Live at Le Bataclan in Paris: Sevendust

SEVENDUSTMaya Angelou once stated, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”For over three decades, Sevendust have made countless fans feel a part of something special. The group’s community isn’t passive. Members of the “7D Army” make a very active commitment to being part of this family—as evinced by sold-out shows worldwide and innumerable tattoos of the band’s logo and lyrics. Since 1994, the iconic Atlanta quintet have quietly built a legacy without parallel, encompassing sales of nearly eight million albums, a GRAMMY® Award nomination for “Best Metal Performance,” three Top 15 entries on the Billboard 200, hundreds of millions of streams, and the fierce loyalty of millions of listeners in every corner of the globe. Along the way, they’ve shined as an outlier equally comfortable on tracks with either members of Deftones, Creed, and Periphery or Xzibit and Daughtry. Speaking to their longevity, they notably notched their biggest radio success to date with “Everything” in 2024, netting a career-high entry on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. However, the guys really delivered with 2026’s ONE [Napalm Records]. Sevendust’s 15th full-length LP forges ten simultaneously lean and gut-punching tracks out of gargantuan riffs, seismic grooves, and signature soul-stirring hooks. Rallying together around a common goal as bandmates and brothers, Lajon Witherspoon [vocals], Clint Lowery [lead guitar, backing vocals], John Connolly [lead guitar, backing vocals], Vince Hornsby [bass], and Morgan Rose [drums] have crafted a body of work that both day-one devotees and new fans alike can hold onto forever.“The five original members are united as one,” observes John. “We’ve been through a lot. While we solidify who we are as Sevendust, we believe there’s no reason we can’t get tighter and better. We’re very connected on this album.”“Through this record, we got closer than ever,” agrees Morgan. “There were times when the closeness was definitely tested. When you endure a tough time as a family, everyone’s true colors show. When I put the band together, it wasn’t based on talent. It was really about how the other guys were as human beings. I wanted to enjoy being around everybody. The chemistry initially bonded us. On the new record, we cared about each other so much that it brought us back to the beginning when it was like, ‘Man, I love the guys next to me’.”“Over thirty years later, the fact that we’re in the best place emotionally together is our legacy,” smiles Clint. “We’ve maintained our relationships with each other and our relationship with the fans. They’re part of this ONE too.”Sevendust had kept busy on the road in the wake of 2023’s unanimously acclaimed Truth Killer. V13 spotlighted it with a cover story, Consequence hailed the music as “hard-hitting,” and Guitar World marveled at how, “more than 25 years after releasing their gold-selling self-titled debut, Sevendust’s music still has plenty of bite.” Not only did they launch a successful co-headline jaunt with Static-X, but they also celebrated the 21st anniversary of the seminal gold-selling Seasons as well as the Southside Double-Wide Acoustic Live album on the road. In between, they found a pocket of time to decamp to Lajon’s farmhouse in Kansas. They lived together and even took turns cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner for each other. Getting down to business, the musicians instinctually congregated around a shared vision, and they rooted the songs in raw riffing. With writing complete, they ventured to Florida in order to record with producer Michael “Elvis” Baskette [Alter Bridge, Falling In Reverse, Mammoth] once again.“I had a great time doing the programming for Truth Killer, but those elements take a bit of a backseat on ONE,” Clint reveals. “There are layers of keys, synths, and strings. They’re just not nearly as predominant. We definitely relied on the guitar to build textures. Some sounds may seem like electronic elements, but they aren’t. The intention was to make a more guitar-based record.”“We got back to how we approached our first few records,” John posits. “Even Seasons was very stripped-down. There was no programming at all. We hit the sweet spot here of what we like to call ‘Soul Metal’.”“You could feel the brotherhood at the farmhouse,” grins Lajon. “It gave us the passion and energy to come up with some hard-hitting songs. We knew we had something special. Once Elvis got on board, we brought it to life.”Now, the group bust down the door with the single “Is This The Real You?” Its swaggering fretwork alternately wallops and gallops in lockstep with a pummeling rhythm anchored by thunderous drums. The riff rolls and seethes, and the vocals swing from guttural grows into the embrace of a jazz-y chantable chorus, “Your head’s in the clouds. You don’t know where to find it. Is this the real y