Sevendust

Members: Lajon Witherspoon, John Connolly, Sonny Mayo, Vinnie Hornsby, Morgan Rose

Active: 1994-Present

Sevendust is a heavy, melodic/metal band from Atlanta, Georgia. They formed in late 1994 under the name "Crawlspace" but later were forced to change their name when a group from the West Coast claimed rights to it. They struggled to find a new title but finally settled on Sevendust after bassist Vinnie Hornsby was looking through his grandmother's garage and found a can of plant pesticide called "Sevin dust." Vocalist Lajon Witherspoon's take on the name is that seven is a holy number and we are all made of dust. Their name has also been associated with the computer virus with the same name.

HISTORY

Sevendust released their first self-titled album on April 15, 1997. This album is known for its heavy riffs, angry vocals and thrash-like drumming. The songs "Black" and "Bitch" are the most well known songs from this album. "Black" was the opening song for nearly every Sevendust concert until 2005. The debut album also contains the song "My Ruin" from their Crawlspace days which is included in the Mortal Kombat soundtrack album entitled "More Kombat" released by TVT Records.

After they appeared at Ozzfest 1998, their self-titled album went gold. In the same year they released a compilation called "Live and Loud" which featured live footage of the band at Chicago's Metro. Two years later, on August 24, 1999, they released their sophomore album, Home, which has also gone gold. Home is most well known for songs "Denial", and "Waffle" for which they have shot music videos for. Skin from Skunk Anansie and Chino Moreno from the Deftones appeared as guest vocalists on two songs, "Licking Cream" and "Bender". Also featured on "Bender" was additional guitar work by Troy McLawhorn of doubleDrive. That same year they were given #1 Band of the Year, #1 Album of the Year and #1 New band of the Year Awards. They appeared in Woodstock 1999 and have toured with many bands such as Ko?n, Staind, Reveille, Godsmack, Mudvayne, Powerman 5000, Creed, Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit and Metallica. They also joined Slipknot, Coal Chamber and other bands on a tour called "Tattoo The Earth Tour" in June of 2000. They then headed into the studio to record their third album, Animosity, which was released on November 13, 2001. Aaron Lewis of Staind did guest vocals on the song "Follow". This album gained them commercial success and went gold as well.

However, Sevendust's career has had tragedies. The band were friends with the band Snot who lost their singer Lynn Strait. They paid tribute to him on the Strait Up compilation album with a song called "Angel's Son" which is also available on Animosity. More tragedy struck when Dave Williams of Drowning Pool died. The band took a temporary hiatus after Lajon's younger brother was killed.

In 2003, Sevendust returned with their fourth album, Seasons. This album is considered by many to be Sevendust's best album and is their most popular album to date. It contains the hit songs "Enemy", "Broken Down", "Face to Face" and "Separate". In 2004, for the first time in the band's career, they have released a live album on a CD/DVD double disk package titled Southside Double-Wide: Acoustic Live. Both the CD and the DVD include a cover of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails in tribute of Johnny Cash.

On December 15, 2004, it was announced Clint Lowery had left the band, citing musical differences. It was said Sevendust had him replaced with a member of Tommy Lee's solo band but it was officially announced Sonny Mayo (from Snot and Amen) was the new replacement for Clint. Clint is now working with a new band called Dark New Day which also features his brother, Corey Lowery. At roughly the same time, Sevendust and TVT Records parted ways.

On October 11, 2005, Sevendust released their fifth studio album, Next, on their new label, Winedark Records, distributed by Universal Music. In the process, Sevendust has also created their own record label, 7Bros Records. The first radio single off of Next was the track "Ugly", released to radio August 9, 2005. A music video was also produced and released for "Ugly". The track "Pieces" appeared on the soundtrack for the film Saw II. Next debuted at #20 on the Billboard Charts, relatively unheard of for a band of Sevendust's hard rock genre.

Sliding under the radar, Sevendust's old label, TVT Records, released a greatest hits package for Sevendust on December 27, 2005. There was no comment on this production by the band until 6 days before its release. Titled Best of (Chapter One 1997-2004), this release constitutes the final release by Sevendust under the TVT Records moniker. The release is somewhat controversial however, as many feel TVT is just cashing in one final time on their former most successful client.

On March 7, 2006, the track "Failure" became the second single off of Next. This was reported by the official Sevendust website. It's peak was in the 28th spot on the Billboard music charts.

In April 2006, Sevendust announced that they had gained "freedom" from their contract with Winedark Records. Sevendust is still represented through their self label, 7 Bros. Records, which is still distributed through Fontana, a division of Universal.

June 26th, 2006 became the new release date for the track "Pieces" to be the third single off of the Next album. This was reported, once again, on the official Sevendust website.

ALBUMS

1997 - Sevendust

1999 - Home

2001 - Animosity

2003 - Seasons

2004 - Southside Double-Wide: Acoustic Live

2005 - Next

2005 - Best of (Chapter One 1997-2004)

SINGLES

1998 - "Too Close To Hate" Sevendust

1998 - "Black" Sevendust

1998 - "Bitch" Sevendust

1999 - "Denial" Home

2000 - "Waffle" Home

2000 - "Licking Cream" Home

2001 - "Praise" Animosity

2002 - "Xmas Day" Animosity

2002 - "Live Again" Animosity

2003 - "Enemy" Seasons

2004 - "Broken Down" Seasons

2005 - "Face To Face" Seasons

2005 - "Ugly" Next

2006 - "Failure" Next

2006 - "Pieces" Not yet released