ARTIST: Sevendust
ALBUM: Kill The Flaw
LABEL: Asylum and 7Bros. Records
RELEASE DATE: October 2, 2015
Belting it Out!
Written by Silas Valentino
Leading up to the release of Kill the Flaw, Sevendust’s tenth studio album, the Georgian metal band released a string of wepisodes online detailing the record’s creation and the band member’s continued fruitful collaborations. One scene during the premier episode shows the band’s rhythm guitarist John Connolly erasing from a whiteboard the potential song title “Darrell” in lieu of something more effective. He and drummer Morgan Rose then proceed to brainstorm other titles:
‘“Signs?’” poses Rose.
“I don’t know,” responds Connolly. “Fucking Tesla had ‘Signs’ and they kind of ruined it for everybody.”
Eighties Hair metal criticisms aside, what this moment depicts is Sevendust’s relentless song crafting and undying partnership. Ten albums have passed since their 1997 eponymous debut and Sevendust’s creative ink have yet to run dry. Following the release of their 2014 acoustic-centric album Time Travelers & Bonfires, Sevendust returns to their basics and produced an album worthy of their 2000s glory days. Kill the Flaw is a straight up whiskey shot with a Bud to wash it down: Eleven songs hitting 47 minutes about battling your struggles with a head bang.
First single/first song is the explosive “Thank You” which begins with a calm, electro build before erupting into Sevendust’s signature sound: thrusting guitar riffs, heavy-meets-melodic songwriting and lead singer Lajon Witherspoon’s barreling vocals. Their take on metal is approachable and has proven its longevity as Sevendust nears their twenty-year anniversary as a band. Innovation might not be their strongest quality but why the hell would they tune a guitar string that doesn’t require tuning? Sevendust has their sound down and there’s no reason to stray too far from it.
Though a couple of tracks dare to differ and are sprinkled throughout Kill the Flaw. “Cease and Desist” treads into ballad territory with its light instrumentation and it momentarily chooses harmony over cacophony. Witherspoon manages to get a silvery verse out where his robust vocals are funded by his mighty talent but the placid party doesn’t last long – there’s a cymbal-crashing chorus waiting up around the bend. For fans of 2014’s Bonfires, the acoustic riff that introduces “Chop” should compensate for Kill the Flaw’s general lack of unplugged instrumentation. Sevendust’s choice to repeatedly record with acoustic guitars is a clear method for observing their philosophy of keeping things melodious amongst all the fire-breathing metal.
For the curious, wondering what the title “Darrell” was ultimately renamed to (“Signs” didn’t last very long), it’s the title of the record and the most realized compensation of the entire bunch. “Kill the Flaw” offers those pulsating palm-muted guitars that Dimebag Darrell of Pantera made so vibrant and boisterous. (There isn’t any confirmation if Darrell’s name was intended to be the song’s original title but the guitar parts sufficiently suggest the possibility.) The Pantera allusions continue with a “Cowboys From Hell”-recalling descent into madness that begins “Kill the Flaw” and Witherspoon’s wailing vocals could earn him a nod of approval from Pantera’s singer Phil Anselmo.
The remainder of Kill the Flaw succeeds for its consistency but fails to produce any more notoriety. Some songs could be sliced up and replaced with others and their echoes would easily melt into one. Harnessing and perfecting a sound is a double-edged sword: you have something that’s yours but the impending doom of drabness reappears with each new release. Sevendust have found a way to remain consistent with their accessible metal and the numbers cannot lie. Over 20,000 viewers hopped onto YouTube to watch the band’s first wepisode and behind-the-scene videos are inherently esoteric.
Sevendust have their sound, each other and a dedicated fan base. Desiring anything else would just be greedy.