Classic Review: Sevendust - Home
For reasons beyond my comprehension, Sevendust has never gotten the praise or credit they deserve as a band. While goofy and cringe-educing acts like Powerman 5000 and Disturbed managed to go platinum selling millions of records in the United States, Sevendust has never gone over gold. It's extremely difficult while Sevendust did not experience the massive success of ,any of their contemporaries, my best guess is that it was because Sevendust lacked the goofy and stereotypical nu-metal vibe, looks, and lyrics that most of their peers possessed and while that may have heart them at the time, it has paid off for them in the long run as they have had an outstanding and well respected career beyond the death of nu-metal. Today we're covering one of the breakout albums for the Atlanta-based band, Home. This record marks Sevendust coming into what their distinct sound would be and showcased one of the greatest metal and rock vocalist of all-time, Lajon Witherspoon.
The album kicks off with two now crowd favorites, Home and Denial, a perfect way to drop listeners right into the fray. These two tracks are filled with heavy chugging and pounding grooves. Denial showcases Witherspoon's astonishing vocal talent and his knack for writing choruses that will be absolutely burned into your mind. With Headtrip we get one of the bands more nu-metal songs with DJ scratching, distorted and twisted guitar. Just several tracks into the record, the band has clearly established to the listener what they do well, that is sit on a groove that makes an audience want to move and bounce, and layer powerful vocals over the music with memorable choruses. With the next set of songs, Insecure and Reconnect, we get a further display of the vocal abilities along with the unique feature of having drummer Morgan Rose perform the screamed vocals.
As the record approaches it's halfway point, it kicks back up with Waffle and Rumble Fish, which feel solely designed to the the crowd bouncing, and if you have seen Sevendust live you know they put on a world-class show and these tracks hit the mark on their intended purpose. A positive of Sevendust is their ability to write these fun, catchy, mosh friendly jams without giving off the cheesy aurora that so many of their nu-metal peers like Limp Bizkit give off. These tracks are followed by Licking Creme, which has a wonderful feature from a female vocalist that lends itself greatly to this slower more soulful vibe that is portrayed by the musical arrangement. The album goes through a nice series of transitions alternating between the bands heavier groove oriented style and their more blues and rock influenced approach. At no point does this album feel stale or dragging along, it feels like Sevendust had the formula to allocate just the right amount of time to each song and each style, always leaving you looking forward to what's next. The track closes with a surprising and wild feature from Deftones frontman Chino Moreno, a nice taste of something you don't often hear from the band.
At the close of this record, it leaves the listener feeling fulfilled. This record is a great investment of time if you enjoy good music in general. Here you get to hear some of the best vocals ever laid down in heavy music and some of the catchiest grooves and choruses the genre has to offer. It is a shame Sevendust was never able to reach the heights of some of the larger nu-metal bands, however they have built a steady, respectable and consistent legacy for themselves. Sevendust has been able to outlast the nu-metal craze and firmly plant their foot atop a positive reputation from fans of many different genres of metal. This record helped to build the foundation for the general acclaim the band has now achieved. All in all, Home is a joy to listen to and gets a 4.5 out of 5 stars from us.
