Sevendust

Home (TVT)
by Martin Popoff

The first one wasn’t really that good in retrospect, but through hard touring, the band eventually rang up a gold record in the states. Home, by comparison, is the great leap forward, slamming with confidence (and hip guest stars) into complicated rhythm riffery that vaguely owes something to industrial, grunge, and the Korn sound, while offering enough pure metal madness and sparing but effective melody to make the bundle trundle.

“Denial” is my fave – great chorus that sticks in the craw, and much the rest is just a novel type of pro bludgeon groovery that’s highly trendy in that sort of tat-zone roamed by Godsmack. Not particularly my cup of tea, one can definitely see that Sevendust got their chops, a fact which producer Toby Wright has been able to exploit with wanton hi-fidelity (recording in the countryside outside Boston, after recommendations from Morgan Rose’s wife, Rayna of Coal Chamber fame). Note: managed by Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French who now finally finds himself very busy again.
(23 East 4th St. New York, NY 10003)