Sevendust | Blood & Stone
Before I start to tell you my feelings about Sevendust’s newest contribution to the music world, (spoil alert, its’ amazing) I want to start from the beginning. I first saw Sevendust back in 1997 during their tour stop in Boston Massachusetts with Powerman 5000 and Coal Chamber. One of the highlights of that entire show was Sevendusts highly energized performance which some would argue was the best performance of the night. I have owned every Sevendust album including their very first self-titled release which came out on April 15, 1997. I remember going to Newberry Comics to pick up my copy just so I could blare the song “Bitch”, “Black”, “Terminator” and, oh who am I kidding, every song on that album was amazing. There sound was such a new and unique take on metal music. They broke the mold of what people typically thought metal music should sound like and really created their own creative writing formula. Bands have tried to emulate Sevendust’s undeniable sound but can never quite get it right, the reason why is because they are missing a critical ingredient. That crucial ingredient is Lajon Witherspoon, Clint Lowery, Morgan Rose, Vince Hornsby and John Connolly. Each member of the band brings forth a creative mindset that when mixed together gives us the undeniable sound we have all come to love, and that is Sevendust.
Sevendust’s newest album called Blood & Stone which was released on October 23rd 2020 is a strong album and Sevendust fans will not be disappointed. This new album brings a more revised and smoother sound from the band while still keeping the powerful guitar riffs and bass lines the band is known for. Lajon’s voice sounds great and he really brings a different vocal performance with this album showing his range with songs such as “Nothing Left To See Here Anymore”, “Feel Like Going On” and “Alone”. Morgan Rose still brings his powerful drum performance to the new record but you can hear a more refined version of his style. He mixes heavy drum riffs with punk elements while easily balancing the emotion of each track with each snare strike like in the song “Love”. He also brings a calm and soothing drumming element to songs that definitely benefit from it such as the song “Criminal”.
Guitarists Clint Lowery and John Connolly bring a more detailed and emotionally driven guitar composition to this new album. They still provide the intense and powerful guitar riffs they are known for with songs such as “Blood From A Stone” and “Dying To Live” but tracks such as “Love”, “Feel Like Going On” and “Kill Me” venture into this more poetic and cinematic style of guitar work that melds perfectly into each one of those songs. One of the most important pieces to the band’s sound which saves Clint and John’s guitar work from being flat is bassist Vince Hornsby. His bass work is what brings that physical gut punch and head banging experience to each Sevendust song. Without Vince Hornsby the Sevendust sound we know and love does not exist.
This album has many different elements that new Sevendust fans will love and old Sevendust fans will embrace. You can hear the personal and musical growth within the band with each album they put out and this new album takes them even higher. With a blend of melodic yet smooth melodies and high octane metal songs Sevendust only shows their undeniable impact and influence in the music world with this new record. I myself as well as millions of others are ready to see them perform these new songs live. I put this album on my top 5 albums list of 2020.
Oh and by the way they cover Soundgarden’s classic “The day I tried to Live” and do it with such poise and respect to the late Chris Cornell. They do an incredible job at bringing Sevendust’s style to this iconic and beautiful song while maintaining the powerful impact of the Soundgarden original.. Awesomely done.
~Editor Chris Sturk
We gave the album a 5 out of 5 stars!
NEW
BLOOD & STONE