Review Summary: An album you must listen to before you die
This is Sevendust at their rawest...something that really makes this album stand out amongst other alt metal/“nu-metal” releases from this time period is the gritty production present throughout the entire LP- it beautifully complements the dark themes explored on this album and gives the tracks an atmospheric vibe thats almost completely missing from their sophomore slump ‘Home’...right out of the gate ‘Black’ is a prime example of Sevendust’s pre-nu metal pandering style of production—Lajon’s soulful vocals are tucked undernearth the rhythm section as this somewhat odd mix works to great effect and forces you to turn the volume knob to experience the full heaviness of this track...another standout from this LP “My Ruin” has a real dark, eery atmosphere to it and reminds me very much of ‘This Love’ by Pantera, there’s an earlier version of this track from when Sevendust was known as ‘Crawlspace’ that was on the soundtrack for Mortal Kombat with Lajon’s vocals sounding like they were recorded in some deep sea cavern, I prefer this early version for sure...my favorite song on ‘Sevendust’ is Prayer, it follows suit with the themes of self-reflection present on this album and the melody here is arguably the best on the whole album ...to sum things up song for song ‘Sevendust’ has the best writing of any album in the band’s discography, as the angry, pessimistic lyrics are very reminiscent of grunge as opposed to the angsty, nu-metal spirit that plagued Home and Seasons..I recommend Animosity as a follow-up listen, the incorporation of acoustic guitars found on Bitch and Prayer paired with Lajon’s smooth melodic vocals serve as a pre-cursor to Sevendust classic “Angels Son” which appears on Animosity
