The self-titled debut sold 311 copies its first week. However, through touring, and TVT support, the album gained charting success through Billboard and earned gold certification.
Bassist Vince Hornsby joined drummer Morgan Rose in 1994, in a band called Snake Nation. John Connolly, a drummer, left his current band and joined Snake Nation as a guitarist. They recorded their first demo. Not happy with vocals, however, Snake Nation spent a year searching for a new singer before finding Lajon Witherspoon. Six months passed, Clint Lowery joined the band and they renamed themselves Rumblefish.
Rumblefish was short-lived, however, because they found another band with the same name. They renamed themselves Crawlspace, and released My Ruin on the Mortal Kombat soundtrack album entitled More Kombat through TVT Records in 1996. Shortly after, another band named Crawlspace sent notice that they wanted $50,000 for the rights to their name. Rather than purchase the rights, the band members chose to rename themselves Sevendust.
Sevendust released their self-titled debut on April 15, 1997, known for its heavy riffs, angry vocals and thrash-like drumming, as the songs Black and Bitch. Black was the opening song for nearly every Sevendust concert until 2004. The debut album also contains the song My Ruin, from the Mortal Kombat soundtrack. Sevendust appeared on the Billboard 200, remained there for sixteen weeks and peaked at 165 on April 4, 1998. The album went gold on May 19, 1999.
In 1998, Sevendust performed at Dynamo Open Air (May 29–31) and Ozzfest 1998 (July through August). In the same year they released a compilation called Live and Loud which featured live footage of the bands September 16, 1998 performance at Chicago's Metro.
On August 24, 1999, they released their second album, Home. The album peaked at 19 on the Billboard 200 and featured Skin from Skunk Anansie and Chino Moreno from Deftones as guest vocalists. The two singles from the album, "Denial" and "Waffle", gave the band moderate chart success, and the latter of which was played on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien show. They appeared in Woodstock 1999 and have toured with many bands such as Korn, Staind, Nonpoint, Reveille, Godsmack, Mudvayne, Mushroomhead, Powerman 5000, Creed, Kid Rock, Machine Head, Limp Bizkit, Disturbed, and Metallica. In 1999, they gained European exposure by opening for Skunk Anansie at various shows in Germany. They also opened with Kid Rock and Ted Nugent for Metallica on New Year's Eve in 1999 at the Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit, Michigan. They also joined Slipknot, Coal Chamber and other bands on the Tattoo the Earth Tour in June 2000.
In November 2001, the band released their third album, Animosity. This album went gold and gained the band commercial success thanks to the success of singles "Praise" and "Angel's Son", which peaked at 15 and 11, respectively, on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. "Angel's Son" was a tribute to Lynn Strait, the lead singer of the band Snot, whom the members of Sevendust were friends with. Strait had died in a car accident in 1998. In addition to being included on Animosity, the song was included on the compilation album Strait Up. The band made an appearance on Late Night with David Letterman playing an acoustic version of "Angel's Son" featuring Paul Shaffer on keyboards.
In the same year Sevendust was seen in the Chris Rock movie Down to Earth as a partial clip of "Waffle" is played.
Another friend of the band, Dave Williams the lead singer of Drowning Pool, died in 2002. Tragedy would strike again when Lajon Witherspoon's younger brother was shot and killed later that year. Due to his death, Sevendust went on hiatus in 2002.
In 2003, Sevendust returned with their fourth album, Seasons. The album debuted at #14 in the US, selling around 68,000 copies in its first week. This was one of the band's best received albums and to date features their highest charting single (tied with "Driven"), "Enemy," which peaked at #10 on the Mainstream Rock Chart. "Enemy" was made the official theme song for WWE Unforgiven 2003. Other singles released from the album, "Broken Down" and "Face to Face," met with more moderate success charting at 20 and 22, respectively.
In 2004, for the first time in the band's career, they released a live album on a CD/DVD double disk package titled Southside Double-Wide Acoustic Live. Both the CD and the DVD include a cover of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails which is dedicated to Johnny Cash.
On December 11, 2004, after playing a show in Columbus, Ohio, it was announced that Clint Lowery had left the band mid-tour, because he wanted to play with his brother Corey Lowery in his new band Dark New Day, who had reportedly just signed with Warner Bros. Records. A replacement was found for the rest of the dates and was eventually replaced by Sonny Mayo from Snot and Amen. At roughly the same time, Sevendust and TVT Records parted ways.
On March 26, 2008, Sevendust announced that Clint Lowery, former guitarist and vocalist for the band, had quit his duties as guitarist for Dark New Day and would be returning to the Sevendust lineup in place of Sonny Mayo. On Lowery's return, Morgan Rose stated "This was extremely tough considering Sonny is our brother and has been amazing to work with. [Sonny] didn't do anything wrong at all; we just owe it to ourselves and all the folks that grew up with us to put our original band back together."
Since formation, Sevendust has released thirteen studio albums, earned additional charting success and gold sales certifications. Their eighth studio album, titled Cold Day Memory was released on April 20, 2010. More recent studio albums include: Black Out the Sun, released on March 26, 2013, Time Travelers & Bonfires, released on April 15, 2014, Kill the Flaw, released on October 2, 2015, All I See Is War, released on May 11, 2018 and Blood & Stone, released on October 23, 2020
They also re-released their self-titled debut album as Sevendust: Definitive Edition which contains five new tracks and a DVD.
Broken Down
Sevendust Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Made along the way
If I'm blind, open my eyes, 'cause
I need to see again
[Chorus]
If I can feel again
Will you tell me now or wait till I'm broken
Save me now, I'm broken
If I bleed, my lies won't fill the
Emptiness inside
I just need, for something real to
Open up my mind
[Chorus: x2]
Breaking down, I'm breaking down
It takes time
[Chorus]
It takes time
Breaking down I'm breaking down
If I can feel again
In these lyrics, the singer is acknowledging the pain and hurt they have caused others as they reflect on their actions. The first line, "It takes time, to heal the wound I've made along the way," suggests that the singer has caused harm in the past and it will take time to make it right. The second line, "If I'm blind, open my eyes, 'cause I need to see again," possibly suggests that the singer is willing to learn from their mistakes and is seeking a new perspective.
The chorus, "If I can feel again, will you tell me now or wait till I'm broken down again, save me now, I'm broken," emphasizes the singer's vulnerability and desire for help. They acknowledge that they are broken and need assistance in order to prevent themselves from spiraling further. The repetition of "broken down" emphasizes the singer's current state of emotional and mental distress.
The second verse, "If I bleed, my lies won't fill the emptiness inside, I just need, for something real to open up my mind," suggests that the singer has been dishonest in the past and realizes that this does not solve their problems or fill the void they feel inside. They need something genuine to help them move forward and grow.
Overall, the lyrics of "Broken Down" convey a sense of reflection, vulnerability, and a desire for growth and change.
Line by Line Meaning
It takes time, to heal the wound I've
Made along the way
The wounds I've inflicted on myself and others need time to heal.
If I'm blind, open my eyes, 'cause
I need to see again
I need help seeing things clearly because I am currently unable to do it myself.
If I can feel again
Will you tell me now or wait till I'm broken
Down again
Save me now, I'm broken
If I am able to feel again, will you help me through it now or wait until I am completely broken again? I need help because I am broken.
If I bleed, my lies won't fill the
Emptiness inside
My lies won't fill the emptiness within me if I bleed.
I just need, for something real to
Open up my mind
I need something real to help me think clearly and overcome my struggles.
Breaking down, I'm breaking down
It takes time
I am currently breaking down but I understand that it takes time to heal.
If I can feel again
I am hoping that I will be able to feel again after going through this difficult time.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BUTCH WALKER, CLINT LOWERY, JOHN CONNOLLY, LA JON WITHERSPOON, MORGAN ROSE, VINCE HORNSBY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sean7343
Most underrated band ever!!! Hands down....!
@jbmp1390
So fucking true man
@haramilonda3252
yeah bro
@johnmaricle3120
I love these guys music....kickass
@mikethemotormouth
Dredg has entered the chat
@SophiaAphrodite
They have gold record albums ffs.,............
@chinlessjimmy
one of the best choruses ive ever heard in a song
@Elius.2709
00:50 (If i can feeeel aaagaaain, would you tell me now, or wait til' I'm broken doooown aaagaaain? save me now, I'm brokeeeen) Best chorus ever
@RedTideOfWolves
This is very much a song of its time, musically and lyrically. It'd be kind of forgettable, if not for one thing - Lajon's extraordinary voice. That's why, still in 2020, at the age of 30, I keep listening to Sevendust.
@scottfox7642
I'm 55 and I blast this song when I'm street racing.