Search - Sevendust :: Seasons (w/ Bonus DVD)

~Here is the problem folks~

TensionExperiment | East Coast | 11/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As the years have passed I have found myself being inexorably drawn away from this type of music. Taste, maybe. Artistic quality, no. I have been a Sevendust fan since their first release, with Home being my favorite album, until now. I sift through these reviews and think to myself, are these people really fans of this band, or do they actually want the same thing over and over? Sevendust has never sounded better. You can say that they are soft, you can say that they have taken the sell-out road to Pop music stardom, you can say that they are no longer 'Sevendust.' I say open your ears and listen. Seasons is one of the best "nu/metal" releases that I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. It is apparent, to those of us that actually pay attention to the music, that Lajon and crew are working toward closure as a band, and as human beings. Some of the songs are brutal; Face to Face is actually scary. But the polar opposite, Skeleton Song, and to some degree Disgrace, leave this listener on the verge of emotional turmoil. I want to follow these guys as they mine these emotions, regardless of how thrashy, hard, loud, or "Rock" they may sound. I say Kudos to the band. Seasons is a wholly justified purchase for Sevendust fans, and fans of earnest, emotional rock music. Even the naysayers may find some gold to mine if they put down their placards of "Sell-Out," and "Gone-Soft" long enough to experience the emotion of this release. Lajon, our hearts are with you."

The change of "Seasons" is a very good thing...

tbiddy | NYC | 11/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There is one thing that I can say about Sevendust which I have rarely ever been able to say for a musical group: they have NEVER let me down. (Save for a cancelled show in my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio to play "Angel's Son" on The Tonight Show where another of my favorite bands was scheduled to open, Finger Eleven. The re-scheduled show had no opening acts save for a terrible local metal ban. I STILL have yet to see Finger Eleven live, but I'm not bitter...) Every album I've ever purchased by them has been a steady improvement over the last, and this album is no exception.I remember listening to their Self-Titled album and thinking to myself, "man, I love these riffs I just wish Lajon would SING more."Then "Home" came out. Wow, I got EXACTLY what I wanted. This time around the riffs were even better. Days after this album's release I had the opportunity of seeing Sevendust live for the first time. This goes down in history as one of the best live shows I have EVER been to. Check out the opening line-up, which had Sevendust headlining circa 1999: Skunk Anansie, followed by Staind (yes, Staind), and Powerman 5000. The only shows I've been to on par with this were "The Roots" and "Heavy D, Digital Underground, and Public Enemy" a LONG time ago. So, what did I say next..."Man, I love this album, but the syncopated riffing just gets a bit monotonous at times."Then "Animosity" came out. Soaring vocals, the use of more open sounding, suspended chords and further musical development from the band. Up until the day "Seasons" came out "Animosity" was still getting heavy rotation in my CD player. So, what did I say next? "Animosity, is one of my new favorite albums. The only thing I would change would be to improve songs like "X-Mas Day" and cut to the chase on a lot of the songs."And now we have "Seasons." While I'm tempted to dissect this album song by song, I'll do my best not to do that. This album is FANTASTIC. No other way to put it. The songs get right to the point, still with Sevendust's trademark riffage, and soaring vocals. The choruses are readymade for the radio which may anger some, but if you didn't know this was coming you haven't been listening hard enough. Sevendust has ALWAYS been "poppy" and in case you forgot, "Seasons" is here to remind you. Most songs on this album are under 4 minutes long and those of you who liked the longer songs of "Animosity" may be disappointed here.Listening to a "Sevendust" album is (please pardon the pun...I noticed it shortly before I started typing this) very much like "X-Mas Day"...you always seem to get what you want when you open the wrapper. Be warned, the choruses are SO catchy you WILL be singing them in your head when you LEAST expect it.

My only criticism is that some songs are just SO DAMN good, others are only GOOD by comparison. "Enemy" could have been left off this album, I feel it is a bit too cliche and actually the worst song on the album...releasing this as a single really doesn't do this album justice. Sevendust...if you EVER read this: if you DO NOT release "Broken Down" as a single, you're nuts. When radio gets a hold of this...they'll play it so much that YOU'LL even be sick of it. Sevendust you have quite the task ahead of you...how can you follow up an album even better than this?This is the best heavy rock album of the year and the new standard by which all melodic pop metal albums will be judged."

Heavy, yet Soulful

tbiddy | 10/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have always said that the best bands are ones that are constantly improving rather than retreading familiar terriotory or radically changing their sound (e.g. KoRn). After listening to this CD, I can honestly Sevendust falls into the first category. With their first album, Sevendust introduced a somewhat generic nu-metal sound, but nonetheless, it held promise with its hard and heavy riffs, as well as its pounding rhythms. In Home, they refined their sound, making it far more unique, but most of the songs tended to sound rather generic. Animosity was really a turning point for the band. It combined, but it added in a new element of soulfulness that had not been found in their previous albums. Songs like "Live Again" and "X-Mas Day" are probably the best examples of this. Now, with Seasons, Sevendust has taken the progression even further. But is this the right direction for them to be taking?There's been a backlash against metal bands taking their songs in a more emotional, yet less heavy direction, and so it comes as no surprise that there are some Sevendust fans feeling left out with this album and Animosity. Personally, I could care less as their songs on this album show light years more complextity, feeling, and variety than their old stuff does. Now, that is not to say Seasons doesn't offer some really heavy material, but it does not dominate the album like on their first two albums. Allow me to break it down song by song."Disease" (8/10): Following a tradition begun with their first album, the first song on this album is heavy, but unlike their previous two albums, it has a rather catchy guitar riff going on throughout it making it more memborable than "TOAB" and "Home"."Enemy" (9/10): Just as heavy as "Disease" but there's an element of rap in here mixed in with a more emotional chorus and interesting chorus."Seasons" (10/10): Another catchy and heavy guitar melody going on, but its not nearly as hard and heavy as the previous two and the focus is more on Lajon's singing. "Broken Down" (15/10): Probably the best song on the album. It's in the same vein as "Live Again," (A hard and fast song, but still has many ballad-like qualities) but that's not a bad thing. With a unique melody and a powerful chorus, as well as a meaningful lyrics, it simply a very powerful song. I can listen to this song all day."Separate" (6/10): Catchy, but it feels too poppish for my tastes. It's growing on me, but not enough to raise its score."Honesty" (8/10): A slower song, but by no means soft. Showcases Lajon's talent as a singer, but is not among the more unique songs on the album."Skeleton Song" (14/10): An acoustic song a la "X-Mas Day," but even more haunting, especially the chorus. Everything seems to gel here and it's a close second to "Broken Down," though, that could change with time."Disgrace" (8/10): Good, but at the same time, sounds a little to similar to "Seasons." While this is not a bad thing as it has enough going for it to stand-out on its own, at the same time, variety is the spice of life."Burned Out" (7/10): This is rather generic and sounds like slowed down version of "Shine." It's worth listening to for Lajon's vocals, however."Suffocate" (8/10): Not to be confused with the Cold song of the same name, this is real driving and heavy song which gives Morgan a chance to really exercise his vocal chords. Not exceptional, but good."Gone" (7/10): Once again, another song whose only failing is its similarity to another song. Unfortunately, that song happens to be "Suffocate" which isn't very exceptional to begin with, and considering they're right next to each other, that makes it sound even more generic."Face to Face" (7/10): Probably the heaviest song on the album. If it were used in Home, it would probably be a stand-out song, but it doesn't fit as well as other songs do on the album. The chorus is really good, however. Much like TOAB on Animosity if the rest of the album were like this song, it would probably stand out and be really good.The only problem with this album is a couple songs are rather generic or just don't fit well in the album. This has always Sevendust's problem and while they're getting better at fixing that, at the same time, it prevents Seasons from being the absolute perfect album. Then again, most albums suffer from the aformentioned problem. Besides that, all of the songs on the album are still high quality (And they're all worth listening to for Lajon's vocals) so it's not like you're going to be reaching for the next track button on your CD player every other song. They all demonstrate the massive amount of talent the band possesses, as well their unique sound which is getting more and more refined with each album. While fans who solely appreciate hard and heavy music (In other words, a lot of noise, screaming, and heavy guitar riffs) might be rather disgruntled that Sevendust is slowly moving away from their earlier material, for the rest of us, Seasons is an album that has a lot to offer in terms of variety and complexity."