Live-Metal.Net - Concerts: Sevendust

It might have been mid-April, but inside the Crocodile Rock Café it felt like the heart of summer. The warriors braving the sweltering heat: Lajon Witherspoon, Morgan Rose, John Connolly, Vinnie Hornsby and Clint Lowery, collectively known as Sevendust.

Appropriately, the theme from Welcome Back, Kotter brought the quintet to the stage on this tour that marks the return of Lowery, who abruptly quit the band in 2004. It sounds silly, but my first thought was, “I don’t remember Clint ever looking so metal.” Decked out all in black, his hair longer than ever and clearly having spent ample time in the weight room, he’s one guy I wouldn’t want to meet in the moshpit. I mean no disrespect to Sonny Mayo, who ably replaced Lowery on guitar and contributed to three albums, the most recent of which, Chapter VII: Hope and Sorrow, makes a strong case for being the band’s best. But the band on stage this night in Allentown is the band I became a fan on in 1997 at the age of 17, the band that wrote and recorded “Black” and “Bitch,” “Denial” and “Waffle,” “Angel’s Son” and “Praise,” “Enemy” and “Face to Face.” This is Sevendust.

Anyone wandering in oblivious to recent history never would have known these five musicians had spent even a day apart, never mind four years. The first song on Hope and Sorrow, “Inside,” proved to be just as effective an opener on stage, its ferocious energy whipping the sold-out crowd into a frenzy that continued for the next 85 minutes. The set list naturally focused on earlier material more than the three Clint-less albums. Songs featuring a Lowery vocal, such as “Suffocate” and “Angel’s Son,” made welcome returns. “Terminator,” a track dusted off from the 1997 debut, was another highlight.

SEVENDUST SET LIST: Inside, Deathstar, Enemy, Trust, Pieces, Clueless, Waffle, Suffocate, Scapegoat, Angel’s Son, Prodigal Son, Denial, Terminator, Assdrop, (Encore) Black, Praise, Face to Face

I hope the opening acts were watching Sevendust closely because they can learn a lot from them. Overscene, from Dallas, began the evening with their melodic hard rock, though their only memorable song was a cover of Collective Soul’s “Shine.” Next, Neverset, which also hails from Dallas and has done some recording with Sevendust drummer Morgan Rose, conjured memories of nü-metal with vocalist Shawn Hamm’s pseudo rapping. A cover medley got off to a promising start with Mötley Crüe’s “Shout at the Devil” and Metallica’s “Sad But True” but quickly deteriorated with Limp Bizkit’s “Break Stuff” and Papa Roach’s “Last Resort,” and curiously ended with Sevendust’s “Praise.”

Saliva undoubtedly drew some of the fans to the show and they received a positive response by churning out hit after hit in a 50-minute set. Unfortunately, they played only one song from their best album (2004’s Survival of the Sickest, which admittedly was a commercial flop). I’m sure they are not the only band that does it, but backing tracks significantly beefed up the vocals. It also seemed that guitarist Jonathan Montoya was more interested in drinking Jägermeister than playing his instrument. Compared to the unbridled enthusiasm of Sevendust, Saliva came across like a band doing little other than going through the motions.

SALIVA SET LIST: Black Sheep, Fuck All Y’all, Superstar, Dope Ride, Broken Sunday, Click Click Boom, Ladies and Gentlemen, Always, Your Disease