Sevendust : "One"

 Atlanta metal groovers Sevendust took their 15th trip into the studio. The thing about this album is that it really depends on which album you lost interest in them on or if you stuck around. For me, “Home” was the last album I was invested in before it became clear it was time for the bu-metal bandwagon to roll on. But the very fact that the band has had a large enough audience to keep making over a dozen records in the new millennium means that they have enough fans who will find this to be a logical next step, as it retains the big riffs and soulful vocals that define the band. 

Fewer riffs share common ground with Disturbed and Korn. Witherspoon's fluid vocal melodies help to guide the songs into avenues that side-step what your typical arena-rocking metal band is doing these days.  But this is not 1999 and 2026; someone who is a fan of bands like Frozen Soul and 200 Stab Wounds might not find this to be metal at all. This is a valid perspective as well, since a song like “Threshold”  certainly feels more like rock n roll that happens to have the guitar dialed in more like a metal band, but if they were 6-string Les Pauls plugged directly into Marshall amps, it might have more in common with their tourmates Alterbridge.

Speaking of production, knobs were dialed just right for what they do on “We Won”. It has a mix that gives the vocals ample room to create one of the album’s catchiest songs. This also goes to show that we typically think of pop music as being more contingent on a good producer, but one clearly helps more guitar-driven music as well. The guitar solo that soars out of this song works off melody more than shred, which is a respectable choice. “Construct” brings the focus back to a heavier feel that the kids of 2026 might more easily define as metal.  

Things ebb back toward the more melodic side of the spectrum on “Bright Side”. It’s what Lajon does with his voice on the verses that really serves as the key selling performance, as it’s both powerful and heartfelt in a manner that is hard to fake. It’s also impressive that his voice has held up so well during the past three decades.” The Drop.” works off a more syncopated riff that recalls their earlier work.  The chorus feels like it’s beginning to follow a formula.  Granted, this formula has kept their fans clicking play years later, so it is understandable why they would want to play it safe. 

Of course, a song called “Blood Price’ is bound to find the band digging in and bringing a heavier feel. But riffs and barked sections of vocals could just as easily be found on any Gojira album. Just because it works does not make it original, nor is the band really reinventing the wheel here, but they are writing some catchy-ass songs. “Misdirection’ ends the album on a more introspective and melodic note, with the focus placed on vocal harmonies, almost like something Stone Sour would do. This is certainly the album the band set out to make. After having fourteen previous trips into the studio, these guys have it down to a science, and they continue to sound relevant rather than jumping on the nostalgia train of a nu-metal revival. After all these years, Sevendust continues to do Sevendust perfectly, so for that I will give this album a 9, but the chances are slim I will feel the need to listen to this album again, but I wouldn't call myself a Sevendust fan either.Dropping on Napalm Records.

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