Sevendust
- This article is about the popular music group. For the insecticide commonly called "Sevin dust", see Carbaryl
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Sevendust is an American alternative metal band from Atlanta, Georgia. They formed in late 1994 under the name "Crawlspace" but later were forced to change their name when a group from the West Coast claimed rights to it. They struggled to find a new title but finally settled on Sevendust after bassist Vinnie Hornsby was looking through his grandmother's garage and found a can of plant pesticide called "Sevin dust." Vocalist Lajon Witherspoon's take on the name is that seven is a holy number and we are all made of dust. Their name has also been associated with the computer virus with the same name. They were originally signed to TVT Records, but then released their fifth album with Winedark Records (through Universal Music) in the US, and Roadrunner Records overseas. Currently, they are signed to Asylum Records. Their album Alpha was released on March 6, 2007.
History
Sevendust released their first self-titled album on April 15, 1997. This album is known for its heavy riffs, angry vocals and thrash-like drumming. The songs "Black" and "Bitch" are the best-known songs from this album. "Black" was the opening song for nearly every Sevendust concert until 2005. The debut album also contains the song "My Ruin" from their Crawlspace days which is included in the Mortal Kombat soundtrack album entitled "More Kombat" released by TVT Records.
After they appeared at Ozzfest 1998, their self-titled album went gold. In the same year they released a compilation called "Live and Loud" which featured live footage of the band at Chicago's Metro. Two years later, on August 24, 1999, they released their sophomore album, Home, which has also gone gold. Home is best-known for songs "Denial", and "Waffle" for which they have shot music videos. Skin from Skunk Anansie and Chino Moreno from Deftones appeared as guest vocalists on two songs, "Licking Cream" and "Bender". Also featured on "Bender" was additional guitar work by Troy McLawhorn of doubleDrive. They appeared in Woodstock 1999 and have toured with many bands such as KoЯn, Staind, Reveille, Godsmack, Mudvayne, Powerman 5000, Creed, Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit and Metallica. They also joined Slipknot, Coal Chamber and other bands on a tour called "Tattoo The Earth Tour" in June of 2000. They then headed into the studio to record their third album, Animosity, which was released on November 13, 2001. Aaron Lewis of Staind did guest vocals on the song "Follow". This album gained them commercial success and went gold as well.
However, Sevendust's career has had tragedies. The band were friends with the band Snot who lost their singer Lynn Strait. Lajon Witherspoon paid tribute to him with Snot's instrumentalist on the Strait Up compilation album with a song called "Angel's Son" which was re-recorded with the Sevendust instrumentalist and placed on Animosity. More tragedy struck when Dave Williams of Drowning Pool died. Finally, the band went on a temporary hiatus after Lajon's younger brother was killed.
In 2003, Sevendust returned with their fourth album, Seasons. This album is considered by many to be Sevendust's best album and is their most popular album to date. It contains the hit songs "Enemy", "Broken Down", "Face to Face" and "Separate". In 2004, for the first time in the band's career, they released a live album on a CD/DVD double disk package titled Southside Double-Wide: Acoustic Live. Both the CD and the DVD include a cover of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails as a tribute to Johnny Cash.
On December 15, 2004, it was announced Clint Lowery had left the band due to musical differences. Immediately after the departure, Lowery was replaced temporarily by J3, a member of Tommy Lee's solo band, but it was officially announced that Sonny Mayo (from Snot and Amen) was the new replacement for Clint. Clint is now working with a new band called Dark New Day which also features his brother, Corey Lowery. At roughly the same time, Sevendust and TVT Records parted ways.
On October 11, 2005, Sevendust released their fifth studio album, Next, on their new label, Winedark Records, distributed by Universal Music. In the process, Sevendust has also created their own record label, 7Bros Records. The first radio single off of Next was the track "Ugly", released to radio August 9, 2005. A music video was also produced and released for "Ugly". The track "Pieces" appeared on the soundtrack for the film Saw II. Next debuted at #20 on the Billboard Charts, relatively unheard of for a band of Sevendust's hard rock genre.
Sliding under the radar, Sevendust's old label, TVT Records, released a greatest hits package for Sevendust on December 27, 2005. There was no comment on this production by the band until 6 days before its release. Titled Best of (Chapter One 1997-2004), this release constitutes the final release by Sevendust under the TVT Records moniker. The release is somewhat controversial however, as many feel TVT is just cashing in one final time on their former most successful client.
On March 6, 2006, the track "Failure" became the second single off of Next. This was reported by the official Sevendust website. Its peak was in the 28th spot on the Billboard music charts.
In April 2006, Sevendust announced that they had gained "freedom" from their contract with Winedark Records. However Sevendust announced they were still represented through their self label, 7 Bros. Records.
The track "Pieces" off of the Next album was said to be the third single and was planned to be released on June 26, 2006, as confirmed by the official website, but never made any official chartings.
It had been confirmed on June 27, 2006 by the official band website that the band would go back into the studio starting July 5, 2006 to record their sixth album. On December 5, 2006, an official announcement was made at Sevendust's official website. Sevendust have signed a deal with Asylum Records, which is owned by Warner Music Group (WMG). Sevendust will release their sixth full-length studio album, titled Alpha, on March 6, 2007, and will do a 57-date headlining tour from February 8, 2007 to April 28, 2007. Along with the announcement, a new song from the album, titled "Deathstar," was made available for stream. Another soon to be single off the new album, "Driven", has also been released for streaming on Sevendust's MySpace.
To accompany Sevendust's new album Alpha, they are rumored to join acts like Aiden, Evanescense, and headliners Korn in summer of 2007's Family Values Tour, as was reported on music news website Blabbermouth. If confirmed, this will be Sevendust's first go around on the Family Values Tour.
Members
- Lajon Witherspoon - Vocals
- John Connolly - Guitar, Vocals
- Sonny Mayo - Guitar (2004 -)
- Vincent ("Vinnie") Hornsby - Bass
- Morgan Rose - Drums, Vocals
Previous Member(s)
- Clint Lowery - Guitar, Vocals (1994-2004)
Discography
Studio Albums
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | US Chart Peak | US Sales |
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April 15, 1997 | Sevendust | TVT Records | #165 | 550,000 + (Gold) |
| August 24, 1999 | Home | TVT Records | #19 | 800,000 + (Gold) | |
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November 13, 2001 | Animosity | TVT Records | #28 | 670,000 + (Gold) |
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October 7, 2003 | Seasons | TVT Records | #14 | 450,000 + |
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October 11, 2005 | Next | 7 Bros./Winedark Records | #20 | 170,000 + |
| March 6, 2007 | Alpha | Asylum Records | #14 | 42,000 + |
Live Albums & Compilations
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | US Chart Peak | US Sales |
| May 4, 2004 | Southside Double-Wide: Acoustic Live | TVT Records | #90 | 70,000 + | |
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December 27, 2005 | Best of (Chapter One 1997-2004) | TVT Records | #156 | 80,000 + |
Singles
| Year | Title | Modern Rock | Mainstream Rock | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | "Black" | - | #29 | Sevendust |
| 1998 | "Bitch" | - | #30 | Sevendust |
| 1998 | "Too Close To Hate" | - | #39 | Sevendust |
| 1999 | "Denial" | #26 | #14 | Home |
| 1999 | "Licking Cream" (Europe only) | - | - | Home |
| 2000 | "Waffle" | #30 | #23 | Home |
| 2001 | "Praise" | #23 | #15 | Animosity |
| 2002 | "Live Again" | #36 | #21 | Animosity |
| 2002 | "Xmas Day" | - | #38 | Animosity |
| 2004 | "Enemy" | #30 | #10 | Seasons |
| 2004 | "Broken Down" | - | #20 | Seasons |
| 2005 | "Face To Face" | - | #22 | Seasons |
| 2005 | "Ugly" | - | #12 | Next |
| 2006 | "Failure" | - | #28 | Next |
| 2006 | "Pieces" | - | - | Next |
| 2007 | "Driven" | - | #20 | Alpha |
Videos
Denial (1999)
Waffle (1999)
Licking Cream (1999)
Angel's Son (2000)
Praise (2001)
Live Again (2001)
Enemy (2003)
Broken Down (2004)
Ugly (2005)
Trivia
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. |
- Sevendust's song "Enemy" was the official theme song for the Goldberg vs Triple H World Heavyweight Championship match at WWE Unforgiven 2003 and also the annual WWE event itself. Sevendust also made their version of Chris Jericho's entrance theme song called "Break The Walls Down" which can be found on the WWE Forceable Entry CD. "Enemy" is also played when New York Yankees center fielder Johnny Damon comes up to bat.
- In 2001, Sevendust performed at a special concert that was sponsored by the WWE.
- Sevendust admit to being WWE fans and watch wrestling when they can.
- Morgan Rose's ex-wife, Rayna Foss-Rose, was the bass player of the now-disbanded Coal Chamber.
- The song "Enemy", a single with a video off the "Seasons" album, which allows Morgan to show his vocal skills more prominently than usual, was written about Devildriver frontman Dez Fafara (ex-Coal Chamber).
- Morgan Rose was voted as the "hottest drummer" in a "Rolling Stone" Magazine poll in Australia
- Morgan admitted in an interview that he is a huge PlayStation 2 addict, and loves playing video games with his bandmates in their spare time.
- Morgan Rose is responsible for the heavy and loud screamings in the songs. He is one of the back up singers (the members all are in fact).
- Lajon Witherspoon's younger brother, Reginald Witherspoon, was gunned down by a gang. The gang members in question have never been caught but are still being searched for.
- Clint Lowery has two brothers, Cory and Dustin, who have played in different bands over the years. Clint is currently in a band with Cory called Dark New Day.
- Sevendust made a video for the song "Licking Cream" featuring Skin of Skunk Anansie. This song is featured on their album "Home" & the video can be found on the band's official DVD, entitled Retrospect.
- In early 2002, Sevendust teamed up with other artists to place several items of autographed memorabilia up for auction on eBay. Proceeds from the sale benefited the family of Cameron Gallion, a 14-year-old Sevendust fan who died from cancer in February 2002. Gallion appeared in the "Praise" video and was a good friend of the band.
- Sevendust did a cover of "Going Back to Cali" by LL Cool J for the album "Take a Bite Outta Rhyme: A Rock Tribute to Rap"
- The tune used for Animosity's "Angel's Son" (a tribute to Lynn Strait of Snot) is the same tune as a minute long track on their album, "Home" called "Insecure."
- Angel's Son was actually co-wrote by John Connolly, Morgan Rose, and Sonny Mayo before he was even in the band.
See also
- Dark New Day, the band Clint is currently in.