In the late '90s and early 2000s, there were countless alternative metal bands that were similar to
Sevendust in many respects -- bands that could be bone crushing but also had a sense of melody; bands that thrived on dark, angst-ridden lyrics and were as angry as they were introspective. But most of them couldn't match
Sevendust's excellence; even if they had the basics down, their writing wasn't as consistent. Plus, they didn't have anyone as exciting as lead singer
Lajon Witherspoon (whose soulful, R&B-influenced vocals set
Sevendust apart from most of the group's competitors in the alt-metal field). Released in 2003, the Atlanta residents' fourth album,
Seasons, came six years after their 1997 debut -- and creatively, they don't lose any momentum on this forceful yet melodic CD. Surprisingly,
Seasons was produced by singer/songwriter
Butch Walker, who is known for his years with
Marvelous 3 and is generally a lot more pop-minded than
Witherspoon and his colleagues -- not exactly the first person one would expect to produce a
Sevendust disc. But in fact,
Walker produced some demos for
Sevendust before the band signed with TVT (back when the group was known as
Crawlspace). And even though
Walker doesn't have a long resumé when it comes to alt-metal, he works out well on
Seasons. From the burning anger of "Enemy" (drummer
Morgan Rose's blistering attack on former
Coal Chamber singer
B. Dez Fafara) to the dark introspection of "Suffocate," "Broken Down," "Separate," and "Skeleton Song,"
Seasons is far from a happy CD. But it's a compelling CD -- perhaps too dark for some listeners, but compelling nonetheless -- and
Sevendust continues to live up to its high standards throughout the band's fourth album. [The Japanese version included bonus tracks.] ~ Alex Henderson