REVIEW: Sevendust - One
- Julia Stark
- 28 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Three decades of pioneering metal music would feel exhausting to any band worth their salt, but metal legends SEVENDUST are more charged up than ever, as they gear up to release their landmark 15th album One via Napalm Records on 1st May. One isn’t just a testament to SEVENDUST’s notorious career over such a period, nor is it simply a tribute to their devoted fanbase, fondly called the 7D Army. It’s a statement of the new heights their sound has reached, with soaring powerhouse vocals complemented with thundering instrumentals and intricate solos, every song feeling like a call to arms as they progress through a triumphant metal journey.
One is a sound that draws on other genres to their renowned metal, creating its own genre of cinematic rock, inspired by SEVENDUST’s evolution over the years, their gratitude to their fans, and by their shared Christian faith that subtly reaches out through themes of unwavering hope and belief. They’re a band that transcends genres and die-hard fans and captures all ears, a sound you can come back to anytime and know, not only will you appreciate their expert production, but you’ll be warmly welcomed into the lively 7D Army and SEVENDUST themselves.
One is an authentic look at themselves as a unit and individuals, alongside their faith in a higher power and a higher purpose. The title track quickly powers up into thundering drums and bass, Clint Lowery and John Connolly giving their all with complex, blended solos, as singer Lajon Witherspoon asks “do you forgive yourself?”. They set the intense theme and pace from the album’s opening bars and refuse to let up as they drive onward through their rousing, heavier single Unbreakable, fading in with artistic piano before blending into hair-raising guitar and Morgan Rose’s drawn out drum beats crash onward into a building frenzy. The lyrics notably change from “you” to “we were meant to be unbreakable” as Witherspoon speaks to the listeners en masse to say we’re all one in this fight.
Is This The Real You has a rhythm that is so distinctive it’s difficult to explain the emotion and movement it evokes, combined with vocals that rise orchestrally and descend into raw screams, it feels triumphantly upbeat when it’s not supposed to. Throughout One there are moments that are reminiscent of other legendary metal bands but delivered in an unmistakeable SEVENDUST way, and Threshold is one of these moments. It gives DEFTONES in its harmonised high guitar riffs, slowing to a thudding beat led by Vince Hornsby’s impactful bass line and Rose’s kick pedal before swinging into renewed intensity. The tempo and mood slowing down slightly, We Won is a mixture of layered vocals and instruments, the guitar solo rising into red-hot territory. It feels like a restrained victory, as if the band are saying we won but at what cost?
Launching in with an anticipation building intro of distorted guitars and bass over a thundering beat, Construct slows for piano breaks and softer vocals, Witherspoon baring vulnerability by calling out “I know I’m not enough”, before the track plummets into a drum breakdown. For fans of SYSTEM OF A DOWN, Bright Side brings that classic metal sound we adore, with high guitar notes contrasted against low growling vocals, thumping bass and blistering drum beat controlling the listener’s headbanging pace. The album is a display of every member’s talent and commitment, every instrument getting their moment to shine through, and this is displayed impeccably on The Drop. Starting with warring guitar riffs, it does in fact suddenly drop into a bursting rhythm of SEVENDUST’s cohesive sound, Witherspoon’s understated vocals claiming he’s not the enemy as Lowry and Connolly strike riffs against each other.
There’s still fight left in One with Blood Price’s cinematic 80’s synth strings descending into Rose’s shattering drums and Hornsby’s bone-rattling nu metal-core bass, guttural screams giving way to dual guitar solos. One’s epic battle reaches its conclusion in Misdirection, a distant, understated heartbeat and fuzzed vocals leading into a final conquering sound that rises to high peaks, looping back into the beginning beat, the cycle never ending or beginning. One a statement that we, the new fans, the 7D army, the prodigal listeners, are one with SEVENDUST, their faith unshaken in themselves.
Score; 9/10
One will be released on 1st May 2026 via Napalm Records.
Words: Julia Stark
Photos: Chuck Brueckmann
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