Recently, for various reasons, I’ve been reflecting on time, on being stuck in a rut and doing the same things over and over.
I’ll be honest, it came as a shock that it’s been over 25 years since Sevendust released their debut record. I bought it back then; I was looking for something different. I’m always looking for something different.
And on their 14th album (another shock!), so are the Atlanta mob.
About as far removed from bands like The Georgia Satellites from that city as you can be, “I Might Let The Devil Win” ensures a somewhat unsettling start. “Don’t come around,” sings Lajon Witherspoon. Maybe he knows?
Sevendust, you see, were never supposed to follow a leader, merely to innovate. Instead, there’s a discordant rhythm to the title track and a modern metal tinge.
“Won’t Stop The Bleeding” has an industrial metal edge, and “Everything” is rather built on the way it lurks.
Yet, when it wants, it can be extremely heavy, as the almost prog riff to “No Revolution” proves.
But Sevendust have a gift. And that is simply this: they do hooks. They do choruses. And they do them superbly.
“Sick Mouth” is a highlight. You’ll find yourself singing “no prayer for the guilty” whether you want to or not. That’s what they do.
Everything about this – their 14th album – is designed to throw you off guard. The keys on the quasi-ballad “Leave Hell Behind,” the chopping clinical guitar work from Clint Lowery, and the almost electronic pulse to “Superficial Drug” – they are all pointers to the same thing. Sevendust will do it their way.
Working with Michael “Elvis” Baskette (Alter Bridge, Slash, etc.) is like a guarantee of class, and his alchemy is shot through “Messenger.”
Impressively, there are no let-ups in the “deep cuts.” “Love And Hate” is one of the best things here. “I’m not afraid to meet my maker,” sings Witherspoon, with determination, and an album that exists in the margins finds real driving energy to end. “Fence” is a masterclass in modern American rock.
That word is important. This could only be an American group. It is in the DNA, but it goes deeper. This could only be Sevendust – and that’s the truth.
Rating: 8/10
