Sevendust: Tonic For The Soul
Music is a powerful thing. It salves our figurative wounds and helps us on our travels along life’s path. Metal Hammer even published an article with reports that listening to heavy metal actually decreases negative emotions while enhancing the positives. The sub-genres of metal and all their nuances encourage us to be open minded and embrace those who enjoy micro-genres. You need only to step onto the field of Download or Bloodstock, or set foot inside grass root venues to feel a sense of community among metalheads and the euphoria which stems from that. Metal makes us better and it is this notion which brings SEVENDUST’s vocalist, Lajon Witherspoon (LJ), to our roundtable.
Of course there’s the small matter of SEVENDUST’s 14th studio album Truth Killer. Sat in front of various accolades the band has procured over the years, LJ makes a point of introducing himself to us before we get stuck into things; “manners cost nothing.” A platitude many need to learn in our society, especially post-COVID. Thought we’d escaped the dreaded C-word? Of course not and it absolutely had an impact on SEVENDUST as LJ explains. “When everything shut down – we just didn’t know what was going to happen. Obviously with a concert everyone is so close together and we were going to be the last people to go back to work, if we even could.”
Truth Killer became a sense of homecoming. Not just on a return to work basis but for the band themselves. “When we were able to write this album, we got back together as a band – as brothers – we were able to put all that energy into this,” LJ says before explaining the band decanted to his family’s farmhouse. “It was like being kids again; drums set up in Grandma’s room with the bass and computer, cooking dinner together, laughing, and creating” comes with a wide grin. It becomes plain that as much as music heals us the consumer, it also treats the ones it creates.
“I’ve removed myself from the album because I don’t want to get bored of it,” LJ states. “Not that I don’t love it but for these listening parties we have in a couple of days, I want to be able to experience it with fresh ears alongside our fans.” This also opens LJ up for fresh interpretations of tracks like Fence or Holy Water. As we previously discussed with ALTER BRIDGE and LAMB OF GOD; music is wonderfully subjective, what we draw from a track may not be the same as what you or LJ would take. “That’s how I prefer it,” the vocalist quips, “These different approaches bring us together and there’s no better feeling.”
One song up for interpretation is the album’s opener: I Might Let The Devil Win. A deliciously slow burn which questions our definition of what heavy music actually is. “Have you ever seen an orchestra perform live?” LJ asks. “When the strings swell into this beautiful crescendo and the guy with the triangle is going insane – that’s some of the heaviest music in the world.” Our company quickly adds he is in no way comparing SEVENDUST to a symphony but there is a truth in what he says. Heaviness doesn’t have to be a multitude of riffs with a disgusting sounding blegh. “SEVENDUST is at the point where we don’t always need to be in your face kinda heavy,” LJ remarks. “We’ve grown musically and as people which has opened us up to doing these melodic slow burns and that’s what I love about I Might Let The Devil Win.”
SEVENDUST have always been comfortable exposing the darker side of society. Decay from 2013’s Black Out The Sun cutting the rotting flesh of devious people. Wired from the band’s 1997 self-titled digging deep into drug addiction. But Truth Killer and its title track has a stronger notion of confrontation to it. “People are learning a lot more about individuals in their lives and people showing their true selves,” LJ explains as he defines what a truth killer is. “I always tell my kids to watch their surroundings, if you get a feeling about something: trust it and believe in that energy.”
Having that sense of confidence and awareness has allowed SEVENDUST to evolve sonically. Leaning into the NINE INCH NAILS influence prompted guitarist Clint Lowery to add nuances the band’s never had before. Speaking of new experiences, signing to Napalm Records opened SEVENDUST’s world. From creating the claymation video for Fence to doing something as simple as international press, LJ simply revels in it all. “We definitely stay on the avenue but it’s okay to go down different streets,” he comments. “I would rather evolve and have fun doing it than remain stagnant and complacent.”
LJ stops us for a moment; “You know, we all go through the same things, we’re the guys who still get yelled at by our wives or our kids. We’re still human regardless of the platform we have and I think that’s why people like you and the rest of our fans resonate so much.” SEVENDUST certainly have a loyal fanbase, a true testament to the fact this band from Atlanta has been able to continue for well over three decades.
“I want this album to be a reminder that SEVENDUST is still here,” LJ remarks in our closing moments. “This album is a builder of relationships, not just with others but ourselves as well.” As the sun sets on our time with an infectiously warm soul, it’s his last comment which sticks with us the longest: “Music is medicine and I want to help heal people.”
Truth Killer is out now via Napalm Records.
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