Another CD Review from the man we call Hatchy
Publisher: Shock Records
Sat, 28 January 2006
by: Hatchy
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"Best Of (Chapter One)" is a greatest hits collection of songs from Atlanta metal group Sevendust spanning their career from 1997 to 2004. Originally known as Crawlspace on the local scene, Sevendust were snapped up by TVT records one lucky night, and between this, clever marketing and some fairly good music the band went on to notch up over 4 million album sales. At the end of 2004 they parted ways with TVT and consequently this release will most likely be the last we will see from them on this label.
All the tracks on "Best Of (Chapter One)" have been arranged in chronological order. Black, Bitch and Too Close To Hate are from the band's first self-titled album. Denial, Waffle, Assdrop (formerly known as Rumblefish) and Bender are from the bands 1999 album, "Home". Angel's Son, Praise and Follow are from 2001's "Animosity" with Enemy and Face To Face coming from the 2003 release, "Seasons". Also included are 3 b-sides from the "Seasons" era: Coward, Rain and Inner City Blues. The latter is a cover of Marvin Gaye's popular 1971 song and it's not a bad rendition either.
The last song, however, provides the one element of "Best Of" that I suspect many die-hard fans of Sevendust will be disappointed in. Why? Because it is the only un-released song to feature on the album and it's not even an original. The song is a cover of Schools Out by Alice Cooper and, in all honesty, it's not a good one either, which kind of adds insult to injury. After 8 years on a label, you could rightly expect Sevendust to have more un-released (and better) material in the bank than this to put on a best-of album release. Maybe sensing some criticism for a lack of new material on the disc, Sevendust have also included on the CD a mpg file of the video for the song Praise.
 | | The guys weren't happy when someone asked if they were "Hootie & the Blowfish" |
Looking at it as a whole the album flows relatively well, Angel's Song is the only slow ballad on the entire album and it has been placed right in the middle of the track-list. It helps to separate the heavy guitar driven songs inter-laced with the melodious harmonies of early Sevendust material to the more aggressive and darker sounds of the fourth album. Deftones and Staind fans will be interested to know that Chino Moreno does vocals on Bender and Aaron Lewis likewise on Follow.
I must admit I always cast a cynical eye over any greatest hits collection released by a band. Sevendust, to date, are still very much together, in fact they have just released a new album so it seems a little premature to be releasing a best of album right now. It would seem that this collection has been released as more of a contractual obligation than anything else. This album is also the last time you will hear guitarist Clint Lowery play on a Sevendust album. Clint left in late 2004 and was promptly replaced by Snot guitarist Sonny Mayo for the bands touring duties and work on the new album. Their follow up album "Next" was released in October 2005.
Metal music experienced a rebirth during the 1990's and record companies, sensing the market potential, started signing up bands and promoting the music at a rapid rate. Sevendust, when they were signed, became one in a cast of thousands jostling for position in the bulging charts. But for them their rise to fame didn't take long. Singles like Black, Waffle and Angels Song were immensely popular, and they featured heavily on radio and MTV. They got big, fast, and to their credit, they are now recognised as a gold label band. They have featured on tours such as Ozzfest, Woodstock '99 and the Vans Warped as well. To achieve this is no small feat in the cut and thrust of the North American music market (let alone the metal scene) so if anything, it does at the very least illustrate that they are pretty good at what they do.
by: Hatchy
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More articles by Hatchy
Serious long time fans are only going to want this album for the unreleased song and video clip. The main target will basically be people that want a good spread of Sevendust's career without feeling the need to invest in the entire back catalogue. | |
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