Sevendust


Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vinnie Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose, and guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and guitarist Clint Lowery joined the group. Following a few name changes, the members settled on Sevendust and released their self-titled debut album in 1997, which sold only 310 copies in its first week but ultimately achieved gold certification.
Since their formation, Sevendust have attained success with three consecutive RIAA gold-certified albums, a Grammy nomination, and have sold millions of records worldwide. The group has released a total of 14 studio albums.

History

Early years and ''Sevendust'' (1994–1998)

In 1994, bassist Vinnie Hornsby joined drummer Morgan Rose in a band called Snake Nation. Drummer John Connolly then joined the group as guitarist. They recorded one early demo, but were displeased with the lead vocals and thus they hired Lajon Witherspoon following a yearlong search. Around the same time, guitarist Lee Banks joined to complete the lineup, and the band renamed themselves Rumblefish. Rumblefish renamed themselves again after discovering another band with the same name. They chose Crawlspace, but shortly after, Banks became dissatisfied with the touring schedule. The band replaced him with Clint Lowery. Their first commercialized appearance was the song "My Ruin" on the 1996 compilation album Mortal Kombat: More Kombat through TVT Records. The band changed their name for the third and final time after another group named Crawlspace sent notice they wanted $2,500 in exchange for the naming rights. The band renamed themselves Sevendust, inspired by commercial insecticide brand "Sevin Dust".
Sevendust released their self-titled debut album, with production by Twisted Sister members guitarist Jay Jay French and bassist Mark Mendoza, on April 15, 1997. The singles "Black" and "Bitch" both peaked at No. 30 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Black" notably became the opening song for nearly every Sevendust concert until 2004. Sevendust appeared on the Billboard 200, remained there for sixteen weeks, and peaked at No. 165 on April 4, 1998. The album went gold on May 19, 1999.
In 1998, Sevendust performed at Dynamo Open Air and Ozzfest 1998. In the same year, they released the compilation Live and Loud, which featured live footage of the band's performance of September 16, 1998, at Metro Chicago.

''Home'' and ''Animosity'' (1999–2002)

In July 1999, Sevendust played on the last day at the infamous Woodstock '99 concert in Rome, New York. Rose recalled that they were escorted by numerous security guards to the stage for their set as attendees grew violent. On August 24, 1999, Sevendust released their second album Home, which peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard 200. Two singles were released from the album, "Denial" and "Waffle", the latter of which was played on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. That year, the band gained European exposure by opening various shows in Germany for Skunk Anansie, whose vocalist Skin provided guest vocals on the track "Licking Cream" off Home. Sevendust also opened for Metallica, with Kid Rock and Ted Nugent, on New Year's Eve in 1999 at the Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit, Michigan. In 2000, the band joined Slipknot, Slayer, Sepultura, Coal Chamber, and others on the Tattoo the Earth tour.
In November 2001, Sevendust released their third album Animosity, which went gold due to the success of the singles "Praise" and "Angel's Son", which peaked at No. 15 and No. 11 respectively on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Angel's Son" was a tribute to Lynn Strait, lead singer of Snot, whom the members of Sevendust were friends with. Strait died in a car accident in 1998. In addition to being re-recorded for Animosity, the song originally appeared on the compilation album Strait Up. The band made an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman playing an acoustic version of "Angel's Son" featuring Paul Shaffer on keyboards.
Tragedy struck again when Witherspoon's younger brother was shot and killed later that year. Due to his death, Sevendust went on hiatus in 2002.

''Seasons'', Lowery's departure, and ''Next'' (2003–2005)

In 2003, Sevendust returned with their fourth album Seasons. Featuring their highest-charting single at that point, "Enemy", which peaked at No. 10 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, the album debuted at No. 14 in the US, selling around 68,000 copies in its first week. "Enemy" was also the official theme song for WWE Unforgiven 2003. In 2004, for the first time in the band's career, they released a live album on a CD/DVD double disk package titled Southside Double-Wide: Acoustic Live. This concert showcased a mellower side to the band with their acoustic performance.
On December 11, 2004, after a show in Columbus, Ohio, it was announced Lowery had left the band mid-tour, because he wanted to play with his brother Corey in his new band Dark New Day, who had reportedly just signed with Warner Bros. Records. A temporary guitarist was found for the rest of the dates, and Lowery was ultimately replaced with Sonny Mayo of Snot and Amen. At roughly the same time, Sevendust and TVT Records parted ways.
On October 11, 2005, Sevendust joined producer/engineer Shawn Grove and released their fifth studio album Next on the WineDark Records label, distributed by Universal Music. In the process, Sevendust created their own record label, 7Bros Records. The album was recorded in a private house-turned-studio owned by a couple outside the band's hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. The first radio single off Next was "Ugly", released to radio August 9, 2005, followed by the music video. "Pieces" appeared on the soundtrack for the film Saw II. Next debuted at No. 20 in the US, selling around 37,000 copies in its first week. After the release of Next, Sevendust's former label TVT Records released a greatest hits package for Sevendust, titled Best of , the label's final Sevendust release.
A few months after the October 2005 release date of Next, the band was at odds with WineDark. "I had people come up to me and say, 'When is the record coming out?'. And it had already been out for five months", Rose stated. "Basically, the main person that was in charge of the whole thing fell off the face of the earth. There were no more cheques coming in, and the money had not been paid in full."

''Alpha'', ''Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow'', and Lowery's return (2006–2008)

In early 2006, the band was considered bankrupt. WineDark imploded, leaving Sevendust without distribution, tour support, or promised advance payments. The band owed money to crew members and other staffers and had a mounting credit card debt. In April, they expected a tax refund from the US government in order to help ease the burden. Afterwards, they found out their accountant hadn't paid their taxes and thus they owed $120,000 to the government. "We were beyond broke", said Rose. "We had a debt load close to a million dollars, and we were in a position where, no matter how much money we thought we were making, we were still having to pay and pay."
Sevendust, with Shawn Grove as producer/engineer once again, released their sixth studio album Alpha on March 6, 2007 via Warner-affiliated Asylum Records. It debuted at No. 14 in the US, the band's highest chart position at that point, and went on to sell over 42,000 copies in its first week on sale. Alpha contained the album's preceding internet track "Deathstar", in addition to "Driven". Alpha was the band's second album featuring Mayo on rhythm guitar and the first with him as part of the writing process. The band headlined a 57-date tour in early 2007 with Diecast, Invitro, and Red.
Retrospective 2, a CD/DVD including two previously unreleased studio tracks, live concert footage never before seen, and the music videos for the songs "Beg to Differ", "Ugly", "Pieces", and "Driven", was released on December 11, 2007.
Sevendust rejoined Grove and returned to the studio at the end of November 2007 to finish their seventh studio album Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow. Released on April 1, 2008, the album debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard 200. Its first single "Prodigal Son" peaked at No. 19 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The single was followed by "The Past", which peaked at No. 27 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and also featured Chris Daughtry as a special guest. Around the same time as the album's release, Sevendust announced Lowery had quit Dark New Day and would return to Sevendust in place of Mayo. On Lowery's return, Rose stated "This was extremely tough considering Sonny is our brother and has been amazing to work with. didn't do anything wrong at all; we just owe it to ourselves and all the folks that grew up with us to put our original band back together."

''Cold Day Memory'' (2009–2011)

Sevendust toured with Black Stone Cherry in December 2008, with Disturbed in January 2009, and performed multiple shows for US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in the spring. They released a limited-edition box set in November 2008 entitled Packaged Goods. Each five-disc set was autographed by the band. The box set included Next, Alpha, Retrospective 2, and Chapter VII: Hope and Sorrow.
In October 2009, Sevendust began recording Cold Day Memory in Chicago with producer Johnny K. The band launched a specialized website promoting the new album. During recording, the band posted daily videos on their official site and also their YouTube channel with updates on the album, recording sessions in the studio, and recording sessions from their new house. On February 6, 2010, the band uploaded "Forever Dead" on their website. Cold Day Memory was ultimately released on April 20, 2010. It was Sevendust's first studio recording with the original lineup since 2003's Seasons. The first official single "Unraveling" hit No. 29 on the Rock Songs chart and No. 7 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album went to No. 12 on the Billboard 200. The album included two more singles, "Forever" and "Last Breath", both of which also charted.
Sevendust toured with Chevelle, Shinedown, Puddle of Mudd, and 10 Years on the Carnival of Madness tour during the summer of 2010. The band re-released their self-titled debut album called Sevendust: Definitive Edition later that year. It was the first time a Sevendust album was given a reissued "deluxe" treatment. In November, it was announced Sevendust would play with Disturbed, Korn, and In This Moment on the Music as a Weapon 5 tour. In February and March 2011, Sevendust toured in Australia with Iron Maiden, Slayer, Ill Niño, and Stone Sour for the Soundwave Festival.