Sevendust

Rising from a post-grunge, alternative metal scene in the mid-1990s, Sevendust became resolute mainstays of the US hard rock world with their raw, explosive venom and angst-purging, high energy shows, releasing their 12th studio album 'All I See Is War' in 2018. Front man Lajon Witherspoon was born in Nashville where his father played in a funk band, but grew up singing in church choirs in Atlanta, Georgia and after discovering metal and grunge in high school, formed his first band Body & Soul. When this band fell apart, Witherspoon teamed up with bassist Vince Hornsby and drummer Morgan Rose from local metal outfit Snake Nation, while guitarists John Connolly and Clint Lowery completed the Sevendust line-up for their self-titled debut album in 1997. Although they spent years paying their dues and often faced chaos and bankruptcy, the band were inspired by the aggressive, adrenalin rush of the popular nu-metal scene, and their album 'Home' made the US top 20 in 1999. An African-American fronting a hard rock band was a rare sight at the time but, with Witherspoon's impassioned, jet-fuelled vocals and the band's thunderous collision of sounds, they built a loyal, sustained fan base which sent the albums 'Seasons' and 'Alpha' to number 14 in the charts. At a time when most bands of their ilk burned out in chaos or tragedy, Sevendust continued to be popular, hard-touring standard-bearers on the US underground rock scene, and with Lowery returning to the ranks after a four-year absence, the longstanding line-up went on to reach a career high of number 12 in the US charts with 'Cold Day Memory' in 2010. Side projects have included Lowery and Rose working together as Call Me No-One and Connolly and Hornsby forming Projected and they also released the stripped down, acoustic album 'Time Travelers and Bonfires', before returning to their raucous, soul-purging best on 'Kill the Flaw' in 2015.

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