Next

Album Review

The faithful know the story, but here's the short version. In late 2004 Clint Lowery left Sevendust to join the unimpressive post-grunge outfit Dark New Day, and was promptly replaced with ex-Snot guitarist Sonny Mayo. Then Sevendust departed longtime label TVT in favor of a Universal-distributed indie startup called Winedark. The net result of these changes? Not much. On Next Sevendust still alternate heavy, jaggedly rocking alt-metal with turns toward introspection or balladry. "Hero" opens the album with a stuttering guitar riff and Lajon Witherspoon rasping, "Stop, drop, roll, get up, take a crack at me/Like every other motherf*cker that I've seen today," through clenched teeth. Is his anger aimed at Lowery? Unclear, but it's a powerful song nonetheless. "Silence" and "Desertion" back that aggression up, "This Life" is Witherspoon's synth-supported tribute to his newborn child, and "Never" employs some processed instrumentation for an industrial metal feel. Sevendust play with feeling throughout, and Witherspoon once again shows that he has more range than most of his loud rock contemporaries. Sevendust might have pressed harder on the new wounds inherent in "Hero," but for the most part Next is another capable effort from the band.