SEVENDUST
Blood & Stone RISE
Atlanta’s wildly successful hard rockers get their fire back
In recent times, Sevendust have released decent albums, but with little drive. With Blood & Stone the band finally sound as if they mean business again. Thankfully it has more in common with early releases like Animosity and Seasons than anything recorded in the past decade. The songs bristle with melody and aggression; vocalist Lajon Witherspoon pushes himself to the limit throughout, as he combines fluently with Clint Lowery’s inimitable guitar dynamic to raise the likes of Dying To Live and Kill Me to rare heights of emotional power, while Nothing Left To See Here Anymore is an impassioned modern power ballad. The album finishes with a fine cover of Soundgarden’s The Day I Tried To Live. It’s a classy way to end Sevendust’s best work in years.