Sevendust

I really wanted to write a review on this album as this is probably the best nu metal album out there in my opinion from the late 90s era. Definitely Sevendusts bronze era (but still awesome mind you). Firstly the tracks are marvellous, the album doesn't die down so your money is going towards constant noise throughout! Sevendust's style is unique as many fans will tell you and this album is the birth place of that style we've all learned to love. The same style overall is there, it's just that the album may seem muddy when listening on small outputs such as headphones or laptop speakers (definitely made for low end speakers such as in a car or sound system). The vocals often dip in and out of clarity but in my opinion it is not about expensive mastering and compression like todays music, it is about emotion and talent. It is clear a lot of hard work went into making this album and I hope people buy it (I'm sure there aren't many new ones left around now). I was born in 95 so i missed the whole start of the 'nu metal' era but I've bought this in 2015 and I must say this is musical wonderment :D

What an amazing heavy riff groove!

Sevendust have always been one of those bands that you just have to respect for their sheer tenacity and persistence. Their self-titled debut, released in 1997, came at a time when metal was pretty much dead to mainstream audiences. All the big names had been relegated to smaller venues and arenas, while bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit were helping build up the nu metal subgenre that was still a couple of years from truly exploding worldwide.With that said, Sevendust's debut album tends to just quietly sit there in the background. It wasn't groundbreaking, or genre-defining, nor does it really make much noise or impact. It's just there. Mixing elements of nu metal, groove metal, hardcore music and some (sort of) rapping, it's a bit of a mess and not overly exciting.The band will go on to write better things, but for the most part the riffs here just tend to plod along with about as much enthusiasm as a cow in an abattoir. Lajon Witherspoon's vocals are mostly flat and tend to fit in with the music awkwardly. There's just not a lot here that resonates with me.If I had to pick out any highlights though, the songs 'Black' (easily the best of the album), 'Terminator' and 'Speak' are all alright. They're not really all that memorable though, and other than popping up on any compilations, I'm not likely to go back to them very often.Overall, 'Sevendust' is a pretty disappointing album by a band who will go on to garner a small cult following. The foundations are certainly there, with the band laying down a blueprint for where they're going, but otherwise, this is a fairly unremarkable debut.

I have no idea what that album cover is all about, but I went into this album expecting a complete mess. It maybe slightly rough, but the production and quality of the album is far greater than you would expect from that cover. If you are even vaguely familiar with Sevendust then you know what to expect here. There’s plenty of energy in the album, and a mix of heavy/raw and melodic moments to the music and vocals.