and Clint were doing their Loudwire Wikipedia Fact Or Fiction, Lajon mention briefly about performing after his brother was killed.  Around 5 minutes in.  The next section after that was when the host found something about Sevendust being close to bankrupt due to record label issues and had a large debt and Lajon said, "Who told you all of that?" Host: Wikipedia.  Lajon: That's true.  Then he laughed about how that was a awesome time to think that was something like that almost happened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOSHNZBNYVg

Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow was a solid album as well.  They had some good collaborations with Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge and Chris Daughtry from Daughtry.  Those three songs that had those guest appearance were good.

[Samsara]

Funny enough, Chapter VII is one of my least favorites from them. I just don't think the songs are strong, which is, IMO, why they really wanted Clint back. I think "Inside" is the best of the bunch. Just a shame 7D wasted appearances by Kennedy, Tremonti and Daughtry on those songs. 

Honestly, I think they blew their load with the Clint-less lineup on Alpha. That record was just tremendous. Brutally heavy, proggy in spots (particularly "Burn"), etc. In fact, John told my wife and I they actually have an entire live performance of that record, front-to-back, taken from the studio, in their vault. They love that record, but don't want to release it because Clint's not on it.

But my least favorite 7D records are probably...

All I See Is War
Chapter VII
Blood & Stone

[PixelDream]

I’ve always liked Sevendust and I will always at least check out their latest release.
I was pretty into them around Animosity and Seasons. Those two have quite some mainstream-ish appeal but I still like how heavy it sounds. These two records have awesome songwriting. From ‘Home’ I really like Denial, Waffle and Licking Cream, with Skin from Skunk Anansie!

Everything after that is a mixed bag for me. I liked Next and Alpha back then, but those don’t really have staying power for me. Chapter VII I actually liked quite some.

From Cold Day Memory and Black Out The Sun onwards, excessive dynamic range compression starts to hurt the albums I think. I really dig Faithless and Murder Bar though.

Kill The Flaw was self-produced and it shows: back to a more natural sound. This one was alright.

Honestly, the last three albums including Truth Killer all get kinda samey for me. They’re still churning out catchy choruses and banging riffs, but man do I hate those Elvis Baskette productions. Compressed to oblivion, one big mushy mess with all these added ‘oomph’ sub bass drops. The drums sound fake as hell and the entire mix just sounds like there’s a blanket over my speakers. All I See Is War was by far the worst offender though.

I actually quite enjoyed the opening track of the new album. Reminds me of Nine Inch Nails but with smoother vocals.

[WardySI]

Went hunting for a Sevendust thread here a while back also surprised there was none so thanks for starting this one Brian.

Also a long-time fan since Home which the wife introduced me to and I've never missed a record, but did miss them supporting Animosity Down Under when they were supporting Creed here, due to them cancelling just a few days out after the terrible loss of Lajon's brother.  And unfortunately I've never been able to get to any their shows here since so getting to a Sevendust show is my #1 bucket list.

Agreed not all of their albums have been great but all have been solid. I stand by Brian's support of Alpha, a tremendous record, Confessions Of Hatred I love and Under is forever a favorite 7D tune fer me.  Also dug Chapter VII but so far as since the reformation with Clint, Cold Day Memory, Kill The Flaw and Blood & Stone were all good solid albums (every 7D record has some cracking moments), but IMO their best albums have been Black Out The Sun and All I See Is War!

War' was was a monster album for my ears.  Stellar material and performances, so much so it sits right behind Home and Animosity fer me and I play it regularly (and on vinyl too and (fortunately), have never had any issue with its production except on the otherwise excellent Descend which has a slight static sound on both streaming and CD (again less so on the vinyl?)).  Dirty, Medicated, Sickness, Not Original, Moments and the brilliant Life Deceives You, fantastic stuff and a no-brainer AOTY for me in 2018 \m/

Anyway, after a couple of the singles I didn't expect it either, but as is typical of a new Sevendust record lately, after spending the weekend with it Truth Killer has blown up for me in a BIG way.  So much so even the singles I wasn't so fond of are grabbing hard!  Another monster record that just gets better with each listen.  Nothing I don't like and love the opening track for being something different (albeit granted is a little long and didn't need the full band closing it but small gripe).  Will be interesting to see where it lands alongside All I See Is War and Black Out The Sun even.
 
Favorites would be Won't Stop The Bleeding, Everything, Superficial Drug, Messenger, Leave Hell Behind, Fence and Holy Water and warming to the title-track more as I type

Count me in a happy fan 

[Grappler]

I remember liking these guys when the first record came out, but after that, I kind of lumped them in with nu-metal bands and never paid attention to them.

A handful of years ago, I bought Alpha, which I enjoy.  But other than the first album and Alpha, I haven't heard much that I enjoy.

[Samsara]

Hey, any Sevendust fans from Texas here? I have three tickets to the Sunday, 8/20 show at the Boeing Center at Tech Port when they are opening for Alter Bridge. Turns out we can't go. The tickets are through etix, so I'd have to forward you the email. Looking to just get rid of all three tickets (cost me $285) and happy to part with them to someone here at DTF for $200 total.

PM me if interested.