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.
Fear
Sevendust Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Even so this day wont end
Always a step behind me, been
Creates a vision that blinds within
If you could only see
[Chorus]
The thought the burns inside
A sight that burn the eyes
And you'll catch me and I know it kills you
(It kills you!)
Flip the switch and start again
Get the feeling every now and then
That your eyes are watching me
Creates a burning inside of me
I wish that you could feel
(All the shit that you put me through!)
[Chorus]
The thought that burns inside
Gives you a feeling that you think will hurt me
A sight that burns the eyes
And you'll never catch me and I know it kills you
(It kills you!)
Of course I saw you stumble
Always a step ahead
I coulda sworn I saw you say
Your confusing what you see
Confusing what I mean
I'll show you everything you thought you'd ever taught to me
[Chorus]
The thought that burns inside
Gives you a feeling that you think will hurt me
A sight that burns the eyes
And you'll never catch me and I know it kills you
It kills you
So think about this as you walk away!
You lost it all and now!
It's coming down!
It's coming down!
Of course I saw you stumble
Always a step ahead
I coulda sworn I saw you say
Your confusing what you see
Confusing what I mean
The lyrics of Sevendust's song "Fear" depict a toxic and abusive relationship where one partner tries to control the other. The first stanza talks about the person (presumably the abusive partner) always being a step behind the singer, creating a mental image that blinds them from seeing reality. However, the singer knows the truth, and wishes the other person could see the pain they're causing. The chorus talks about the burning thought that the singer cannot shake, giving the partner the feeling that they can hurt them. The singer also knows that they will never be caught, and it kills the partner to know that. The second verse shows the singer flipping the switch and starting over but still feels the partner's eyes on them, causing a burning inside. They wish that the partner could feel all the pain that they have caused. The chorus repeats, emphasizing the partner's inability to catch the singer, which only intensifies the partner's pain.
The bridge talks about how the singer has seen through the partner's lies and confusion. They offer to show the partner everything they thought they had taught them. Finally, the song ends with a shouted refrain, directed at the partner as they walk away, stating that they have lost it all, and everything is coming down.
Overall, "Fear" is a powerful song that explores the internal struggle of an abusive relationship, highlighting the pain and suffering that it can cause. It also touches on themes of power, control, and manipulation.
Line by Line Meaning
Seems as though you're here again
It feels like you're back in my life, even though I didn't want you here.
Even so this day won't end
Despite your presence, I still have to continue on and endure this day.
Always a step behind me, been
You've been trailing me for some time now and it's becoming unsettling.
Creates a vision that blinds within
Your presence creates a blinding and suffocating feeling within me.
If you could only see
If you could only understand how much you're affecting me.
The thought that burns inside
The intense feeling that I have inside of me that's related to you.
Gives you a feeling that you think will hurt me
You believe that this feeling will somehow hurt or negatively affect me.
A sight that burns the eyes
Your appearance is like a painful sight.
And you'll catch me and I know it kills you
It bothers you that you can't fully control or have power over me.
Flip the switch and start again
I need to mentally reset and start over.
Get the feeling every now and then
There are moments when I am reminded of you and how you affected me.
That your eyes are watching me
I feel like you're still observing and monitoring me.
Creates a burning inside of me
Your presence triggers intense and uncomfortable emotions within me.
I wish that you could feel
I wish you could understand what I am going through and how much you've impacted me.
All the shit that you put me through!
All of the terrible experiences that I faced because of you.
Of course I saw you stumble
I am aware of your mistakes and shortcomings.
Always a step ahead
I am always anticipating your next move and trying to stay ahead.
I coulda sworn I saw you say
I thought I saw you express something to me, but I wasn't sure.
Your confusing what you see
You're having a hard time understanding and interpreting my actions and feelings.
Confusing what I mean
You're misinterpreting my words and intentions.
I'll show you everything you thought you'd ever taught to me
I will prove to you that I am no longer the person you thought you trained or influenced.
So think about this as you walk away!
I want you to reflect on the situation as you leave my life.
You lost it all and now!
You've lost any control or power you had over me, and it's too late to change that.
It's coming down!
Everything that was once stable and secure is now falling apart.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DON MILLER ROBINSON, JENNY MORRIS, TAM MORRIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind