Sevendust - Home (1999)^{Release ID: 6203}

While Sevendust’s second album, 1999’s ‘Home’, is a step up from its predecessor, it’s still a fairly average album at best. There’s a noticeable improvement in the band’s sound and performance, and a number of solid tracks make this album superior to the group’s debut.

With nu metal on the rise, Sevendust’s “alternative” brand of metal was starting to gain the band some recognition, with a good balance of groove, heaviness and melody, the Atlanta-based five-piece are starting to sound a lot more polished with their sound. In particular, vocalist Lajon Witherspoon’s interesting mixture of singing, shouting and rapping is starting to really suit the music better than before. The guitars are also sounding a lot more confident, with the twin-guitar format being utilized to full effect.

Personal highlights for me include ‘Headtrip’, ‘Rumble Fish’, ‘Licking Cream’, ‘Denial’, ‘Bender’ and the title track. While a number of songs on this album seem similar and repetitive, these ones stand out, and show a band that may have finally stumbled upon a sound that’ll give them their own identity.

‘Home’, ultimately, isn’t a bad album, and has its fair share of memorable moments. But it’s just not an album I’d consider coming back to very often. Sevendust are certainly showing potential for greater things though, and with the nu metal subgenre on the verge of taking over the world (this is back in 1999, remember), it’ll be interesting to see if the band can fulfil that potential on later releases.