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.
Not Today
Sevendust Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
we try to rip the shell away
into the void without a trace
the counter measure you have now
won't do a thing
it won't stick the ugly truth is here
go on and disappear love
is that the best we get
is that the best we get
this is the thing that swallows you whole
don't give away what you wanted so long
there's no more words no more reasons
not one more lie you can feed us
oh you know all the things we loathe
we become it
i defeated it we will become this
resist
you bite your tongue and stay asleep
that's all the dirt that we need
the guilty pleasure you came for fed your disease
it don't stick the lines are blurred and grey
go on and try to kill love
and that's your last mistake
is that the thanks we get
yeah that's the thanks we get
if i was wrong then shut me down
you open up surrendered
(all things must end but not today)
but you don't know what gives us hope
enough to move forward
In Sevendust's song "Not Today," the lyrics explore themes of struggle, resistance, and inner conflict. The song urges the listener to transcend their limitations and fears, to rip away the shell of inertia that has taken hold. The song recognizes that change is not easy, and the path forward is often ambiguous and difficult to navigate. The singer acknowledges that the countermeasures employed will not do anything to help alleviate the struggles being faced. The ugly truth is here; there is no use in attempting to hide from it or pretend it doesn't exist. The crooked smile that is often faked is not the best that we can do, and the song implores the listener to strive for better.
This is a song about striving to make a change and resisting the forces that hold us back. It acknowledges that it is difficult to speak out and take a stand, for fear of being shut down or misunderstood. However, the song implores listeners to resist the impulse to remain silent and instead, speak up and resist. The song recognizes that change is often fueled by the disaffection and disgust that one feels with the status quo. Instead of giving in to despair or frustration, the song encourages listeners to use these emotions as fuel for change. Only then will we be able to transcend the limitations of our current reality and move forward into a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
transcend
We aim to surpass our current state of existence.
we try to rip the shell away
We try to peel away the facade we present to the world.
into the void without a trace
We hope to disappear into nothingness without leaving a mark.
the counter measure you have now won't do a thing
Your current plan of action is futile.
it won't stick the ugly truth is here
The harsh reality has set in and cannot be avoided.
go on and disappear love
Go ahead and disappear, my love.
the crooked smile we fake
We put on a phony smile.
is that the best we get
Is this the best we can do?
this is the thing that swallows you whole
This is the thing that completely consumes you.
don't give away what you wanted so long
Don't surrender the thing you have been trying to achieve for so long.
there's no more words no more reasons
There's nothing left to say or justify.
not one more lie you can feed us
Stop trying to deceive us.
oh you know all the things we loathe
You know exactly what we despise.
we become it
We end up embodying the things we hate.
i defeated it we will become this
I overcame this and now we will succumb to it.
resist
Fight against the chain of events that is pulling us in.
you bite your tongue and stay asleep
You remain quiet and ignorant.
that's all the dirt that we need
That's all the evidence we need to take you down.
the guilty pleasure you came for fed your disease
The thing you sought for pleasure has only harmed you.
it don't stick the lines are blurred and grey
It doesn't work as intended and things are unclear.
go on and try to kill love
Go ahead and attempt to destroy love.
and that's your last mistake
And that will be your downfall.
is that the thanks we get
Is this how we are repaid?
yeah that's the thanks we get
Yes, that's exactly how we are repaid.
if i was wrong then shut me down
If I made a mistake, correct me.
you open up surrendered
You finally admitted defeat.
all things must end but not today
Everything eventually comes to an end, but not today.
but you don't know what gives us hope
But you aren't aware of the things that motivate us to move forward.
enough to move forward
Despite everything, we have enough hope to keep moving forward.
Writer(s): Clint Edward Lowery, John Connolly, Morgan Rose, Vincent Hornsby, La Jon Jermaine Witherspoon
Contributed by Lauren L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Brandon LaFleur
Heavy, melodic, progressive, and TIMELESS. Sevendust strikes again. The metal world needs to do these guys a favor and put them on the top of the charts.
David Fields
Very underrated, I saw them open up for Creed in Greensboro,NC about twenty something years ago, I think early 2000s , hell I turned 60 this past April ,I started going to concerts when I was 15 , so there has been quite a few shows over the years, they put in a hell of a show so much energy, I 💞 there melodic heavy style a great band and extremely underrated but they do have a very loyal fan base. Later y'all take care 💅🤘
ivan martin martinez
PD: I agree with you! Sevendust is a very underrated metal band
ivan martin martinez
Well, Sevendust is really Nü-Metal but they have influences of heavy, melodic, progressive, thrash, etc.
But they are really Nü-Metal: you listen the atmosphere, the groove and the heavier texture sound of electric guitars (the 3 characterists that defines the Nü-Metal) :)
Brian Prollock
At first I thought this song lacked. I have been a life long sevendust fan but I couldn't get onboard with this one... at first. After coming back several times it grows and grows on you. It's to the point now where it's awesome, unique, and powerful. Thanks for not being easy to digest all the time.
TxWHYxBEETSx 4 ever
This one slapped right off the bat for me glad ya came back with an open mind🤘🏻😎🤘🏻
DRS
Love reading thru the comments on this song and seeing all the love for Sevendust!!! Sevendust fans are the best!!
adalberto cruz
🤝🤘
slave2tyranny
We are all family!
Diego Garcia
Still rocking with 7dust since 97, never let me down.great band.