SevendustBlood & Stone

Even though Sevendust are considered ‘hard rock heavyweights’ their exemplary and consistent efforts to break the mould of their own genre means that for album number 13 fans can still be expecting something fresh.

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Because ultimately, Sevendust isn’t just a hard rock act.

Similar to groups like Deftones; their incorporation of grunge, rock, nü metal, djent, prog and industrial can make them definitively impossible to categorise. Kicking in with heavy djent riffs akin to the likes of Ill Nino or Chimera, Dying To Live catapults listeners into Blood & Stone with it’s intricacies such as the breakdowns relying on tuning instead of intervals prevalent from the get-go. Similar to Chester Bennington, the range and tone of  Lajon Witherspoon’s vocal capabilities adds incredible power to the songs, with his vocals often contorting to match the music behind it. It is as if Witherspoon uses his vocals as an instrument to help score the feel of the song and does worry about the vocals necessarily being the forefront or most noticeable point of the song.

It’s a unique contract that few acts attempt, but even fewer pull it off as well as Sevendust.

Love adds more of a modern feel to it; it feels like if you changed a few minor aspects, it could be a pop song. However, the eerie shrieks of guitar and bent bass notes provide that Love is not a pop song, with the efforts of the rhythm section creating a whirlwind of psychedelic metal. The groove-laden and perfectly timed intervals of Blood From A Stone adds an anthemic bounce whilst Feel Like Going On shows much deeper sensibilities with its stripped back ballad approach allowing Witherspoon to display his most traditional style of vocals. Ominous picking opens Kill Me adding a cinematic feel, as if it should accompany a character about to rob a bank or do some life changing mission. It’s not a surprising observation considering Sevendust would be rivalling DJ Shadow for the record of appearing in the most film soundtracks. In a similar vein to acts like Every Time I Die, the most impressive facet of Blood & Stone is it’s execution of riffs and rhythm, due to its use of rock riffs that are used to create a heavier sound. It’s a unique contract that few acts attempt, but even fewer pull it off as well as Sevendust.

STANDOUT TRACKS: Feels Like Going On, Kill Me, Criminal
STICK THIS NEXT TO: Ill Nino, Chimera, Freddy Vs Jason Soundtrack