Sevendust

T

hey first appeared under the name Crawlspace on the Mortal Combat: More Kombat soundtrack but changed their name shortly after. Merging accessible melodies with soulful and powerful lyrics with low-end Korn influenced riffing; Georgia's Sevendust quickly pushed their way out of the hardcore metal underground into the nu-metal genre. Lajon Witherspoon (vocals), Clint Lowery (guitar/backing vocals), John Connolly (ex-Piece Dogs; rhythm guitar/lead guitar/backing), Vinnie Hornsby (bass/backing vocals) and Morgan Rose (drums/backing vocals) would knock out the 1997 self-titled Sevendust, Home (1999) and Animosity (2001), Seasons (2003) and Next (2005).

2006 saw the band facing bankruptcy. 'WineDark Records', their label, had imploded, leaving them without distribution, tour support, or promised advance payments. Crew members and other staff went unpaid. To add insult to injury, an expected tax refund that would have helped didn't arrive due to the accountant failing to file their taxes, leaving them owing $120,000 to the government.

A lucky break would bestow them with the signing to 'Asylum Records' (a 'Warner Brothers' imprint) making them the first rock band on that label, with the release of their sixth full-length studio album, Alpha, on March 6, 2007. The album debuted at 14 in the US, the band's highest chart position yet, selling over 42,000 copies in its first week of sale. Between 2005 and 2008 Sonny Mayo would assume rhythm guitar while Connolly focused on his lead guitar duties until Mayo's departure in 2008.