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Elsewhere, tracks fall into power-ballad waters, but thankfully they are not cheesy. "Xmas Day" and the midtempo "Follow"--featuring assists by Aaron Lewis of Staind--feature dark but emotional melodies that are carried beautifully by Lajon Witherspoon's soulful vocals. The album closes on a spiritual note with "Angel's Son," Sevendust's heartfelt tribute to late Snot singer Lynn Strait, which is fleshed out by a string section. --Gail Flug

Album Description
For the first time in the life of the band, Sevendust (TVT Records) have had time to write and create their songs at home, not in between tour dates as they have in the past. With this new, found freedom, the band wrote 13 mind blowing, beautifully-crafted hard rock classics.

This album is a giant step up from anything the band has done before. It has much more melody, and much more variation. In this one album, Lajon has increased my appreciation for his vocal abilities by leaps and bounds. He is simply an amazing vocalist, possibly the best in rock (second behind Iced Earth's Matt Barlow). He just sings his heart out here, and thankfully Morgan's annoying backup vocals are cut to a minimum.

Best songs would have to be "Praise", "Trust", "Live Again", and "X-mas Day", but almost every song on here is great. The first song, "T!ts on a Boar", isn't too great, but from there this album hardly misses a step. "Follow" features guest vocals from Staind frontman Aaron Lewis. He does a great job, but even he is dwarfed by Lajon's mighty pipes. He does manage to get in a nice "vomit scream" though (Staind fans know what I'm talking about). I like the new version of "Angel's Son" better than the first one, I think the guitarwork is much better. However, I'd say the guitar playing is this album's main downfall. John and Clint may have slightly more skill than the average numetal guitarists, but the majority of the guitarwork is nothing but a blur of distortion. With better riffs, this could have been a really amazing album, but even as it is, it's quite good. Also, the drumming is too restrained. Morgan is obviously a great drummer, but he needs to just go nuts every once in a while. He only does like 3 fills in this whole album, and they're quite good, so he should do it more. Oh well. It's numetal, so whaddya gonna do?

This album exceeded my expectations by far. I like it, but I'm not really sure who to recommend it to. I guess just open-minded people. If you consider yourself an open-minded music fan, you should buy this. It's possible that numetallers might not consider this heavy enough, because of all the melody, but well, you guys don't know what "heavy" is anyway. I think numetal is better with melody, because when they try to rock, it's just pathetic. System of a Down is the only numetal band that can rock out with any success. Anyway, this is a really good album. If you like this, I also recommend a similar but lesser known band called Nonpoint.


The Best Of Sevendust?   July 19, 2005
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

Even though it seems to be a rather unpopular opinion, it is mine that Sevendust's third album, 2001's "Animosity," is the one that truly captures and defines the group. While it's predecessors, the self-titled debut and it's follow-up, "Home," seemed a bit conflicted and their fourth effort, "Seasons," marked a more stream-lined approach, this is the one album that really brings all the elements of Sevendust to the table: Introspective and mature song writing, beefy guitar riffs, and soothing melodies coupled with abrasive yelling. Depsite the fact that they pull off this sound better than just about everyone else out there, they still haven't gotten the recognition they deserve. When they made their debut, the nu-metal scene was slowly on the rise. When "Home" came around, every band that had crunchy guitars was a success. And, even though bands like Staind and Incubus were breaking through in 2001 with honest, straight-forward rock music, Sevendust still couldn't catch a break. Which is a shame, as "Animosity" stands as one of the most memorable releases of that year.

To me, "Animosity," sounds more complete than previous works. Before this album, I couldn't quite understand Sevendust. Don't get me wrong, I love their old stuff, but a lot of it just sounded so disjointed. Here, the group seem more focused than ever, and in turn, all thirteen tracks are winners. No filler, whatsoever. The album starts off in traditional Sevendust fashion with the fierce "T.O.A.B." and the equally energetic "Praise." From there, however, the focus seems to be more on song-writing than on sonic bombast. "Trust" is probably the ideal single, even though it was never chosen. It is just one of those songs that you will instantly click into and is a huge representation of Sevendust's maturity. Likewise, the emotionally draining "X-Mas Day," penned entirely by band guitarist Clint Lowery, will grasp your attention. The song was written about domestic abuse and the childhood experiences of Clint and his brother Corey (whom Clint later left Sevendust to be with in Dark New Day). Other standouts include "Live Again," with it's strong, positive message, "Follow," which marks a collaboration with Staind frontman Aaron Lewis, and a reworking of "Angel's Son," complete with string section. Now, I'm not quite sure why they decided to re-record this song, (which previously appeared on the Lynn Strait (Snot) tribute album, "Strait Up"), but it sounds just as good, if not, better here.

Overall, I have to say, it's a perfect album. It's got it's loud moments, but it also has the reflective, personal moments too. Perfect balance of all things Sevendust. Plus, the production by Ben Grosse (who also did Filter's "Title Of Record") is the best the band have been subjected to. The sound of this album is much more crisp and cleaner, which is a major contribution to why I feel this to be Sevendust's shining album. I highly recommend this album. Just give it a chance, and don't judge it by everything else you hear on the radio. Sevendust stand in a league of their own. They work hard, and the effort they put in really shows, especially on this album.


Great Chops, but Still in Need of Songwriting Help   November 28, 2001
 4 out of 12 found this review helpful

Sevendust has displayed amazing musical chops since their first album, and they're keeping it up here. John Connolly and Clint Lowery are two of the most creative and skillful guitarists working in metal today (second only to the guys in Korn), with vertiginous, breakneck riffs and highly intricate interplay. Their penchant for throwing around weird noises and feedback actually brightens the songs, rather than cluttering them up like in other metal bands. Morgan Rose is a very intricate and flawless drummer, navigating the band's bizarre time signatures and rapid-fire changes with ease. Sevendust's true asset is the soulful and emotional vocals of Lajon Witherspoon, who is better than all of today's nu-metal vocalists combined.

Unfortunately, Sevendust has also had a problem with songwriting since their first album. Their full-blast rockers are really where they're at their best, such as "TOAB," "Praise," and "Dead Set" here. But when they attempt to get serious, that's where there's trouble. Sevendust's mid-tempo numbers and power ballads are sluggish, dreary, and mostly indistinguishable (except for the majestic "Angel's Son"). Here, numbers like "X-Mas Day," "Follow" and "Beautiful" really drag down the middle of the album into a sluggish tar pit. Sevendust's other major weakness is Morgan Rose's obnoxious backing vocals. Rose is usually screaming insults and curse words at the top of his lungs, and pollutes many songs while detracting from the much better voice of Witherspoon. This definitely damages "Damaged," plus "Beautiful" and "Redefine." I suspect that the band is trying to create a juxtaposition between Rose's bloodcurdling screams and Witherspoon's soulful crooning, and would like to work that contrast in interesting ways. This would be a cool novelty to use once in a while. But in almost every single song, it just really gets on your nerves.


No Animosity About This Album!!!!!   October 21, 2005
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

This is the best album that Sevendust has ever put out! This album is amazing, every song is awesome and it is the heaviest album that they have put out yet(with the exception of a few ballads which are great). The first song, T.O.A.B. comes on hard and heavy and sets the tone for the rest of the album! They did a couple of ballads, Christmas day which is a damn good song that I seem to unknowingly start singing at the top of my lungs every time I hear it, and follow which is good but to me is the worst song on the album. I can't explain how amazing the opening line up is on this album, You start out with T.O.A.B. which as I said berfore is hard, heavy, and damn good! and you can ride that wave of crunching guitar filled metal through Praise, Trust, and Crucified all the way to thier first ballad Christmas day! After Christmas day it picks right back up again, I want to mention the song Redefine too, F%$#ing awesome! I don't want to start sounding redundant so I will stop by saying Sevendust is the heaviest, most consistant, in a word BEST numetal band ever and this is Sevendust at their best! I can't urge you enough to go out and buy this album, you won't regret it!!


An exceedingly good release amongst so much that's mediocre   November 15, 2001
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Musicians who take up residence inside their music, deeply and convincingly, remind us that heavy alternative is as much a quest for catharsis and emotional resolution as it is an outlet for loud belligerence and alpha-male behavior. Certainly, we realize that bands peddle rage (which is more sellable now than ever), but when theyre genuine, the transfusion between artist and audience is real again - more than art swaying to the tune of capitalism and creativity as profit.

Stuffed to capacity with clones, the alternative nation might do well to consider a reinvention, before becoming a tired wasteland of safe, bankable and increasingly boring male angst. This reviewer is moved when artists recreate themselves in their creations - uncompromised - in an honest transcription of feeling and creativity straight to medium. I think we can all agree that there need not be any more bands auto piloting through the creative process.

Thankfully, Sevendust avoids relying on safe clichés and formulaic contrivances. Headed by soulful vocalist Lajon Witherspoon, and backed by one of the most kinetic four pieces youll find anywhere, the band is evolving both as songwriters and musical pioneers. Throughout three progressively stronger and artistically honed LPs, Animosity, the bands latest release, finds Sevendust hitting its stride and defining its niche more sharply than ever.

Less muscular tracks like Xmas Day and Angels Son stay true to the bands balancing act of abrasive, speedy metal riffs with tunes that indulge more than the flow of adrenalin. But theyve upped the bar and tightened up their trademark sound: machine gun rhythms and heavy-artillery syncopation, just listen to hook-filled tracks like Shine, Damaged, and you'll know that the boys were re-tooling and improving since their last release. Those attracted to Sevendusts calculated rawness will be thrilled to encounter the bands broadened and inventive song structures, careful fine-tuning, and doubly pleased that this is easily the bands best album to date.

Adding a very melodic and vocally driven element to the music; the band has pulled off an interesting paradox becoming more accessible and more exploratory at the same time, wisely taking greater advantage of a lead singer with dynamic vocals and a knack for melding power with melody. Its nice to watch a band raise their standards -- watch Sevendust get better with time.