Sevendust
Sevendust is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta, Georgia. The band was formed in 1994 by bassist Vincent Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and guitarist Clint Lowery joined the group. Following a few name changes, the members settled on the name Sevendust and released their self-titled debut on April 15, 1997.
The self-titled debut sold 311 copies its first week. However, through touring, and TVT support, the album gained charting success through Billboard and earned gold certification. Since formation, Sevendust has released eight studio albums, earned additional charting success and gold sales certifications. Their eighth studio album, titled Cold Day Memory, was released on April 20, 2010. They have also re-released their self-titled debut album as Sevendust: Definitive Edition which contains five new tracks and a DVD.
- A Day in the Limelight: "X-Mas Day" is sung mostly by Clint Lowery.
- A Good Name for a Rock Band: Vincent Hornsby got the idea for the band name from the label on a can he found in his mother's garage.
- Anti-Love Song: "Bitch" and "Denial."
- Epic Rocking: "Burn" from the album Alpha, clocking in at just over nine minutes.
- Eyeless Face: A whole crowd of them in the music video for Ugly.
- Eye Scream: The music video for "Ugly" features a machine that removes people's eyes.
- Face Framed in Shadow: The music video for "Praise."
- Grief Song: "Angel's Son," dedicated to the late Snot frontman James Lynn Strait, and "Skeleton Song," written in memory of Lajon Witherspoon's brother.
- Handicapped Badass: The music video for "Enemy" features an armless wrestler.
- Long Runner: A band that debuts in the midst of the rock era we'd all like to forget as "nu-metal" should, by all conventional wisdom, have disappeared by now. Wrong. 2011 marked Sevendust's 14th (14th!) year since their debut album, with only one lineup change (Lowery to Sonny Mayo and now back to Lowery), and eight albums to their credit. Most of their contemporaries have been lucky to release four or five albums before disbanding or fading into obscurity. As the most prominent rock band since Living Colour to have an African-American singer, Sevendust does not get anywhere near the respect or mainstream recognition that it should.
- Metal Scream: Provided by Morgan Rose on a lot of songs.
- Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness: Most songs a 7, softer songs a 3-5, and heavier songs an 8. Alpha is probably their heaviest album, and Seasons is probably their softest.
- Non-Indicative Name: "X-Mas Day" isn't really a Christmas song, just so you know.
- Something Completely Different: The Post-Grunge song 'The Past' off Chapter VII: Hope and Sorrow. It even features Chris Daughtry, singer for the Grammy-nominated rock band Daughtry. Strangely, the collaboration actually works.
- Take That: "Enemy," written by Morgan Rose, dissed Coal Chamber frontmam Dez Fafara for the way he treated Rose's (then) wife, who also happened to be the bassist for Coal Chamber.