Review: Sevendust- All I See Is War

There aren’t many bands out there today that can say they have had pretty much the same line-up since their inception. Sevendust is that rare band that can and since 1994 the line-up has stayed pretty much the same; For almost the last 25 years it’s always been Lajon Witherspoon vocals, Clint Lowery guitars, John Connolly guitars, Vince Hornsby bass, and Morgan Rose drums/vocals. The band has just released their 12th studio album entitled All I See Is War and it’s the band’s first with new label- Rise Records. Michael “Elvis” Baskette produced the record with the hopes that they could recreate the sound of their classic Home album and that’s exactly what they did. This album would have been an incredible follow-up to Animosity and Seasons. “Cheers” is delivered with a steady, focused resolve and is overwrought with conviction while “Descend” is a bass driven beast of a whole new kind that was born on the edge of utter chaos. “Dirty” is about as subtle as a therapy session with Stalin and Hitler serving as the doctors while “God Bites His Tongue” is a slab of full throttle savagery with all the crushing density of a black whole. Meanwhile, “Life Deceives You” is so infectious it should come with the surgeon general’s warning “Hazardous To Your Health” and the ferocious forward momentum is inherent & immersive on “Medicated.” “Moments” asks the question of do you have the balls to go for a ride with them on their unstoppable rise to metal domination and “Not Original” is one of those songs that goes against the grain of expectation and is counterbalanced with beautiful guitar work. “Risen” has as many layers to it as an everlasting gobstopper and the band is hungry as ever as they slowly peel back the layers one at a time, while “Sickness” shows that this band has a blissful disregard for limitations. Elsewhere, these revolutionary song explores are not bogged down by trends on “The Truth,” allowing them to dramatically  exceed expectations and “Unforgiven” makes damn sure you are fully entertained until the very last note fades into oblivion. Here’s the bottom line. They narrowed the songs from over 50 to the 12 you hear on the cd and I think they have chosen wisely. Easily the best thing they have done in almost 20 years. Rating 9/10 -Eric Hunker