Reviewed July 22, 1999
Sevendust is heavy metal at it's best. While most metal singers bark, lead singer Lajon can actually sing! But only if he wants to. Take for example, the sharp contrast between "Prayer" and "Born to Die." Lajon's smooth voice is what distinguishes Sevendust from most metal bands.

I have seen others comparing this disc to Korn. How they get the two bands mixed up is beyond me. Sevendust sounds nothing at all like Korn, other than the overall speed of the music. Korn is a freak show, while Sevendust makes much more civilized music. Not that it's weak. The low end on this stuff is about as heavy as metal gets. I have to make sure to turn the bass control on my car stereo to neutral just to keep from damaging my sub when I want to play it loud. And loud is the only way to play Sevendust with any justice. The low frequencies rule the entire album, but if you truly want to give your subwoofer a workout, just skip to "Terminator." This track has some excellent textured bass. And the finale of "My Ruin" can be enough to grind you into the floor.

I also like the way the band spices up things with a little bit of variety. In "Bitch," "Speak," and "Prayer," they start out light and suddenly explode into heavy guitar riffs and mean vocals. This makes the disc easy to listen to over and over without getting bored.

If there's any room for improvement, it would be with "Wired." The guitar riffs in this song make my blood curdle and really don't fit with the rest of the album. Also, I know these kind of lyrics go with the territory, but "Face" and "Will It Bleed" could be much more politically correct. "Face" is about a woman that begs to be raped, which is just a bit impossible, but the words will still turn heads. "Will It Bleed" incessantly repeats, "I'd rather kill myself than put you through the pain again." I suppose it may just be romanticism gone overboard, but I usually skip the song anyway because of its lyrics. If you're one of those people that let lyrics go in one ear and out the other, though, both of these songs are top notch in every other way. So as long as you don't play those two songs, or "Wired" or "Born to Die," you won't have Dan Quayle getting on your case.

As for my favorite tracks, I can't really decide between "Too Close to Hate," "Speak," and "My Ruin." Get this CD and pop it into a system with plenty of power. You won't be disappointed. Despite its minor shortcomings, I give Sevendust's self-titled album five of five stars.