Sevendust - Kill The Flaw

Dude, just try to tell me this cover art isn't waiting to be someone's tattoo, Oh and Sevendust is back, by the way.Love me some Sevendust. The coming together of some truly aggressive groove metal riffage and the amazing voice of the one and only Lajon Witherspoon makes for some of my favorite jams. And with the leaving - and subsequent return - of guitarist Clint Lowery, the band's sound has evolved into a more song-oriented approach, giving more dynamics to the otherwise aging formula of the genre, on their latest studio release Kill The Flaw.

Things start out as you might expect, with opener Thank You's bottom heavy rhythym section (courtesy of Vince Hornsby on bass and Morgan Rose on drums) churning the waters as does Death Dance. Forget, however gets a little more interesting construction-wise as a piano interlude sets up a solo section (something I'm not used to with Sevendust), while Letters has a nice touch of the progressive to it. All in all, while I'm still unquestionably a Sevendust fan, I have to ask why the soloing? I mean, I always thought of the lack of soloing as one of the things that made the band stand out, perhaps even forcing them to focus on the groove and power rather than rely on the solos to keep the guitarheads happy. Ah, well. This is still a pretty good album in the end.        

The Bottom Line: After jamming to these cats for nearly 20 years, I still find their particular sound as appealing as the first time I came across them. The addition of solos doesn't thrill me, as Sevendust was one of the few bands that made me forget about them - I didn't even miss them, to be honest, the groove was just so monstrous. But that doesn't take away from the music on this disc, so long time fans should still be pleased.

- Genghis does love the shit out of some good groove metal...