Customer Reviews
Not the best from sevendust 
2008-06-06
I think they make this cd to quickly. Alpha is a much better cd than this one. Best songs:inside,scapegoat and enough.
The Best They've Done Since The Beginning 
2008-06-05
This will be short and sweet: Just when you think one of your favorite bands is slowly slipping into the netherworld, they put out the most cohesive, kicking, melodic, streamlined CD in yearssssss. It's got the best of every element they're known for: stellar singing, great arrangements, killer drumming, just enough angst ridden screaming to raise your blood, great metal, great pop-rock/ballads, skillful lyrics......and Thank GOD Clint is back in the band....he was the missing ingredient (Sonny may be a better guitarist, but you get great playing, singing, and songwriting from Clint!) Geez, even the cover art is the best so far..... BUY THIS CD AND MAKE THIS BAND RISE TO LEVEL OF ALL THE OTHER ONES THAT HAVE OPENED FOR THEM!!!!!! They are kick@$$ aggression, energy, and sheer art all rolled into one.
Hope & Sorrow shakes things up a bit. 2008-06-02
I love everything Sevendust has ever done, and I loved the significant evolution that was heard on each of their first 3 albums. Since then, they've continued to put out quality metal, but it seems that they got stuck a few times in terms of direction. "Seasons" was an excellent album, but it didn't do much that "Animosity" hadn't already done. "Alpha" was also great (one of their heaviest), but it didn't do much that "Next" hadn't done. I prefer Sevendust when they're heavy, but I felt like "Next" and "Alpha" were slightly boring compared to earlier stuff...the songs weren't as diverse, and the chugging guitar riffs and the chorus vocals seemed a bit repetitive. Now we have "Hope and Sorrow," the band's 7th album. It's a breath of fresh air, because we see the band getting back to incorporating melody again. "Inside" is a great opening tune because it's very heavy and also it sounds like the Sevendust we know and love. "Enough" offers a fun guitar riff that breaks the cycle of the chugging guitar riffs from the last 2 albums. The first single, "Prodigal Son" is a very basic tune, but it's catchy groove will get stuck in your head almost immediately. "The Past" is a mellow tune featuring Chris Daughtry doing some guest singing, and while it isn't a very strong track, it's nice to see the band playing with this style again.
Overall, this is a typical sounding Sevendust record, and it represents their general sound quite nicely. It's certainly not the strongest album they've put out, but I'm glad they are back to experimenting with different styles again. I think if they had put out another album that sounded like "Next" or "Alpha" it wouldn't be enough to hold my attention with all the other albums coming out this year. Nice job, Sevendust!
very good album hugh step forward for sevendust 2008-05-31
this is an amazing new album from one of the best metal bands out their totally recommend this album for any Sevendust fan or rock and roll fan.
Slips between Commercial and Alternative 2008-05-24
This band has been through a lot over the years, by switching record companies, losing an important member and playing show after show but they've maintained enough to release this seventh album. The first track is definitely Sevendust, but when vocalist Lajon Witherspoon is heard it changes things. His voice doesn't quite fit with the music. being heavy metal due to it's more soulful sound.
Sevendust now kinda straddle between being commercial/mainstream and more underground/alternative metal. The album starts with the song "Inside" that hits you with a hard force then is followed by "Enough" which has a long instrumental intro (several songs on the album do) that builds tension then ends on a low riff side of things. What makes Sevendust standout though is their way of mixing Witherspoon's vocals (never going to the screeching mode) with the hard-driving guitars. His voice is full of emotion, which is heard on the track "The Past"(a more ballad type of song). With that said, in my opinion, none of the songs on Chapter VII are stand out hits like those from past albums , but it's still very decent. Not quite five stars though.
I'm satisfied 
2008-07-12
Well, it's not easy for band to keep you interested and content after, I guess, seven albums (I wasn't counting, but that's a good point). But Sevendust has done that in my opinion. It's really impressive that they've carved a niche that they can sound relatively fresh in after all these albums.
They're just great song writer's. They still have a very driven and heavy side. They continue to switch up rythms and moods within songs, plus they're "catchy" and have a somewhat unique sound, even if they remain similar to their own previous material. There are a lot of bands that used to be exciting that continue to make music but sound like a bad replica of themselves (Red hot chili peppers, metallica, whatever crap G n R remnants do, even weezer is getting that way). But you can shuffle this album into their 90's material and wouldn't know the difference. So I wouldn't throw these guys away just because they've been around. This is a great album.
Welcome to the New Sevendust 2008-07-11
The new Sevendust CD, titled Chapter VII Hope and Sorrow represents a slightly more experimental Sevendust than its fans are used to. Most metal bands tend to mellow and become more intellectual with age, and Sevendust is no exception.
Sevendust is and always has always been hardcore and relatively experimental (in terms of harmonies and rhythms), but in the first part of they're career (from their beginning through the album, Next) they were more about harsh, adrenaline pumping, concrete smashingly heavy music than they were about experimentation, and the experimentation was always subject to making the music more striking; it was never an end unto itself. Starting with Alpha, and even more so with their current album, experimentation becomes the end, not the means.
Fans who loved the bloodthirsty rhythms of the old Sevendust, will not be disappointed by this album, but they will hear a little less of that, and a little more use of polytonality, octatonicism, chromaticism, and formal irregularities (such as the two minute long introduction to the first song).
Welcome to the new Sevendust.
Different But Cohesive 2008-07-02
This album has a much more mature song than any Sevendust album prior. Each song flows smoothly into the next, and for Sevendust this album is pretty light on the ears.
The collaborations with Chris Daughtry on "The Past" and Myles Kennedy on "Sorrow" are simply amazing. I'm not a big Daughtry or Alter Bridge fan but their work with Lajon's vocals work so well together.
The rest of the album just seems pieced together well. I really like how they incorporated Morgan Rose's screaming, it works better in this albums selection of songs than any album prior.
Animosity remains Sevendust's best album in my book followed closely by Alpha, but I would give Chapter VII the nod for the 3rd best album.
Not their best 2008-07-02
Every song has a stupid, slow intro. It really kills the flow of the CD and I very very rarely listen to it.
Not their best, but still awesome 2008-06-08
This one definitely deviated from the sound of their last two albums, which I loved, but the lyrics didn't seem to hit as hard as the ones on Alpha. Only recommendations to check out would be, coincidentally, Hope and Sorrow.
