Band: Sevendust
Release: Blackout The Sun
Release Date: Out Now!
For this writer, the mention of the name Sevendust brings back a lot of memories. Being the ‘alternative metal’ band that started in 1994, and grew to be a key part of the literally hellacious nu-metal era that spawned in the mid 90’s to the early noughties, Sevendust both brought a mixture of wonderfully crafted albums in their wake, but in equal measure made some rather mediocre albums towards their later days. But over the years they have undergone various lineup changes, as well as a whole host of personal losses and struggles more so than others, so with that in mind a lot can be forgiven.
So with a most nostalgic and retrospective attitude intact with the beckoning of their new release ‘Black Out The Sun’, which is also their ninth studio album, there was a lot of apprehension surrounding the listening of this album purely under the basis of the music being outdated and not necessarily reinventing the wheel.
Strangely enough, although ‘Black Out The Sun’ is in no ways anything fresh and has a couple of notable flaws, nor is it pushing the envelopes at all, it is a very enjoyable listen and yet a rather remarkable comeback from one of the most respected names in their craft.
The album kicks off with ‘Memory / Faithless – 1’, which the first part is a lush acoustic introduction with some nice synth/choir harmonies which blend well with some swelled guitar leads which sounds slightly reminiscent of the intro to ‘Blackened’ by Metallica. But it is when the second part ‘Faithless – 1’ comes in to effect that they really pack the punch. In parts it sounds like they have been taking a couple of notes from Mastodon with the vocal harmonies and technicality in the compositions, and at the same time it just seems like they just totally upped their game by taking their classic sound and making sound better than they have done in years.
Throughout the album, there are moments of sheer reminiscent joy as well as some furious forward thinking musical progression. More notably, Lajon Witherspoon’s vocals are consistently sublime throughout this entire album. One of the most underrated singers in the metal genre, he deserves a hell of a lot of credit for his true showmanship on this album, especially for his singing / screaming vocal range.
Following on from the opening tracks, there are a constant run of solid anthems in the making such as ‘Mountain’, title track ‘Black Out The Sun’, and ‘Picture Perfect’.
In between this there are a couple of tracks that truly stand out over most. One of these tracks the utterly fantastic ‘Nobody Wants It’. Personally speaking, this is most definitely one of their greatest moments in years. Sounding like a mixture between the technical alternative jazz-metal leanings of Candiria, mixed with the heaviness and melody of Godsmack, this is arguably speaking the best track on the album which in ways displays the musical diversity on show, but also gives way to each and every member of the band to show just how skilled they are. The same goes with the tune ‘Dead Roses’ which follows after this, with a very disjointed keyboard / harmonic intro, this track truly breathes pure energy. Drummer Morgan Rose certainly has upped his game and it most certainly shows on this song with some thunderous double kick and tom work.
Another standout track is the wonderfully crafted ‘Got A Feeling’. This is what many will probably call the ‘ballad’ of the album, but do not let that put you off. This almost sounds like a 2013-era outlaw country tune with an alternative leaning, which just reeks of awesome. Imagine a cross between Roy Rogers and Godsmack. Wonderful vocals, guitar work, drums, it has all the right ingredients for a classic rock tune.
Now as much as the album does have its many strengths, it does have its flaws as well. Probably the weakest track on the album is ‘Dark AM’. This is what could be classed as the most ‘nu-metal’ sounding of the lot, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. However it just lacks the punch that each of the other songs on the album deliver.
The other slight little niggle is to do with some of the production. There is merely but a couple of inconsistencies with some of the mixing and a tad over-compression with some of the guitar / drum tracks at times, but this is just from a critical standpoint. Oddly enough, the raw (and may I note, an admirably self-produced effort) production on this album somehow is a genuine compliment to the Sevendust sound without making it sound like a typical ‘nu-metal’, or old school alternative metal release. In a way it actually makes the album stand out as an entity of its own without treading on any old waters previously crossed.
This album needed to be revisited a couple of times to make sure that I didn’t just like it for nostalgia value, or merely for the fact it has been three years since their last album. But in all honesty, ‘Black Out The Sun’ is actually a bloody great album. Without a shadow of a doubt their strongest and most uncompromising effort in well over a decade, this album is a genuine pleasure that will not just please old fans but hopefully gain a fair amount of new ones. Sevendust have come back with a vengeance, and good grief they have sure done a great job in doing so!
Welcome back, lads! UK tour soon please? OK, thanks.
8.5/10
Reviewer: James Paul Matthews
